My rat is acting strange...

Question
Hi, my name is Claire, and I got a new pet rat after my first one died. My first rat was an amazing pet, she was everything I wanted, and that compelled me to get another one. I got Blossom (my 2nd) about 3 months ago from a rat breeder in the downtown area. The breeders acted like very nice people, they had kids who played with the rat from birth. Olive (my 1st) was from a petstore. We imagined that since Olive was great and from a store, that Blossom would be even BETTER. We were wrong. When I stick my nose in her cage, she always bites it. When I have her out to play with her and another human walks by, she runs so no one can see her. She won't stay still for a second, and the only thing she will come to you for is a yogi treat, she bites you if it is anything else. She is also losing fur, when you pet her down her back, a couple hairs come out. Is there some way that these problems can be fixed?

Thank you!

Answer
Unfortunately not every rat breeder is a reputable one.  Many claim to be rat breeders but are non too serious about what they do.  In fact, some people buy pet store rats and breed them and thats that.  They think they are breeders.  There are so many things to know in order to properly breed and I cant even begin to tell you anything about genetics and what rat makes what.  All I know is a good breeder knows all about the health of the rats they use to breed with, knowing about the parents, grand parents and so on.  They keep track of the babies they sell.  My breeder asks us to contact him to let him know if anything happens, such as biting, aggression, even illness.  If there is a pattern of biting etc...he will not use those rats to breed with again.  See the pattern?  A breeder breeds to make healthy rats with a good disposition.  
I have to ask, how old were the children that carried around the rat you adopted? Sometimes if the rat is mishandled they tend to be shy of people, esp strangers. Did you see the room where the rats were kept? Was the place clean? Were the cages over crowded?  Were the rats fed properly and not given the garbage commercial seed mixes pet stores sell that are simply not even fit for a bird let alone rats to eat?  These are things to consider when dealing with a breeder.  Anyone can say they are a rat breeder. It takes one male and one female rat and thats it.....or so some people think.

That said, it seems you have a shy rat on your hands but dont worry, she can be taught to trust with patience and a little bit of time.  Check out my  website, Sandyscrittercity.com and refer to the page on training biting or scared rats.  
Once you set up the proper play area that is safe and secure for her to play in, you can begin the trust training, which consits of allowing her to make the first move when she is ready to trust you.

I bought three four boys from a so called breeder several years back.  Two of them were so aggressive they tore each other apart in the cage on their way home to my house the first day I had them. One of them had two tumors on his chest the breeder told me was scar tissue from two old abscesses.  She forgot who she was dealing with I guess, but she did not fool me for a second.  I had to neuter the two out of the four and have the two tumors removed while the second one was being neutered. The bill was $500.  This was the third day I had them too! I sent her the bill. I knew of course she would not honor it but I wanted her to know I was no fool.  I put her right out of business on the spot. I was not shy about spreading the word that she has no business breeding rats and should maybe have pet rocks for pets instead. She also had children that played with the rats. I think they were tossed like rag dolls which is what made them nasty.  The other two were fine, but sickly before their time.

Anyhow, dont give up on  this little girl. She really should have a cagemate though, but if you want to consider it, I would not wait to long before getting her a friend so its easy to introduce them while she is  young enough and not set in her ways as the solo rat.