Rats not getting along

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MorriganGrimm

Member
Joined
May 19, 2020
Messages
7
Location
Waterloo, Canada
Hi all, so a day or so ago I posted about taking my rat Whitechapel to the vet who said that there might be bullying going on in the mischief on account of lost hair and irritated skin on his scrotum. Today I was checking all three of my boys again and Codsworth has the same thing, to a lesser scale. He also has a scratch on his ear that I think is new. I try and handle them daily, and I think I would have noticed. My third rat, Valentine, has no scratches or any missing hair, and gets along well with both of them. Is this an establishing dominance thing between Codsworth and Whitechapel? Or should I be more concerned about it (I'm already pretty concerned)?

They are a bit older than 8 weeks according to the vet, (8 weeks and 5 days), and I know that around the 2 month mark they start trying to establish a hierarchy, but I'm really not liking how the two are getting hurt, mild as it is. Does anybody have any advice? Should I let it play out, or do you guys think I'm gonna have to get one of them neutered? Below is the picture of Codsworth's ear.

IMG_3767[1].JPG
 
Rats play fighting is normal but when they start shedding blood or pulling out fur then that's a problem. Besides for the scratch how do they interact with each other in the cage? Do they avoid each other or does the bullied rat show any signs of fear toward the other rat?
 
Rats play fighting is normal but when they start shedding blood or pulling out fur then that's a problem. Besides for the scratch how do they interact with each other in the cage? Do they avoid each other or does the bullied rat show any signs of fear toward the other rat?
Thanks so much for replying! I have noticed that Whitechapel seems to try and avoid Codsworth during the day and is much less enthused about playing than he is. I think it irritates him. They have no problem sitting together when they eat or drink, or cuddling together when they sleep. When Codsworth is calmer, like when they get out of the cage (usually to climb on me), or they are just playing with toys they don't seem to mind each other and are fine being nearby. Until (usually) Codsworth wants to play. Whitechapel doesn't really initiate much playing between the two of them unless Codsworth started it. Whitechapel doesn't seem afraid of Codsworth, just irritated.
 
I think the fighting is fine unless it keeps causing injuries, boy rats can become more physical in their fighting as they age but it shouldn't shed blood, although 8 weeks is just a baby. If the fighting results in injury then you should separate them since things can escalade when your not there to supervise, once their separated you can slowly reintroduce in a way that shows that neither of them is a threat and that being together means a positive experience.
 
I think the fighting is fine unless it keeps causing injuries, boy rats can become more physical in their fighting as they age but it shouldn't shed blood, although 8 weeks is just a baby. If the fighting results in injury then you should separate them since things can escalade when your not there to supervise, once their separated you can slowly reintroduce in a way that shows that neither of them is a threat and that being together means a positive experience.
What kind of injury should I look out for? Like, should I separate the two if I see another scratch or if they lose more hair? I'll watch videos about reintroducing them to make sure I do it right if it comes to that. If that happens I'll need another cage right? Should I get a full size cage in case it doesn't work out, or a smaller one since only one of them'll be in it for hopefully a short amount of time?
 
Seperate if you see any injury or if they are ripping out fur, like I said if they're going to injure each other at all you don't want to risk keeping them together. Before getting another cage, you can try to do some quick reintroduction (like the carrier method) to see if their fighting will be resolved quickly, if not you might need to find a longer method. I've also heard that for boys, neutering can reduce aggression to each other so you may want to try that before buying a whole new cage.
 
Seperate if you see any injury or if they are ripping out fur, like I said if they're going to injure each other at all you don't want to risk keeping them together. Before getting another cage, you can try to do some quick reintroduction (like the carrier method) to see if their fighting will be resolved quickly, if not you might need to find a longer method. I've also heard that for boys, neutering can reduce aggression to each other so you may want to try that before buying a whole new cage.
Hey sorry I didn't respond! Life is kinda crazy right now lol. I've spent the last week watching my boys, and I've come to the conclusion that they're not being aggressive. I just think that two play rougher than my other boy and he just gets done with it sometimes. Which is something I totally relate to. I added a bunch of toys to their cage and the amount of play fighting has gone down to a more reasonable level, I think they were bored before. Thanks so much for your advice, I'll make sure to keep it in mind for the future!
 
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