Eddie is a failed foster....which means I adopted him rather than fostering and returning to CCRR so that he could be put back up for adoption. Here is Eddie's story (I hope I don't leave anything out)
Staci rescued Eddie from a solitary life in a VERY small cage. I came to have Eddie when I agreed to transport Eddie to Wichita (a couple of hours from me) for a woman to adopt. Long story short, the adoption fell through and since I also live a couple of hours drive from staci, I would foster Eddie until he was adopted or we could get back together.
Eddie had not been able to live with any other male rats and when he first came to me, he was VERY cage aggressive. He would lunge at the bars of the cage when ever anyone walked near. To be honest with you, I was kind of scared of him as Staci said that Eddie had bitten through leather gloves. Since I was not going to be keeping him I just kind of let him be...provided food and water and gently talked to him whenever I was near the cage. I also would drop in some yogurt drops now and again. I provided him a larger cage and boy was that a trick to get him into there without biting!!...but he HAD to have some more room than the teeny tiny cage that came with him.
After the adoption fell through, Staci and I talked and we agreed that the only hope Eddie had of a happy rattie life was to be neutered and hopefully then be able to live with some other ratties. Before Eddie could be neutered, he had to first overcome a respiratory infection. I got some baytril from my vet and flavored it with cherry sno-cone flavoring and he LOVED LOVED LOVED it. It would be his twice daily treat. He now lived in my office/sewing room and he would get so excited when I walked into the room..no more lunging at the bars, just running to the bars to hopefully get a treat. Sometime during his treatment (and right after being nebulized--I think he was angry with me), he bit me hard when I was trying to give him a yogurt drop. He sniffed past the drop and bit down hard and didn't want to let up. I ended up with a small amount of nerve damage in the tip of my right index finger but its OK...sensation is slowly coming back and it never got infected. That afternoon I went out and bought some welders gloves (long lined leather gloves)...he was NOT going to get me again. I will also admit at this time, I wondered if neutering was going to be enough to turn this little guy around enough to live and interact with other rats and humans. I have to state though that I was committed to giving this guy a shot at a good life though and would try the neuter before coming to conclusions.
The morning of the neutering, I reached (yes, reached...no gloves) into Eddie's cage and nabbed him up and put him in the hospital cage. Stupid me, I had forgotten to put some paper towels down at the bottom of the hospital cage! I reached in the small cage, grabbed Eddie and put him back into the larger cage. he seemed to be OK with that, so I lined the hospital cage and again reached into the larger cage and just picked him up and transferred him again to the hospital cage.....was he trusting me?...or was I just getting brave and quick at picking him up? I warned everyone at the vet's office about this guy...didn't want anyone else getting bit by him.
While Eddie was at the vet's, I had figured out that I had become attached to the little guy and wanted to keep him whether the neuter helped or not. He was such an attentive listener and would sit and watch me sew for hours. He no longer tried to bite me when I gave him yogurt drops or reached into the cage to clean up some or give more blocks.
The neutering went well and they said he tried to nip at them once when they reached into the cage but otherwise not bad. I brought him home and put him back in his regular cage without problems. A little pain that night that Ibuprofen took care of and he was on his way to healing without complications. After two weeks, Eddie got to interact some with our spayed girl, Snickers. They seemed to get along fine. They moved into a Martins 695 that I had bought specifically for Eddie at that time. After a couple of weeks living with Snickers, I introduced Nibbles and again he did great. In fact I wouldn't say he was aggressive at all with them...he knew who was boss and it wasn't him!!!
During this time, my 19 yr old son, Jordan, was having problems trusting Eddie enough to reach in the cage and pick him up. He had started to give him treats and would hold him after I took him out of the cage but was still hesitant. I decided to give Eddie a shot at living in the FN with all 7 of the other girls in our home. Jordan was not happy with him going into the FN as he was afraid he would reach into the cage for one of the girls and get bit by Eddie. This was NOT to be case. Jordan now picks Eddie up all the time, gives him treats from his mouth, and Eddie even gives us kisses!!! Jordan just said the other day that he loves the big lug!!
