What do you do if your pet rat bites you?

How are rat bites treated? If you have a rat bite, wash the area with warm water and soap as soon as possible. Dry the area with a clean towel and apply an antibiotic ointment. Cover with a clean bandage.

Does a pet rat bite hurt?

The common symptoms of a rat bite are pain, redness, swelling around the bite and, if secondary infection occurs, a weeping, pus-filled wound. Other rat bite symptoms may include those associated with bacterial infections known as streptobacillary rat bite fever and spirillary rat bite fever.

Why does my pet rat gently bite me?

Rats play-fight a lot. If he bites fingers pushed through the bars, he thinks the fingers are treats. Gentle nibbling which doesn’t hurt in the least is not going to turn into biting. Your rat is just being inquisitive, trying to catch your attention or showing affection, and you do not need to do anything.

Why does my rat keep attacking me?

Aggressive Biting It is more common where rats are going through a lot of changes in hierarchy or environment so the rat in question is feeling unsettled or under threat. It can also be repeated or the rat may attempt to hold on (which can actually cause the main damage as the instinct is to pull back).

What happens if you get bit by a rat?

If you do get bitten by a rat, the main concern is developing an infection. One such infection is known as rat-bite fever (RBF), which can be transmitted either through an infected rat’s bite or scratch or by simply handling a rat with the disease.

What should you do if your pet rat bites you?

Pet rats don’t carry a lot of diseases as everyone says so about wild rats, especially ones that transmit to humans. If your pet rat is healthy, you should be fine. Of course, if you do get bitten and it draws blood, clean the wound as you would with any other.

Who is the best doctor for rat bites?

Michael Menna, DO, is a board-certified, active attending emergency medicine physician at White Plains Hospital in White Plains, New York. Before we get into treating a rat bite, for prevention, remember that the best thing to do is to stay safe when a rat is near you.

How long does it take for a rat bite to heal?

Symptoms of rat-bite fever usually appear three to 10 days after the exposure or a bite but may occur up to three weeks later. In most cases, the actual bite or scratch wound is healed by the time the fever starts.