rats and scratching

Question
I've noticed that my rat scratches people in the eye. While on the shoulder he smells the face, and works his way to the eye, and then if he gets the chance, he'll scratch it.He's never gotten the actual eye ball of anyone he's scratched, its usually the eyelid. But its happened twice, and its becoming more frequent. Can you tell me why he's doing this, how i can stop this from happening, and how i can teach him to stop?

Answer
It's interesting that you ask that because I've had similar experiences with my little monkeys. Is he really scratching (moving his hand back and forth) or grabbing? There's a big difference and my rats usually "grab" my face. To be honest I think parts of our bodies just have more distinct or interesting smells and they dig to get more information. Just like they would in the wild. I'm not sure it's something that you can really train, but you should check out www.ratsahoy.com for a second opinion. They are one of the best pet rat forums out there and I personally know some of them.

Good luck!
:]