I would never had believed that such an aggressive rat could make such a drastic change. He has taught me so much about rat behavior and trusting and also the importance neutering can make in a rats life!! He now is just one of the gang. I find him frequently snuggled in a small hammock with anywhere from one to 2 other rats. The girl that he seems to have bonded with the most is our bitey girl. Hopefully he is telling her that she can trust us!!! I hope this story helps others that might be having problems with an aggressive male. This is why I think this story had a happy ending in this situation: 1. No other male hormones to compete with when he came to live with us...we only have girls. 2. I was not keeping him permantly at first so I didn't try to pick him up or rush things....just talked to him a lot and provided for his basic needs as well as some yummy treats. He saw me and heard my voice often before I ever tried to pick him up. 3. The neutering did the most in changing his attitude and the ability to live with other rats.
Written by: ToniVan
Update 11-23-07: My sweet Eddie Spaghetti has crossed over to the rainbow bridge today. He was in my arms when he crossed. He had been ill with a respiratory infection/pneumonia. He fought hard to stay her with us and his harem of girls. Eddie lived a very pampered life with my son and I and his harem of girls. I had fallen in love with him even before he quit biting...even after he bit me and bit me hard. He caused a small area of nerve damage on my index finger with that bite and I will forever think fondly of him when I look at what I now call my "eddie" finger.
Two videos taken of Eddie while he was still at the rescue showing how worked up he would get just by being near his cage: Part One and Part Two
Eddie is a failed foster....which means I adopted him rather than fostering and returning to CCRR so that he could be put back up for adoption. Here is Eddie's story (I hope I don't leave anything out)
Staci rescued Eddie from a solitary life in a VERY small cage. I came to have Eddie when I agreed to transport Eddie to Wichita (a couple of hours from me) for a woman to adopt. Long story short, the adoption fell through and since I also live a couple of hours drive from staci, I would foster Eddie until he was adopted or we could get back together. 
After the adoption fell through, Staci and I talked and we agreed that the only hope Eddie had of a happy rattie life was to be neutered and hopefully then be able to live with some other ratties. Before Eddie could be neutered, he had to first overcome a respiratory infection. I got some baytril from my vet and flavored it with cherry sno-cone flavoring and he LOVED LOVED LOVED it. It would be his twice daily treat. He now lived in my office/sewing room and he would get so excited when I walked into the room..no more lunging at the bars, just running to the bars to hopefully get a treat. Sometime during his treatment (and right after being nebulized--I think he was angry with me), he bit me hard when I was trying to give him a yogurt drop. He sniffed past the drop and bit down hard and didn't want to let up. I ended up with a small amount of nerve damage in the tip of my right index finger but its OK...sensation is slowly coming back and it never got infected. That afternoon I went out and bought some welders gloves (long lined leather gloves)...he was NOT going to get me again. I will also admit at this time, I wondered if neutering was going to be enough to turn this little guy around enough to live and interact with other rats and humans. I have to state though that I was committed to giving this guy a shot at a good life though and would try the neuter before coming to conclusions. 
The neutering went well and they said he tried to nip at them once when they reached into the cage but otherwise not bad. I brought him home and put him back in his regular cage without problems. A little pain that night that Ibuprofen took care of and he was on his way to healing without complications. After two weeks, Eddie got to interact some with our spayed girl, Snickers. They seemed to get along fine. They moved into a Martins 695 that I had bought specifically for Eddie at that time. After a couple of weeks living with Snickers, I introduced Nibbles and again he did great. In fact I wouldn't say he was aggressive at all with them...he knew who was boss and it wasn't him!!! 
During this time, my 19 yr old son, Jordan, was having problems trusting Eddie enough to reach in the cage and pick him up. He had started to give him treats and would hold him after I took him out of the cage but was still hesitant. I decided to give Eddie a shot at living in the FN with all 7 of the other girls in our home. Jordan was not happy with him going into the FN as he was afraid he would reach into the cage for one of the girls and get bit by Eddie. This was NOT to be case. Jordan now picks Eddie up all the time, gives him treats from his mouth, and Eddie even gives us kisses!!! Jordan just said the other day that he loves the big lug!! 
Update 11-23-07: My sweet Eddie Spaghetti has crossed over to the rainbow bridge today. He was in my arms when he crossed. He had been ill with a respiratory infection/pneumonia. He fought hard to stay her with us and his harem of girls. Eddie lived a very pampered life with my son and I and his harem of girls. I had fallen in love with him even before he quit biting...even after he bit me and bit me hard. He caused a small area of nerve damage on my index finger with that bite and I will forever think fondly of him when I look at what I now call my "eddie" finger.