bites

Question
one of my girls (about 6 months old) bit me very hard, through my fingernail, she is housed with 2 of her sisters, the have nibbled but never this.  I cleaned their cage about 1.5 hrs prior, they had food,water & frozen peas.Afriend had ust brought over a baby she is giving me & I had been holding her. My daughter put her finger in & Lola bit her first-I reached in to get her to reassure my daughter it was an accident & Lola chomped down & wouldnt let go for about 5 sec(seemed like more) lots of pain & blood. I'm a nurse & treated the both of us humans. My daughter is terrified of Lola(me too) She has'nt been sleeping with her sisters lately but just yesterday she was sitting on my shoulder. She has no obvious s/s illness.
Is this unusual- I have been reading alot on them for abut 1 year & I always hear it is very unusual. The girls came from a breeder in NY.  Just to be safe we started Penicillin 500 mg 4x day x 10 days.
Any suggestions?  Thank you, Allie

Answer
OUCH!!!! Rat bites hurt. I'm so sorry you and your daughter were bitten, that is never any fun.

It may have been Lola reacting to the new smell (the baby), as rats have horrible eye sight and usually base most of their actions on smell and touch. She may have mistaken the two of you for that rat -- either way its unacceptable, but even so, its an idea.

Did either of you smell like food, had you been eating previously? Sometimes my rats go a little hogwild and try to nail me when I smell like a favorite human treat of theirs.. again... not the greatest eyesight.

If she continues to act aggressive, I'd take her to the vet and have her looked over. It could be a physical ailment.

:( I'm sorry! I hope you guys feel better soon.