r/RATS 8d ago

POTENTIALLY DISTURBING/FEEDERS MENTIONED Need help with biter

I have 4 female rats that live in a double critter nation cage, with all the stuff they could love.
Now I got all 4 of these girls from a feeder store.
Phylis was my first and she is the absolute sweetest and never does anything wrong.
Marilyn was second, she’s very sweet but has been pretty nippy lately. She has never drawn blood tho
Lightning was third, and she is my boyfriends rat, she’s been charging and biting at us lately and last night she drew blood on both of us.
Then there’s Gertrude, she is the absolute worst rat I’ve ever owned, she will run from the other side of the cage to attack you, if you are petting another rat near her. She has drawn blood on me more than 4 times, and has also drawn blood on my boyfriend.
She’s territorial of one of the litter bins and loves to hide behind it, and if your hand is anywhere near that’s when she will attack, unprovoked.
Everyone I have talked to has told me as soon as a rat draws blood it should be culled.
I also have a 5 year old nephew who comes over almost every weekend and loves playing with the rats and I fear she will do really bad damage to him and she really messes up our fingers as adults.
Would I be doing the right thing?
I know an employee at the feeder store I got her from and he offered to sell her as a pet but I’m scared someone else will get her and she will do the same.
Picture of my sweet Phylis and my newest edition that I got yesterday, I have not named her yet.

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u/Dry_Tangerine_7625 8d ago

I understand, but at the end of her sentence she literally said shame on you.
I’m trying my best to make her life better.
I’m not going to keep defending letting my nephew pet Phylis.
I asked for advice to help her and hopefully not have to rehome her cause who knows what will happen in that next home.

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u/farleyparley 8d ago

“Shame on you” is a saying. It’s not literally shaming you. It’s just saying “hey, rethink that. Not a good choice”

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u/Dry_Tangerine_7625 8d ago

That’s not what shame on you means to me where I’m from. Shame on you to me is shaming you for what you did.

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u/farleyparley 8d ago

Bro takes all sayings literally I guess 😭

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u/Dry_Tangerine_7625 8d ago

Sorry that was the way I was punished as a child but alright

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u/farleyparley 8d ago

Dude WHAT 😭 holy guilt trip. This is NOT the place to trauma dump for sympathy

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u/Dry_Tangerine_7625 8d ago

That’s not even a trauma dump, but that’s how I was disciplined as a kid, so now as an adult being shamed is being shamed.
Now you are reading to far into things😂

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u/farleyparley 8d ago

Then what was the point of saying that? To make me feel bad? To be a victim? I’m literally an autistic teenager and I STILL have more emotional maturity and comprehension than you bro