To ask the breeder to take the rats back?

[LuluLovesFruitcakes]

Got pet rats from a local private breeder, only wanted two, got talked into taking 4. That was fine. I've had scores of rats before, no bother.

DS is 4 and being assessed for ASD. He loves furries and the rats have - in some way - been good for him. They were advertised as being "silly tame" and handled from birth and appeared very happy and docile when we viewed.

However, he will not listen when I say not to put his fingers through the bars. Which resulted in a very bad bite this morning. Blood everywhere.
I'm under no illusions here - it was absolutely DS fault he got bit!
The biter was one of two that keep fighting - both have bitten me a few times when I've put my hand in the door to feed them, clean them, move their poop, stand their litter box up, hang toys etc.

AIBU to consider contacting the breeder and asking her to take back (at least one of) the two that keep fighting & biting?
(I wouldn't ask for my money back at all, am not remotely bothered about that.)

[OurBlanche]

If you get any argument you quote the best rodent vet I ever had "I want a pet, not a threat" Good breeders take biters back and amend their breeding lines.

A good friend recalled 2 whole litters of her much prized 'blues' because a specific buck/doe combination seemed to include biters. She refused to send any of them out to anyone she thought might breed from them, so I ended up with a cage full of posh matties for a while

We found homes for them all, I only had to keep 4. There are a lot of experienced owners who will take biters and Rat Rescue would also be my best advice if the breeder doesn't step up!

Good luck.

[LuluLovesFruitcakes]

Breeder has said she will take them, she doesn't seem happy about it and is being very vague about how to arrange for me to return them...

I'm not on Facebook so I'm not too sure what I'll really do if she doesn't get back to me about returning them.

Feel awful about sending them back, and it's going to break my little boys heart, but I just can't risk keeping biters. I've kept a similar number in a similar sized cage before and have honestly never had this problem, it's not a small cage - have put its dimensions into the calculator posted above and it says it "hold up to 4 rats if the space is used wisely". So they're not cramped for space - they're just not happy for some reason :(

[Magicpaintbrush]

That's pretty unusual for a rat to bite. I've had 10 rats over the years and only one ever bit anyone, and he had a really unusual personality. If don't feel you can trust them around your child they may be better off in a home with just adult owners.

[OurBlanche]

Push for her to take them back. If not have a look for your local rat rescue place (almost everywhere has a small, local rat passionate group) and let them take the biters.

I have had matties since the 1980s, very few years without having 2 - 4 in the house. I have had 2 biters. Back in the 90s the vet took care of her, that being the only remedy available at that time. In about 2008 I passed my 2nd biter on to a friend who had a couple of other biters from the same breeder.

That is how rare it is to find a biter. The natural friendliness of them means even those bred in hordes, small boxes, sold on by the hundreds, are unlikely to bite!

Don't feel bad, you did nothing wrong.