File :-(, x, )
Anonymous
Hey anon I need some serious help.

About two years ago, I bought a rat and since that day, my days with him have been hell.

His typical behavior includes biting and hissing at me.
Is there any way I can get him used to me or is there no hope?
>> Anonymous
Two years ago? I think you're probably past the point where you can make friends with it. It might get a little nicer if you make a concerted effort to handle it gently and give it treats, but the lifespan on a rat is only 3-5 years...
>> Anonymous
>>130393
Believe me, I've been doing the treat thing since day one. Whenever I try to pet him or handle him he gives a loud shriek and bites me.

Maybe he is a lost cause afterall...
>> Anonymous
get a python for it to play with
>> Anonymous
If you can only keep small animals you should get a guinea pig. They're a bit wild at first but within a week they will start getting used to you.

They also almost never bite and when feel threatened just give off noises and try to run away, the only way they would really bite you is if you're hand feeding one and it might accidentally miss and bite you but they don't bite hard at all and definately won't make you bleed.

Plus you can probably just use the rat's cage/canteen/bedding/food dish so you wouldn't even have to buy anything new except for food.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
>>130410
I actually can't stand guinea pigs. I have gerbils but I've been wanting a rat companion for a while. Just so happens the one I picked out was mean as fuck.

I'm still trying to socialize with him but i'm just waiting for him to die so I can go to a breeder to pick out a friendly one.
>> Anonymous
You bought "A" rat?? As in only one? He is clearly having behavioral issues because he needs rat company (although now as an adult un-neutered male it is a very bad idea to try intros unless very closely watched). Rats are very social animals and develop behavior issues when improperly kept, ie: alone. DO NOT GET ANY MORE LONE RATS, it is bad for their health as well as causes them to be introverted and mean.

As for advice on dealing with this one, while the average lifespan is published as 3-5 years, they rarely make it past 3. His stress of being alone will probably shorten his lifespan even further so just try being ridiculously nice to him and be prepared for a few nips in the process while he is learning to trust you. Try to see where he is getting the most defensive, is it while he is in or out of his cage? In unfamiliar territory? Find the place he seems to be most relaxed around you and use that to your advantage. Just sit and let him hang out around you until he's decided to check you out. Try leaving treats in your OPEN hand that is palm up. Let him come to you for the food, don't try to just give it to him. It is a long process with good and bad days and honestly if you aren't willing to give him the effort he deserves, find a rat rescue willing to take him and work with him. Stop torturing him by isolating him more.

tl;dr Don't get any more single rats and for fuck's sake learn to care for the one you have.
>> Anonymous
>>130428
I was planning on getting another rat for him but was afraid of his behavior towards it.

You act as if I just bought him and let him rot in a corner. I take him out every few days and let him run around a playpen that I made for him. I try to give him as much attention as I can but every time I go up to his area he hisses at me.
>> Anonymous
Methinks the reason for your rat's behaviour is like a spolied child. Make sure you give the rat discipline as well as love. Give it a smack on the head when it bites you. Just like you would with a ferret.
>> Anonymous
>>130440

Yeah soon as it associates biting=bad, it might stop.
>> Anonymous
"take him out every few days"?? Seriously? Even socialized rats with other rat friends need a minimum of an hour a day play time. No wonder he hates you.
>> Anonymous
>>130449
I take him out of his cage every few days. Doesn't mean I don't socialize and play with him everyday.
>> Anonymous
>>130410

What? Guinea pigs require more space than the typical rat cage, don't they? And most rat cages will have narrower ramps/ledges/etc. I've seen some REALLY big guinea pigs. I don't think this is a good recommendation at all.

I've also kept several rats, sometimes singles sometimes pairs, and yeah sometimes you just get a rotten one out of the bunch.. one that never gets used to you. It's a pity that happens but in my experience, it does.
>> Anonymous
>>130459
well, if you could call me talking to him and him hissing at me socializing...
>> Anonymous
>>130388
um, isnt he going to die soon? just leave him be, and if you get a new rat, make sure it's from a respectable breeder and well tempered.

i mean, i thought they only live to be 2-3 years old.

i still can't fathom having a rat as a pet...ugh, rodents
>> Anonymous
>>130461
Not really, a specially since Guinea pigs aren't the most active animals, mine for example has all the space it would want to exercise yet it spends most of it day either laying with its head in the food dish or sleeping.

