Viscious Foster Rat (Female, 1 yr)

Question
Hi, I read an article about how to train a scared or biting rat.  I still have questions.

A couple nights ago, I adopted a small female rat, approximately 250 grams (small) aand 1 yr in age.  I was warned that she became hostile towards humans after her sister/cage-mate passed away last Sunday, but only when she is inside her cage, i.e territorial behavior.  When I first picked her up, I was able to handle her just fine at her foster home, but I think that is because she was in a familiar environment and the handler is .. well ... experienced with rats and super nurturing.

To give you a bit of a background, her sister did this thing called 'barbering'; the rat was groomed to a point where she now has several bald spots.  All we know about them is they are from San Francisco, nothing about their past.  That and her sister died under mysterious circumstances overnight.  BTW she was quaratined and lab results indicate she is not sick with anything.

Anyways, the purpose of me contacting you is I'm really scared to handle her, and I am nearly positive she picks up my negative energies.  Truth of the matter, the rat has bit me so badly, she has torn my flesh to the point of massive amounts of bleeding on four occasions now. She is like a venomous snake, my hand goes near her and she strikes! She even hisses like a snake. I'm petrified, and this is in and outside of enclosed areas.

Is it okay to handle rats with gloves? Does this defeat the purpose of trying to 'tame the beast'?  Does she need to get used to the scent of my hand?  What if I used a glove and got her used to running around my body (she only strikes at my hands so far), then started handling her without gloves.  I think I have more of an issue trusting her than she does me!

Important to note, she has an appointment to get spade fairly soon now ... should this alleviate most of her aggression? All of it?  

One final thing, I made the mistake of introducing her to her new cage mate two nights back upon first introducing her to my home. I thought she was okay to meet her new cage-mate ASAP so the two could live happily ever after.  I assumed this was okay because the rat had been paired with another female shortly after her sister's death.  When I introduced the two, this proved to be a disaster as she hissed then attacked my rat, then ran to my bathroom area and has been hiding in a small hole under the sink since.  I was an idiot, I should have taken things more slowly.  I've fenced this area off, been a couple days now, she is slowly starting to come out of the hole.  I should be able to catch her within a day or two and put her in an actual cage.


Any suggestions? I figure you are going to tell me to simply cage her, then use the tactics in that online website regarding training aggressive rats (linked on this Site).  I am curious about glove though ...

Thanks so much!

Answer
Hi Missko

You must have been on my website reading about trust training?  I have gone through this many times, with a little wild rat that was once named "Jaws", "chomps" and "little killer".  Holly was her name and at just 11 weeks old, she was a terrified wild rat that was ready to attack in an instant. Determined to win her over and domesticate her, I worked with her daily with trust training her, like I had described on my website. I also had four adult lab rats that were scared of humans after being used at a vet school. They were used for students to practice cutting incisions etc...and had scars to prove it.  They hated my guts and I didnt blame them one bit.   I have nerve damage in my right index finger to prove how much they were scared of me.
That said, have faith that even the most terrified rat can be won over, some more than others, and some may take longer than others.

You asked about gloves but you were right the first time. This defeats the purpose. Not only does it show to the rat you dont trust her, but she will not be able to pick up your scent and never get used to it. Not being able to tell what you are by scent is confusing to a rat and will make her withdraw more.  My advice is, if she attacks you simply for reaching in the cage to get her food dish to add more food to her bowl (you should always allow rats to self feed anyhow as this shows them there is always going to be food for her) wear gloves for this reason, but otherwise, like you said, no gloves.
Also, when she attacked the other rat, how did you introduce them?  Let me know and we can work with her together one step at a time!  It will be worth it in the long run