RAT Biting Behaviour - ATWITSEND

Question
Hi, I have 3 rats which I have had since October.

I'll explain the situation before the problem btw

1, a hooded female was left in a cage surrounded by birds. this made her VERY skittish but friendly with people.

2. two females, one pink eye hooded and one albino pink eye hooded, who I'd found to pair with the single rat. I'd been told in the pet store that they had had a bit of a rough start, as kids had been poking them, throwing food in the cage etc.

Out of the two, the pink eyed hooded rat, is calm, friendly adventurous and no trouble at all.

the Albino pink has very bad eye sight, and has been biting me since I got her. I can't touch or pick her up. I sought advice on a few rat forums, and took her through a process these last few months where I let them out, and encourage her to me. She test bites a LOT, but seemed to improve, as I showed her my hands, she'd bite the fingers a little, walk on my lap and explore me. I'd get them pee-bobbing and sit by them and everything seemed a little better.

She gets very aggressive when I clean the cage out, rushing at me if I'm tying things on the cage. I move her by coaxing her into a rat igloo and then moving it to the floor where the others are, but moments later she'll be back on the cage perching in the corner away from me until I start working on the cage again. whereas the other two get momentarily scared and then inquisitive, she is immediate with her aggression during this which I can understand to a point.
She is the biggest one, and eats most of the food, nests etc, I'm not sure if she's most dominant.

Yesterday I was cleaning the cage out, and she was in a cornflakes box on the top, I coaxed her out of that gently, then popped it in the cage, and she started to come towards me, I offered my hand, she test bit and then bit me, to which I said 'no' which was a silly thing really, and then stupidly offered my right hand, and she bite through that hard. I have major bruising to my index finger cut etc almost like she bit to the bone.

I asked a member of staff at a vets a the back of a huge pet store, and they said the best thing is to get her spade.

I removed her from the cage with the other two and set her up in her own, as I can't take her to university next week, my mum has agreed to see if she can get her more comfortable with people in an atmosphere that isn't laden with the other two's hormones.

I was wondering what can be done? Would spaying help? Its getting to the point where I have researched and researched and tried to get her familiar. I haven't always been confident, but that is because I have been bitten so many times, and in this instance there was no clear reason for why she did that other than personal territory?

I don't want her separated, and I am happy that if she is spayed and her behavior improves then I'll pop her back with the others, but as where I am going to they will not have a huge room to roam around in that's just there's, I don't really know what else to do.

If spaying is the solution, then I need to get her into a carry case, which is also another issue.

Any help you can give would be great, as I have been trying everything, food tempt, no food, food only in the bowl, group activities (lol), waiting for her to come to me, letting her explore around me etc and I refuse to be bitten anymore as I have to clean there cage, and it would be nice to pick her up as I do the others and let her explore the house.

Harriet

Answer
Spaying does nothing for aggression in females. Sounds like you have a very nervous little rat that is very territorial. I am going to assume she doesnt bite the other rats just you? Does she ever lunge and attack you?  I have also been bitten a trillion times, the worst was the four giant lab rats, all males, that were poked and probed their entire life and understandingly so, they hated humans and hated my hands near them.  Only when they became elderly and sickly did they want my attention, which was heartwarming for me because I was glad to at least comfort them when they were older and they finally learned to accept love from a human before they passed away.  With rats that do not come from a reputable breeder its hard to know their genetics and this rat may just be, pardon the pun, a bad egg. lol. As you were told by the pet store, they had a bad start, so who knows where they came from and how inbred they are from the get go.

Let me ask...what is play time out of the cage like? Where do they go? Where do they play and roam around etc...?   

Does this rat ever have the chance to get out of the cage and with you sitting on the floor, have the chance to come to you on her own?  I am asking this so I can get a better idea of their life style and play time out etc.... some people let their rats roam on a table or a couch, which I wish they didnt do that, and instead, let them have their own rat safe area to roam around where they can feel secure.  SHe doesnt seem to feel secure.  Also just to let you know, all rats have bad vision.  If they were human they would be legally blind. Any rat with pink or ruby eyes have even worse vision than dark eyed rats, but all in all, both of your pink and red eyed rats have lousy vision so I do not think that the other rat is biting because she cant see.  Another reason is because rats do not depend on their vision and instead, they depend more on sound and vibration.  They often sway their head from side to side in order to get a better perception on the distance of an object, but some rat sites may say that they do this because they are blind  (many rat related websites have good intentions but are often inaccurate with information, often copying information from one site and using it on another, which is how bad advice is spread in the first place)  Please see my website, sandyscrittercity.com.   I had a real biter once named Holly. She was a wild rat that was a real demon and I was damned and determined to get her straight.  It took about a week but she learned fast how to trust me. She never had a cagemate though always wanting to fight the other rats in the rat room. She was a little turd at just 300 grams her entire life but that little rat lived to be close to 4 years old and was a real sweetie to humans once I trust trained her.  Her problem was simply that she was wild and scared and I had to teach her it was ok, but your girl seems to be the dominate one that watches over the cage making sure all is well.  Do you keep food down at all times for them?  I advise that people keep a dry mix of food down at all times because rats never over eat. They would rather hoard it if they fear that the bowl will go empty but when they realize food is always going to be there they stop hoarding.  let me know.  Oh and even though I say not to use gloves, in some cases a good pair of rose pruning gloves never hurt to keep around, esp for cage cleaning.