A friend of a friend said that they had a wild rat in their house and one night they woke to feel the rat paw their face. They swear it is true but I don't believe it for a minute. Has anybody experienced this ever?
2007-02-09 04:56:34 · 15 answers · asked by spanishkitties 1 in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
ok, people need to do some research before posting bull crap like "They go for the throat". They aren't dogs people!
A wild rat will bite when cornered because they are scared. If you got bit by a wild rat, it's YOUR fault! You terrified the poor thing, expected it to be tame, and put yourself in it's territory. You should NOT be trying to keep wild animals as pets and this includes wild rats, mice and other rodents!
I don't think it's possible, rats are very smart, and will not come near humans, if they do however, it is possible that they might have been pets at one time, of the "wild colour" (agouti), and were released into the wild. If a wild rat comes towards you, chances are it's sick, or it's not wild at all.
Chances are also that it wasn't rats, but mice your friend saw, people often times mistake the two, especially in the dark.
2007-02-09 07:34:05 · answer #1 · answered by Sapphire 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The general belief is a fancy rat will run towards a human whereas a wild rat will run away from a human. Wild rats are frightened of us whereas fancy rats are not. If you are wondering how a fancy rat managed to find its way into your friends house, that is not unheard of. Many people buy domesticated fancy rats and then, when they decide they don't want them anymore, release them into the wild thinking they will be OK. Fancy rats are domesticated and need the assistance of humans. Fancy rats that have been released in the wild will often be found wandering around peoples yards and front doors and can even get inside a building. Perhaps this is what happened to your friend. Also, their colour is an indication as fancy rats come in all sorts of patterns and colours whereas wild rats are usually solid grey or solid brown. Another thing to look for is the ears. If its ears are perked up, it is most likely a fancy rat. If the ears are flat behind the head, it is most likely a wild rat. I could maybe see a wild rat approaching your friends face if she was fast asleep and had the smell of food on her breath or her lips.
2007-02-09 06:00:47 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
If the person is asleep, this is possible, especially if there were remnants of food on the person's mouth. I know somebody who said a mouse ran across her when she was sleeping (or almost asleep).
A wild rat or mouse would not come near a person that is awake, unless he/she was very still for a long time.
I have heard that sometimes, when a child goes to bed with food on his/her face, a rat will come and try to eat it, and bite the child in the process. I don't know anybody that this happened to, but I think it is possible, due to my experience with pet rats.
Once I put my hand into a cage of petstore rats that had not been socialized yet. They started nipping at my hand; not in an aggressive way, but as if they thought it was food. I realized that their experience with the human hand was only that when it came in, food appeared. Since I didn't put any food in, they thought my hand was food. They would get over this very quickly with a little handling, I know. Most pet rats never bite. This experience causes me to believe that a wild rat could bite a person in their sleep, not realizing what it was doing.
2007-02-09 07:34:29 · answer #3 · answered by The First Dragon 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Never experienced it from a wild rat but have from my pet rats. Rats are very intelligent and so maybe it was just being curious?
2007-02-09 10:21:02 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Oh you bet! Rats are slightly different than mice... yes they too will come out when the house is quiet-but the difference is the rats curiosity! They almost can't help themselves (and they're not that bright either). The reason the mouth would be of interest to the rat, is the smell. Like most animals, they are on the lookout for food and use their noses to explore different smells. Gross, hey?
2007-02-09 05:18:50 · answer #5 · answered by The Grand Inquisitor 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Wild rats are just mean little suckers. I love rats, and have had several as pets. Only once did I have a wild rat and it bit me with no provocation. That is just what they do when they feel threatened and have no human experience. She only trusted my other rat, who was a sweet heart.
Wild rats in my experience will stay away from humans, if they come close to you or bite you, it was not their intent. They just misjudged and did their best to get the hell away from you.
2007-02-09 05:11:20 · answer #6 · answered by Xterra04 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Possible......Normaly a rat will look as if it going for the face but in fact rats see in shadows...What they look for when they jump is a non dark shadow and a way out.......Rats are curios by nature and will investigate people....If your friend was asleep then it is possible that this would happen.......
2007-02-09 05:05:27 · answer #7 · answered by GRANDMA 3 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Rats are curious creatures and if a person was asleep they would be likely to explore over the bed and tread on their face as they would not feel threatened. If the person was awake and watching them the rat is unlikey to walk on your face unless it didn't realise, or was trying to escape.
2007-02-09 05:07:40 · answer #8 · answered by quarktard 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
When I was little and we lived in the country, i did not know it but we had rats too. I was asleep on the floor and i felt something crawling on my stomach when i opened my eyes there was this huge rat in my face. There was also one beside me. Yeah it can happen.
2007-02-09 05:35:39 · answer #9 · answered by laughalot 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
A rat or any other rodent will know when you are lying still or sleeping thats when they come out i.e. when the room is quiet for more than 5 mins, Oh and a cornered rodent will jump for your throat to bite you if it feels it has no other way out.
2007-02-09 05:07:27 · answer #10 · answered by joker5_50 1 · 0⤊ 4⤋