Looks like we have a singleton :(

[PitLuvs]

Shai is just NOT rat friendly at all. He wants nothing to do with being around the other boys. *sigh*

I did the neutral intro today in the tub, he attacked everyone and the boys were all hiding in the corner curled up together. They want nothing to do with him either. Even being around the boys makes Shai more agressive towards us, as well as making the boys attack our hands. Just not a pleasent situation. It isnt a matter of squeeks, its violent. He kicks, lunges, bites to the point of removing fur. Ive never seen a rat this agressive except my ol boy Buddy, and he was always content to be alone.

Ive decided to give Shai the Marchioro cage, and the boys have the 695. They are content with the space, and happy to be away from the evil brother. Shai is burxxing up a storm in his new digs, he seems so much more calm in a smaller place.

So we have 3 choices.

1. Rehome Shai to someone who can deal with his agressive behavior towards other rats or one that will be content with him being alone.

2. Leave him be as a singleton here, but I clearly do not have room for 2 cages in our apartment. It can be done though and I do not want to give up on him.

3. Have him neuterd, but that cannot take place till March/April of next year. With Christmas, #2 due its just not possible to make the trip and pay the neuter (Halifax is a good peice from here).

As it stands option 2 is in effect. But I'm torn. I have thought about asking his previous owner to take him back. She guarenteed he was friendly, got along great with everyone, loved her dog. But the rat I took home is 100% the opposite.

:sad3: Any comments welcome, I take things well. I know some might be upset with my situation and am willing to learn from those who have more experiance with agressive ratties.

 

[jorats]

He definitely needs a neuter and until then, living alone is his only choice. More importantly his cage shouldn't even be near the other boys, that might make him aggressive towards you even.
IF he is rehomed, it should be made clear that he needs a neuter. After which, intros should be tried again.

 

[xxchelle]

I'd keep him alone, give him lots of love, and neuter him ASAP, then try intros again.

Gosh, this must be so frustrating for you

 

[lilratsy43]

Honestly keeping him alone until you can afford a neuter is not the worst thing in the world. I currently have one rattie stuck as a loner. He gets along ok with females, but is challenged when it comes to males. It's weird but when I have introed him to my other boys, he gets picked on so bad he will leap off the table I have him on. Also the other boys just do not like him, they go into attack mode right when they see him. Because of my situation I am unable to get more rats, so getting him a female it out of the question...And I am personally very attached to him, so rehoming him is out of the question, besides the fact that his health issues never seem to end, and I would never want to dump that burden on another rat owner.

 

[Joanne]

I would keep him alone, and then get him neutered. If family and friends are going to get you gifts for Christmas, why don't you ask for a donation to the "neuter account?" One year I gave my mom a dog neuter for Christmas. Her boy Butchie needed a neuter, so I went to the vet, asked how much it would be, and put the $ on account. It was great to give her (and him!) something that she really needed, but would have gotten put off for other, more 'important' things....

 

[PitLuvs]

I think our best option is to keep him single, until we can get him in for a neuter.

Sadly, the only person who gives me gifts for Christmas is my mother, and they are already bought. I would have asked for funds for Shai though (great idea!).

On a good note though, we are finally able to actually pick up Sam and Dean without a fuss. They are loving shoulder time and playing in random areas of our place. These two were very skiddish when we took them home a month ago.

And to touch base on the rehoming part, it was an option but honestly I do not see anyone having the know-how around here to deal with a pet of his personality. If I were to rehome him, I would have a book of information typed out on him, his agression, his limits, his age. I would hold nothing back, as I do not think it would be wise for me to skip on important details about him. To give him to someone promising rainbows and sunshine, and leaving out the main reasons why he needed a home would be like sentencing him to death. I would be doing to someone what was done to me. Thankfully, I have the patience and love to deal with his issues, just not the space! And I also have you guys, who help a ton. Going to another home is not an option after thinking about it. And also, I do believe he is not a youngin of a year old like I was told, he is clearly up there in age. He's been through enough (uncaring owner, apt fire, new owner and now me) and has such an unknown history. Wouldnt be fair now that I really think about it.