As long as his rat wasn't kept in an aquarium I really don't see why he couldn't reuse his cage.
>> Anonymous
>>130484
>ugh, rodents
Get the fuck out. Rats are awesome pets. As are most rodents. Better than a fucking lizard or snake, at least. At least, when not bought from big companies.
OP, just wait for it to die. Sounds to me you've done all you could for this bitchy pet. After it dies, adopt two rats from a respectable breeder. I used to have two, and they really are happier with a cage-mate. Mine loved humans and attention, would run up to the cage the second you came near it. Adorable little things.
>> Anonymous
>>130488
what can i say, animals that naturally cannibalize/incest/mutilate/kill each other freak me out
>> Anonymous
>>130489
uhhh... a lot of animals do that. EVEN CATS
>> Anonymous
>>130428
I agree with the information posted on socializing your rat everyday. I have fostered a rat because it would bite and was extremely cage territorial. I have many scars from the experience but I could tell he was an intelligent fellow that never learned that humans can be friends. Neutering helped his aggressiveness but it still took a lot of patience to build his trust. I would leave his cage open everyday and let him explore when I was around. Eventually he was adopted by an owner who was looking to love a difficult boy.
>> Anonymous
>>130486

I still disagree. I've met some pretty crazy guinea pigs, ones that loved to tear around their cage as fast as they could and pop into the air and be generally goofy. Entirely depends on the rat cage but most of the ones I've seen would not comfortably house a pig and the accessories they need, especially a hiding place of a suitable size.
>> Anonymous
>>130489
Incest? You think a dog would go "OOP! that is my sister! I cannot mate with her!"? Exactly. Fucking retard.
>> Anonymous
>>130504
i'm talking about rodent offspring impregnating their own mother 4-6 weeks after their birth
>> Anonymous
>>130506

So? You think dogs and cats wouldn't do that? It just takes them longer to sexually mature.
>> Anonymous
>>130506
Its an animal, you stupid prude. Rats have TONS of natural enemies, its only natural that they'd reproduce like that.

Stop comparing an animal to human standards
>> Anonymous
>>130492

Uh... after 18 years of owning easily over 10 cats, none have ever eaten, maimed or killed another. On the other hand, I've seen plenty of hamsters eating the other's head off for no goddammned reason, so shut the fuck up, really.
>> Anonymous
Kill the rat
>> Anonymous
>>130512
Hamsters are little bastards with issues, but do NOT pool them in with rats. Hamsters, you can't even own 2 without them absolutely mauling each other. BUT, rats, Guinea pigs, and rabbits (not rodent, but close enough), can live perfectly fine with other animals of their type. In fact, they'd prefer it.

This is like "I've seen wolves attacking shit, so dogs must be vicious!" different animals, motherfucker, do you know them? Hamsters may be terrible bastards of pets, but rats are sweet and social. Don't group all rodents as one.
>> Anonymous
>>130512
I've owned about ten cats too and two of them are products of incest.
>> Anonymous
>>130511
welp, this stupid prude is freaked out by that shit
>> Anonymous
>>130516

I wasn't lumping them in with rats. I like rats. I was just responding to the absurdity of the cat comment thing. The dude has a valid point, plenty of rodents do that kinda stuff. never seen anything other than a rodent eat another one alive.
>> Anonymous
>>130523
Ah. I thought you were the 'ugh, rodents' person here who seems to think that rodents < all other animal groups you can own for pets.
>> Anonymous
>>130526

Oh no, not at all. rats kick ass, i've just never had the time to devote to own one. hate hamsters though.
>> Anonymous
>>130527
hamsters are EVIL
>> Anonymous
I love my rat. Had one before that was good, too. Both were solitary, and both were loved by my wife and myself. They got along swimmingly with us, and we got them one of those huge ferret cages. One used to go up the ramps, but the one I have now loves to climb like spider-man.

Any animal can be solitary. Almost any animal can live with others of its species, if you are careful with them and know their behaviors.

OP: have you tried feeding him a piece of carrot, celery or bannana, and, as he eats, petting him gently right between the ears? If he's not eating and you pick him up, they also like scritches and rubs on the top of their snouts, and between their eyes.
>> Anonymous
>>130526
dude, don't put words in my mouth. I just said I can't fathom people owning rodents as pets. I made no mention of -any- other kind of pet.
>> Anonymous
Solution : Buy a Cat and feed it the rat.
>> Anonymous
>>130489

Are you fucking retarded?

