Bitey Rats

The adorable Charmin, from Rat Balls, showing off his chompers

I'm grateful that I've never really had to deal with a bitey rat (yet). Aside from the occasional nip from an over-excited treat retrieval, I don't think Potato and Goma have ever really bitten anyone; they've always been pretty good about pulling back when necessary.

As you can see from these links, not everyone has been as lucky as me.

If you have had issues with your rats biting, there could be a number of reasons for it. The big one, of course, is due to fear or surprise. If you try to pick up a young rat who isn't used to being picked up - or to you - there's a good chance he'll nip you since he doesn't know what's going on. The same goes for surprising a rat who doesn't realize you're there. I've surprised my boys more than once, so I'm lucky that they're pretty chill most of the time. If one of your rats tends toward biting, there are some good suggestions for why, and suggestions for overcoming these issues, here and here. There are also some useful responses in the above links, too.