Lilratsy: If I shouldnt keep him as a loner, how would I go about having a friend for him until he is neuterd? Getting another rat is out of the question, as 2 in his cage is to cramped and we could be just adding to the problem and starting all over again. And, um, no females lol The only option we have is to mingle him with the other 3 boys, but he does not get along with any of them so far. We will continue to try though, its only been 15 days in all reality right? Would you think re intros every once and a while to continue trying to socialize him with other males be a good alternative? I've had a single boy before, although he seemed happy, I know he truely wasnt.

Jo: His cage is in the same room, but about 30ft away. I did leave a few toys with the other boys sents with him, he's not overly interested but not ignoring them either. He is also up higher now as before he was in the corner by our sofa. Now I have him up on a deep freezer by our front door, so he gets to great everyone that comes in and can see everything in the works here. I was wondering, would that help him to be more "in the know" around here and out in the open?

Sigh, all I want for Christmas is my 4 boys all together... wonder if that will go along with a good jingle tune.

 

[lilratsy43]

Oh I was just talking about my situation with my boys and that it was ok to have him alone, as I have a boy who has been alone for over a year....

 

[Cigar]

Your situation sounds similar to something I went through.

Morris was the most affectionate, confident boy until he hit puberty. I tried to intro him very, very slowly over the course of a few months but it became clear to me after he'd drawn blood on more than one occasion (including from me) that he was neurotic and hormonally unhappy. He spent his free ranging time peeing on everything, rubbing his palms on everything, rubbing his body on everything, and searching for another rat to "take down". Intros involved hissing, side stepping, lunging/biting, and seek + destroy behavior. My gentle intact boys were terrified of him.

I had a heart to heart with myself one night.. it wasn't fair to keep him. I couldn't afford a neuter and despite being "content" alone, I knew it wasn't healthy. If he were adopted out and neutered but still didn't like other rats, fine. At least I knew that I gave him every opportunity to be happier. Mamarat responded to my cry for help and offered to take him in. He was neutered, intros were taken slow, and he learned to live with other rats.

I too was very attached to him. He had the curliest whiskers I've ever seen and his body was like a little hot water bottle. He was my 19th birthday present from my brother and on the first day that I met him he fell asleep in my hood. He smelled like corn chips and slept in a bonding pouch around my neck at every opportunity. He loved to give me kisses and quickly learned his name. He knew it so well that Mamarat kept his name. Morris is the double rex boy in this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1hNEwh7lN8 and while he's not the rat I remember, he's the one I always knew was inside.

Edited 'cause I just want to add that I'm not saying they're identical. All rats are different and if you know in your heart that he's okay alone, I'm not trying to give you a hard time.

 

[PitLuvs]

Oh I was just talking about my situation with my boys and that it was ok to have him alone, as I have a boy who has been alone for over a year....

Ohh DURRR ME. I thought you said it WAS the worse thing, didnt even see the 'not' until I went back to check. Oopsie! Sorry about that I was hoping if you didnt think it would be best, you would have some other options for us lol

 

[jorats]

In your case, your boy really needs a neuter before you attempt an intro again. Or another option would be to keep trying once a month. One day you might find him receptive to new buds. Although rare, it has been known to happen.

I adopted a rat from Henrys_mum, he was labeled a singleton as well but only because for some reason or other, he wasn't working out with the rats at the rescue. Henrys_mum tried everything for Axle but he just wouldn't take to them, even after a neuter. She felt that he wanted to bite her as well. In such a situation it is far better to find him a new home. I offered to take Axle now renamed Rodeo into my home and work with him.
Oddly enough, Rodeo fell madly in love with rats at my place. There could be several reasons for why it worked here and not there. Rodeo is a sweetheart and loves his buddies. It breaks my heart to think that there are other Rodeos out there that are banished to a life of living alone because of no neuter and the right buddy is not found for them. Not everyone can do this of course, it takes someone experienced in rats to pull this off.