Rats are SOCIAL animals, they won't 'canibalize' each other unless they were fighting over territory or mates or something. They have a social structure like dogs, they decide who's the dominant rat and follow him. And if you're thinking of those mother rats that will kill their children? Those mother rats only do that if they're stressed-- ie, there are predators around and they would rather finish their babies off quickly and with mercy rather than let a predator get to them, or, there is a defect with the baby that the mother can detect and she wants to kill him before whatever illness or disability he has takes affect and kills him slowly.

In short: you are a moron.
>> Anonymous
>>130552
mother rats eating offspring, offspring eating each other, and offspring eating their parents. all this happens frequently, you tard
>> Anonymous
>>130566
Uh, maybe in the sewers or in the wild, but I've known plenty of people whose rats have had babies with zero complications.
Wolves hunt all small animals i the wild, this does not mean your pet dog will inherit this need to kill. If your pet rat is mauling other rats, you have your own problems.
>> Anonymous
>>130566

You mean in the WILD?

Cause I don't think the rats are going to spend time worrying about your delicate sensibilities before chowing down on their brother to survive.
>> Anonymous
>>130567
no, they fucking do this in their cages while you sleep at night. even hedgehogs do this.
>> Anonymous
>>130629
Alright now I'm positive you're a troll
>> Anonymous
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V39tuVjL6nA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V39tuVjL6nA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V39tuVjL6nA
>> Anonymous
put a rat trap in its cage.
>> Anonymous
keep petting the rat, anon. I could pet it with my thumb while we walked along.

Ever' six weeeks or so,' George continued, 'them does would throw a litter, so we'd have plenty of rabbits to eat an' to sell. An' we'd keep a few pigeons to go flyin' around the win'mill like they done when I was a kid.' He looked gingerly at the wall over Lennie's head. "An' it'd be our own, an' nobody could can us. If we don't like a guy, we can say: "Gedt the hell out," an' by God he's got to do it. An' if a fren' come a long, why we'd have an extra bunk, an' we'd say: "Why don't you spen' the night," an' by God he would. We'd have a setter dog and a couple stripe cats, but you gotta watch out them cats don't get the little rabbits.'
>> Bitter Anon !!WJLRQ1cwCyZ
>>130684
Is this some kind of machine code?
>> Anonymous
>>130639
He sure is enjoying it
>> Anonymous
>>130636
>>130629


Actually, I had a hamster once who had babies, she was a good mum but after her daughter grew up, her daughter ate her. :(

I will never get another hamster again.

as for the OP:


get it a girlfriend before he croaks. Sounds like your rat needs to get laid.
>> Anonymous
>>130629

Hedgehogs aren't rodents, fuckface.

Mother cats are known to eat their own young when they die (for nutrients), and tom cats regularly kill kittens and may even devour them (for reproductive purposes). FYI, I have bred and raised over three hundred rats in my lifetime and have not once witnessed an act (or the aftermath of an act) of cannibalism. Never. Not saying it doesn't happen, but it's not any more common among rats, gerbils, and guinea pigs than in any other non-rodent animals.

Incest? Sure. Welcome to being an animal. All animals fuck relatives when there aren't any other choices available.
>> Anonymous
>>130512
If you hate rodents, then gtfo the rodent thread. In case you don't know how to do an emergency exit, the red x is located in the upper right hand corner of the window. Stfu and have a shitty day ^_^
>> Anonymous
I wonder if I could keep a nutria as a pet.
>> Anonymous
>>131179
>>131301

read
>>131117
>> Anonymous
>>131606

Hamsters are not rodents. They are demonic entities. There is a difference.
>> Anonymous
If he doesn't immediately bite your hand when you stick it in his cage, put some treats on the middle of it and hold it there while he eats. Eventually he will be curious about your hand and paw it and the like. Don't move it. After about a week, or if he gets bold or bored with that, with one finger pet his back, move to his head if he doesn't mind. Slowly increase amount of fingers. Scratch his ears. Don't try to pick him up or restrain him until he climbs fully onto your arm on his own. When you first try to pick him up be very slow about it, getting your hand underneath him and then lifting. If he stays on your hand for any length of time give him a treat. Repeat.

This is how I trained a wild deer mouse. Time consuming, but rewarding when he started to snuggle me on my shoulder. lol.
>> bloodmunnie
>>130393
It's 2½ yrs to 3.

3 human years = 90 in rat years.

I just lost one of my 3yr old rats recently.. ;\