R
Rataganza
Guest
I realize this is similar to another recent post, but at the request of a commenter, I'm moving Arturius' case to a new thread so as not to muddle the two cases.
Instead of writing everything over, this is most of a comment I posted to the Suddenly Aggressive thread.
Arturius is about 1.5 years old.
"We introduced three baby males to Arturius (our oldest and dominant male) and his brother Finn about a month ago, and everything went fine. While we originally kept the babies in a smaller cage, it wasn't a couple hours before they were breaking out of the small cage and trying to break into the big boys' cage. We couldn't stop them, since the smaller cage was not designed for rodents that small and smart, so we let them in the big one and everything went well for about 3 weeks. Arturius asserted his dominance, but never broke skin.
About four days ago, I noticed two of my babies' backs were covered in scabs, about 5 each. They weren't there the day before. I separated Arturius for a day and checked to see if any new marks showed up, since I wasn't positive he was the culprit. None did, but I still wasn't sure, because the babies wrestle with each other.
After separating him for a day, the babies' were so excited to see him visit that I let him return to the main cage. This has happened twice more with me separating him for varied amounts of time. The scabs disappeared from one baby, but my most beta baby, Volar, seems to still be getting beat up (new scabs have appeared, and I've caught Arturius pounding on him more than once).
Then, last night, I had all 5 out on my bed and everything was going fine until Arturius went nuts on Volar. It looked like he was trying to hump him and bite him. I separated the two with my hand and firmly told Arturius "no." Usually, he responds to that. But he just kept going after Volar. Finally, I put him in his closed off portion of the cage and he spent the night alone.
As explained in a different thread, I don't have access to a rat-specific vet, and my vet has explained I would need to travel to the next state over for anything closely related to cancer or cancer detection."
Arturius is currently separated. I may be being ridiculous, but he seemed sad when I got him out today. I dislike separating him, but with Finn in his current condition (see "Rat dying?" thread), I can't risk Arturius wounding a baby bad enough for a vet visit.
I'm asking for advice about handling the situation. Undoubtedly, someone will bring up the idea of neutering, which is reasonable. Personally, and on a deeply personal level, I disagree with the practice, so while I am not discounting it as an option, I would specifically like to hear other options if they exist.
Mental health was brought up as a possible in thread this was originally posted to, and after consideration, I wonder if Finn's condition might be adding to Arturius' aggression. Finn is Arturius littermate and has been horribly sick for more than a month. While I don't know if rats are sentimental, I wonder if Arturius is more aggressive because Finn is receiving more attention.
Anyway, thank you in advance for your advice, and I apologize for the lengthy post.
Instead of writing everything over, this is most of a comment I posted to the Suddenly Aggressive thread.
Arturius is about 1.5 years old.
"We introduced three baby males to Arturius (our oldest and dominant male) and his brother Finn about a month ago, and everything went fine. While we originally kept the babies in a smaller cage, it wasn't a couple hours before they were breaking out of the small cage and trying to break into the big boys' cage. We couldn't stop them, since the smaller cage was not designed for rodents that small and smart, so we let them in the big one and everything went well for about 3 weeks. Arturius asserted his dominance, but never broke skin.
About four days ago, I noticed two of my babies' backs were covered in scabs, about 5 each. They weren't there the day before. I separated Arturius for a day and checked to see if any new marks showed up, since I wasn't positive he was the culprit. None did, but I still wasn't sure, because the babies wrestle with each other.
After separating him for a day, the babies' were so excited to see him visit that I let him return to the main cage. This has happened twice more with me separating him for varied amounts of time. The scabs disappeared from one baby, but my most beta baby, Volar, seems to still be getting beat up (new scabs have appeared, and I've caught Arturius pounding on him more than once).
Then, last night, I had all 5 out on my bed and everything was going fine until Arturius went nuts on Volar. It looked like he was trying to hump him and bite him. I separated the two with my hand and firmly told Arturius "no." Usually, he responds to that. But he just kept going after Volar. Finally, I put him in his closed off portion of the cage and he spent the night alone.
As explained in a different thread, I don't have access to a rat-specific vet, and my vet has explained I would need to travel to the next state over for anything closely related to cancer or cancer detection."
Arturius is currently separated. I may be being ridiculous, but he seemed sad when I got him out today. I dislike separating him, but with Finn in his current condition (see "Rat dying?" thread), I can't risk Arturius wounding a baby bad enough for a vet visit.
I'm asking for advice about handling the situation. Undoubtedly, someone will bring up the idea of neutering, which is reasonable. Personally, and on a deeply personal level, I disagree with the practice, so while I am not discounting it as an option, I would specifically like to hear other options if they exist.
Mental health was brought up as a possible in thread this was originally posted to, and after consideration, I wonder if Finn's condition might be adding to Arturius' aggression. Finn is Arturius littermate and has been horribly sick for more than a month. While I don't know if rats are sentimental, I wonder if Arturius is more aggressive because Finn is receiving more attention.
Anyway, thank you in advance for your advice, and I apologize for the lengthy post.
