Mean rat

Question
Hello!
I bought a small female rat at the pet store a few weeks ago and she is very unfriendly. Every time I put my fingers anywhere near her cage she bites out of aggression and not out of fear. I made her a play fence but she does not seem interested in coming out of her cage. I just want to be able to hold her without being bitten! Is there any hope?

Answer
I say this all the time, but this is one of the many problems with buying a rat at a pet store rather than adopting from a breeder.  The pet stores do not socialize the rats, whereas a good breeder will handle their rats daily from the day they are born.  Also, pet stores don't choose their rats based on their health and temperment...a good breeder won't even breed a rat whose temperment is not good.  

But enough of my preaching.  The good news is that YES there is hope.  And I would still bet that the biting is due to fear, but manifests itself as aggression, such as a snake lunging to bite an enemy...it is a natural instinct.  You wouldn't say the snake is evil...it is just her nature.  Same with any animal.  

Be prepared however that this will take a lot of time and patience on your part to work through what's called "trust training".  It's not a guarantee that your rat can be trust trained, but I would say if you're willing to put in the time and effort, the chances are very good.  

Although, I personally have never had to trust train any of my rats, I know of people who have successfully done so.

I'm going to direct you to a good article on a trusted website which details step by step what you should do to train your girl --> http://www.ratforum.com/showthread.php?39776-Timid-or-Aggressive-Rat-Trust-Train

Lots of luck to you.  If you are successful, it will be well worth the hard work you put in.  I'd love to hear how it goes.

PS - Just a side note (and maybe more preaching) but once you have the trust of this rat, you should seriously consider a female companion for her as rats are extremely social and you can't be there there the majority of the time.  In fact, breeders will never adopt out a single rat...they also have to go to a new home in same-sex pairs.