What are they doing/Maybe a laugh?

[HugglesBubble]

So first day owning rats, I was told by the previous owner theyve lived together all their life. But for some reason, for the past 20mins theyve been acting feisty. Some form of dominance towards each other? Also.. What is Despereux (one shoving his bedding out) doing? Its cute yet I don't understand it?

https://youtu.be/gkkq4RvbbFY

 

[Petunia]

how old are they? are they both intact?

it looks like Despereux tried to bite you when you put your finger on the cage bars, did he? he may have been fed treats thru the bars, something most ppl discourage, *because* it can lead to rats trying to bite at being put thru the bars,
since for all they know, it might be another treat, right? LOL

so you want to be careful about that. I don't know if there's a way to get them to stop doing that, but for sure, you don't ever want to reinforce that behavior so NO food or treats thru the bars.
It may be best not to poke anything thru the bars at all. and for awhile til they stop doing it, watch your fingers! I think it might help to say sharply "don't bite" if they try to bite you thru the bars- rats are very smart and they can tell when you are not happy with them. they try to please you.
when they do what you want, you praise them, and give them skritches etc and they like that.


as far as pushing the litter out of the cage, that's hilarious and I have no idea why rats do that. A few just do. If you go to You Tube you can see there's several, at least, videos of rats doing that same thing with litter.
It is adorable, but messy
Yes, rats are messy, but then if you have gpigs, you know all about messes LOL

The little boxing match that they boys had wasn't bad, I think--
but I'll let others with more experience respond about that. There's a thread about figuring out if your rats are fighting or playing, if you put that in the search function it may come up for you
I'd search for it myself but my girls are waiting to come out

sometimes you will have intact boys that get hormonal, it happens at a certain age and sometimes one or both boys need to be neutered. I don't know how common that is, as I mostly get girls, but again, someone with more experience with boys should be along to answer about that

I remember my first rats, every thing they did was so interesting, and i had no clue if it was normal or not
one thing that can help is to go to You Tube and search for rat videos, there's tons of them!
that will give you a rough idea of what is normal for a rat. watch the ones by ppl who have a lot of subscribers, and beware of any by snake owners or abusive ppl, as there's bound to be some bad ones
If you stick with like, Jorat's videos, or videos by someone who also talks about caring for the rats and shows the cage set up etc, you're more likely to get a good well rounded idea of what is normal for rats

also will give you TONS of idea for things to put in the cage for them to play with etc

looking forward to seeing more of these boys!
I love your little guy bulldozing his bedding out of the cage LOL

 

[HugglesBubble]

Ahahaha I thought it was adorable too! We were playing a game i suppose.
Also, yeah, he nipped at my finger and I dropped the phone lol.. I'll discourage giving food or doing anything through the bars from now on. I just figured he was feisty because his brother, Remy is very calm when he receives food.

Although Remy won't come out of his igloo now. Should I get x2 of everything to help even it out?

Editting to add; I was going to head to our signshop, FastSigns tomorrow and try to pick up some coroplast, so I'd be able to fleece down the cage. What do you think? Its not a CN or FN cage but, worth a try?

 

[HugglesBubble]

Oops forgot to add. Theyre both intact and 9mo to a year old. They were peaceful and friendly this morning and afternoon. I wonder if Despereux called Remy fat LOL

 

[Petunia]

Ahahaha I thought it was adorable too! We were playing a game i suppose.
Also, yeah, he nipped at my finger and I dropped the phone lol.. I'll discourage giving food or doing anything through the bars from now on. I just figured he was feisty because his brother, Remy is very calm when he receives food.

Although Remy won't come out of his igloo now. Should I get x2 of everything to help even it out?

no, you don't need to get two of everything, rats usually share LOL
it can help to have another hut of some kind, but it can be a tissue box or an empty oatmeal container, etc
it's good to have different options, cuz one rat may love the igloo, where another one may prefer hammocks, they are all different and have such different personalities
Remy may be in the igloo because he's just realized he's in a brand new place, and he needs to think about this big change.
i have noticed the first day when I get new rats, they may run around and seem very bold
and then the next day, they may hide and be more timid. I think that's when they realize they didn't just go for a little trip, they are now somewhere NEW and are gonna stay in this new place, and they need to process this.
Don't worry, just talk to them in a calm loving voice and they will soon learn they are in a great new place ;-)

I found this that may help explain what they were doing:
http://www.ratbehavior.org/WhatIsMyRatDoingFAQ.htm#Aggression

usually as long as they don't end up rolling around in a ball, biting at each other, they are ok BUT there's some exceptions to that, and that's where a more experienced person should address this.
Esp since I'm used to girls and boys can be a bit more touchy when it comes to this stuff LOL

what I saw though, was nothing to worry about. You want to watch to be sure it doesn't get worse, I mean, I don't think you want to see really long staring contests or a lot of hissing etc, that may mean trouble is brewing and violence may break out
but what your guys did there was just a little spat, and they got over it pretty fast

they are in a new place and will work out who gets what territory, etc.
Also because they are in a new place, their behavior will be different,
in time they will settle down, get used to you, their new home and routine.

did you say how old they are?

 

[HugglesBubble]

In a later post, yeah. 9mo to a year old and both intact. And alright, I greatly appreciate it

 

[Petunia]

Oops forgot to add. Theyre both intact and 9mo to a year old. They were peaceful and friendly this morning and afternoon. I wonder if Despereux called Remy fat LOL

oops I already posted LOL
hahaha Too funny!!
I think Remy had decided that if Despereux wants to be King of the Igloo and be on TOP of it, he will claim the inside, so there!! lol

if these boys have been living together peacefully in the time before you got them, they are probably past the hormonal stage, and should be Ok, as far as issues with aggression but again, I am no expert on that, and someone else can advise you better

I got a boy who had to be neutered and he was past his "teen" years- he was already a year old- BUT he had lived alone for his first year, no buddies at all.
so he had the hormones AND he had to learn how to act with other rats. once he was introduced to them, he was so happy to have buddies! It took him a couple of months to learn to behave and play nice with others. LOL once he learned though, he had several very close relationships with other rats. Miss that boy, he was a sweet nutball lol

 

[dspch911]

My girls used to take the greens (Kale, spinach, etc) out of their bowls and push it out the bars... Apparently they didn't like them.. Every morning I'd find their greens on the floor!! They stopped after I stopped giving them to them for awhile. It was pretty funny though....

 

[Claireybell2477]

My girls used to take the greens (Kale, spinach, etc) out of their bowls and push it out the bars... Apparently they didn't like them.. Every morning I'd find their greens on the floor!! They stopped after I stopped giving them to them for awhile. It was pretty funny though....

Hilarious! Take that greens lol

My Bennett has little hissy fits (he's adorably cantankerous) and when he's tolerated enough of my pets and wants me to know that he's gone beyond his pain threshold, he lets me know by gently taking my hand in his teeth, directing me to the exit of the hammock and then bulldozing his bedding behind me and blocking the entrance! Grumpy pants! :lol6:

 

[jorats]

These boys are brand new in your home right? Both of them are probably sorting out their feelings first. I'm sure they were worried with the move and changes. They need to reestablish their home, their social dynamics with each other and the new pets in the home and their new humans. I would give them a bit of time before being worried about dominance issues. I would interact with them a lot, open the cage door, talk to them and give them healthy treats. You want to show them that they are safe in their new home.

 

[HugglesBubble]

Thanks so much