This is for my sons. They have two female pet rats. One of the rats always picks on or bites on the other rat and leaves read gashes that tend to bleed. The other rat does the same but doesn't leave any marks on her. They are both female rats. I am wondering if they are either bored, or maybe need another type of wood so they can chew on to shorten their teeth. They do get out every day for about an hour for exercise. What I read also is that female rats go in heat every 4 weeks! Could that be the cause?
2007-01-07 15:06:09 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
I need to make a correction, what I meant was that they go into heat 4-5 days. Some of you were correct. Thanks!
2007-01-08 10:05:08 · update #1
It appears that these two girls have not figured out the pecking order yet, they both want to be boss rat. Rat-keepers usually say to leave them alone to work it out, but in this case, if there is screaming and blood being drawn, you have to separate them. It would be best that they have their own space, ie, two separate cages, but still live side by side. And it could be that they can still free-range, play together, outside of the cages.
If you decide to add other rats to these two to "stop the fighting", you should add two baby girls around 5 to 6 weeks of age. If the adult girls start to pick on them, then the two baby girls can at least live together in a separate cage. Generally it is not difficult to introduce female rats.
Rats take care of their own teeth, keeping them in perfect condition, by bruxing, but plenty of chewing material will keep them occupied/distracted.
I'm not sure where you got that information but the reality of it is rats come into heat every 4-5 days and stay in heat for a 12 hour period, at which time they can get pregnant. "Heats" are normally not the cause of female rat fights. Some male rats might get testy during female heats though.
You are welcome to e-mail me anytime to talk about your rats.
spazrats
http://spazrats.tripod.com
Specializing in the health and care of pet rats since 1997
2007-01-07 20:37:27 · answer #1 · answered by spazrats 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Is the one getting bitten and gashed a hairless rat? My hairless rat stays scraped and scratched becasue she doesn't have the fur to protect her from her sisters claws, but its never really serious.
Do they fight a lot? A lot of tussling and screaming?
Sometimes introducing a third rat will stop any fighting. It sounds odd, but in my entire time owning rats I've found that an odd # of rats will fight less than an even #. I don't know if thats a common thing, or just a freaky occurrence in my own household.
If you introduce a 3rd rat and there is still biting and bleeding then you should separate the one that bites. Rats are social animals and its RARE that there will be anti-social ones, but it does happen. Keep the one that bites on its own, with lots of extra human love, and get the bitten one a new friend.
Their estrus cycle shouldn't have anything to do with their aggression toward one another, but more toys coudln't hurt. Rats LOVE to have something to do, and you probably have a million things around your house that could entertain them. Check out http://www.dapper.com.au/toys.htm
I've included a "source" which talks about rat temperament including dominance struggles. I suggest you and your son read it, it might answer some questions more clearly.
2007-01-07 23:36:42 · answer #2 · answered by Noner 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Once in a while there is an aggressive rat. I attribute the increased number of them to the fact that rats are now bred for snake food as well as pets, and many breeders don't care about temperament.
In my experience, rats are always ready to breed except when pregnant or nursing. Put a couple together, and three weeks later you have pups, very reliably. So I'm sure estrus is not a factor in aggression.
It is important that they have a big enough cage and a running wheel.
I had one aggressive female rat and I put her with 2 other females, and they kept her under control so they got along fine.
If she doesn't get over this, you may have to separate her. This behavior is not usual in rats.
2007-01-08 01:22:52 · answer #3 · answered by The First Dragon 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Oh, that's not good. I have four females in a large cage and they will hold each other down but never bite. Biting is a genetic defect and rats in the wild do not do that. You in a sense have a psychopathic rat. Rats will do some showy stuff and get in line who is the boss, but there should never be blood. You should separate them and get another rat for the one who does not draw blood. Whatever you do, do not breed the one who is aggressive because you can not breed aggressiveness out of rats. Hope this helps.
2007-01-07 23:18:02 · answer #4 · answered by fifimsp1 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I would seperate them. And a female rat goes into heat every 4-5 days.
2007-01-08 04:36:23 · answer #5 · answered by Erbilicious 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You must separate them immediately-- and keep them separated. Just as you would if one of your sons was always picking on or biting the other leaving red gashes that tend to bleed-- not to mention rats feel pain. The cause doesn't matter because veterinarians do not spay/neuter rats.
2007-01-07 23:43:38 · answer #6 · answered by Venus 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
some rats just simply don't like other ones, I had the same problem with mine and she ended up killing the other one so I would suggest keeping them separated its kind of a hit and miss with which ones will get along
2007-01-07 23:18:41 · answer #7 · answered by Jessie B 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