My rat mochi is such a sweetheart, but when I clean the bottom of the cage he attacks my hand very viciously... To the point I have to wear a leather glove sometimes. He only attacks my hand when I make noise with the newspaper. Could it be that he just doesn't like the sound of the newspaper? Or do you think he's being territorial about his poops. Also he seems to be in the middle of a lot of rat fights. With accidental scratches here and there because their nails are Sharp... I've definitely found scabby bite marks on my other boys... But the problem is it's only one fight every few days, and I don't really know who the aggressor is because my other rat, Bean, seems to be starting the fight with mochi.
I've noticed outside the cage bean will follow mochi around and pull on his ears lightly. Mochi really doesn't react outside the cage besides standing up or walking away. So I don't know if mochi is the aggressor in cage or bean. Yesterday three of my boys had mochi in a corner, I think they were finally standing up to him. I don't want to have to separate him because on The daily he is very kind to his cage mates.. I have a feeling it's probably hormonal, or bean is trying to challenge the hierarchy.
I know the rule of thumb is no blood no foul.. so what should I do, because I don't really want to separate them.... I do have another cage if necessary though. Has anyone else gone through something like this? And do you think this will end? Obviously they get better when I give them CBD oil but I keep forgetting to give it to them everyday.
I have a custom cage that is big enough for 5 rats. I only have four rats. One (cheese) is neutered, he's not a factor in any of the fights, he is kind of a loner, though enjoys cuddle puddles. Mochi is i think 8 mo, so possible hormonal spike. Bean is 9ish mo, never had a hormonal spike but maybe hes a late bloomer? Cookie is about 10 or 11 months, SoftBoi™, lover not a fighter but still has marks on him (sensitive skin, he's a rex)
I've noticed outside the cage bean will follow mochi around and pull on his ears lightly. Mochi really doesn't react outside the cage besides standing up or walking away. So I don't know if mochi is the aggressor in cage or bean. Yesterday three of my boys had mochi in a corner, I think they were finally standing up to him. I don't want to have to separate him because on The daily he is very kind to his cage mates.. I have a feeling it's probably hormonal, or bean is trying to challenge the hierarchy.
I know the rule of thumb is no blood no foul.. so what should I do, because I don't really want to separate them.... I do have another cage if necessary though. Has anyone else gone through something like this? And do you think this will end? Obviously they get better when I give them CBD oil but I keep forgetting to give it to them everyday.
I have a custom cage that is big enough for 5 rats. I only have four rats. One (cheese) is neutered, he's not a factor in any of the fights, he is kind of a loner, though enjoys cuddle puddles. Mochi is i think 8 mo, so possible hormonal spike. Bean is 9ish mo, never had a hormonal spike but maybe hes a late bloomer? Cookie is about 10 or 11 months, SoftBoi™, lover not a fighter but still has marks on him (sensitive skin, he's a rex)
I used so many rat cage measuring sites before I built my cage. It said it was ok for 6 rats (its deeper than it looks and i always have toys for them) I never planned on having 6. The only reason why i wanted four was because i had two, one was healthy, one had a tumor after about a year and died. Before he died, I got my healthy boy a new brother to ease the pain of losing his current one. (I knew my one was going to die) and the healthy one died of depression 5 days later anyway. I wanted to give my boys a support system for when their brother dies.