My rat is suddenly starting to nip at me...

Question
Hey there. I've looked over pages upon pages on line and I can't seem to find the answer. I've had my rat for about 3 months now and he's great. He comes out in the mornings and plays and all through the day he plays in his cage and I will pop in from time to time to play with him. When I pick him up and handle him he's fine. Recently I switched his cage to a bigger one with tons more toys and stuff in it. Now when I stick my hand in there to pick him up he will run all over the place and nip at me. He's not biting hard enough to draw blood so I guess my question is. Is he warning me about something or is this his way of playing with me? When I have him out of the cage and feed him in my hands I can pet him. But when he's in his cage and he's eating and I try to pet him he will nip at me too.. Where is the sudden nipping coming from?

Thank you,
Christina


Answer

Rats from the past: Mo Hi

Just a few things first:

How old is he?

Does he live alone and if not, how many other


males does he share his cage with?


Sounds like he is close to puberty for starters, and has also become territorial with his cage. If he is  alone, this may explain why he is using you to assure himself he is alpha male. I have found over the years rats that live alone tend to be a bit more neurotic in ways since they are very social animals,living in large colonies in the wild, they are meant to be with other rats and not solo. If he does live with other rats, how do they get along?

Anyhow, let me know the few things above so we can figure out what the little boys problem may be!