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Hello everyone. I've always had rats in pairs - 2 brothers, 2 sisters, 2 unrelated males, and the worst they've ever done was a little power grooming. My 3 new boys, though, fight very badly. It's been almost 2 months and while Sulli seems to be dominant, Ki still sometimes sidles up to him and shoves or pins him. They have chases, with Sulli pursuing 80% of the time. This doesn't bother me as they don't draw blood on each other, but I've had to add hammocks throughout the cage since Ki once fell about 2 ft during a chase.
The big problem is Olly, who is not bright enough to leave Sulli alone, and he gets beaten up. He's had multiple wounds near one eye, cuts around his penis, and now has a large gash on his back. He's about 1/3 smaller than Sulli, and he's harley, so having no undercoat leaves his skin more vulnerable. After one major wound, the fighting calmed down for a couple weeks, but yesterday he was at it again, biting on Sulli's ears and side, trying to pick a fight. Sulli did nothing because I was watching, and he knows I get mad at him. So last night they kept waking me up, squealing and screeching and slamming all over the cage. So I took the big guy out. I don't know what to do. I'd love to neuter Sulli, but the only vet around here who can do it wants almost $400. There's no way. It seems unfair to separate Sulli since Olly's being a brat, but I'm afraid he'll get badly hurt. If I do separate, will it be safe to put a baby with Sulli, with proper intros of course, or will he hurt it? I've never had trouble like this, so I'd appreciate advice from anyone with experience. Thanks for reading the long post, and for any words of wisdom...
The big problem is Olly, who is not bright enough to leave Sulli alone, and he gets beaten up. He's had multiple wounds near one eye, cuts around his penis, and now has a large gash on his back. He's about 1/3 smaller than Sulli, and he's harley, so having no undercoat leaves his skin more vulnerable. After one major wound, the fighting calmed down for a couple weeks, but yesterday he was at it again, biting on Sulli's ears and side, trying to pick a fight. Sulli did nothing because I was watching, and he knows I get mad at him. So last night they kept waking me up, squealing and screeching and slamming all over the cage. So I took the big guy out. I don't know what to do. I'd love to neuter Sulli, but the only vet around here who can do it wants almost $400. There's no way. It seems unfair to separate Sulli since Olly's being a brat, but I'm afraid he'll get badly hurt. If I do separate, will it be safe to put a baby with Sulli, with proper intros of course, or will he hurt it? I've never had trouble like this, so I'd appreciate advice from anyone with experience. Thanks for reading the long post, and for any words of wisdom...