Are my rats socializing or fighting?

Question

I have had one of my rats for quite some time now. A few months ago I got another, younger one. I have had them next to each other in seperate cages since I got them. I wanted to eventually wanted to move them in together. I have tried everyday for the past few weeks to start putting them together. Today, I got the smaller rat a new cage. She is able to fit through the bars and crawled into the other rats cage. They sniff around at each other and sometimes bite. But they will also groom each other and roll on their backs but the harmony never seems to last. Are they going to be okay together or should I keep them seperated?

My rats are also the same sex, females, and should I just let them stay together and work out their differences or should I keep them apart?

Answer 1

Unless they're making each other bleed, they're just play fighting.
Keep them together :)

Answer 2

I have a large cage and i had 5 males living together. Recently my king rat (the pack leader) died and since then i noticed a lot of fighting going on. This was getting worse and worse and always involved the same rat ( a big grey one ) One day i went to cage cos there was lots of squealing going on and found that fat grey rat had two rats pinned down at the same time, one under each arm. Hence i moved mr bully to his own cage and since then peace has reigned, the remaining three rats curl up together and seem perfectly happy, no fighting. Problem solved, except for mr fatty grey who seems a bit miserable now he's on his own. Hope this story helps some. PS: Young rats fight more, they are probably just playing but keep an eye on them.

Answer 3

If there's no blood & neither of your rats seems afraid of the other, they're fine together. They could be play-wrestling, which is normal, but there is usually some kind of minor fighting to establish dominance, & this is perfectly normal too.
You might want to clean the cage really well & re-arrange the accessories to make it more like neutral territory while your little ones become better acquainted.
Our rats have been together for quite awhile, especially our brothers, who will be 2 yrs old in a few weeks, but there's still an occasional skirmish in either the boys' or girls' cage. Even best buddies have a disagreement once in awhile.

Answer 4

Social Life: Rats Need Company

Rats are highly intelligent, social animals, and although they enjoy the companionship of humans, they thrive in - and need - the company of their own species. Although they will usually survive if kept as single pets, pet care is not just a matter of keeping animals alive; rats will have happier and more interesting lives when kept with other rats. Rats should never live alone, and ideally should be kept in groups of two or more of the same sex. It is unfair to deprive any social animal of the company of its own species. Rats enjoy grooming each other, curling up to sleep together, and sometimes even fighting. It is usual for rats to scrap occasionally, especially when they are 'teenagers' between 3 and 6 months old; do not worry about this unless you see serious injuries, as the rats are just establishing a pecking order.

No matter how much time you can spend with your rat, you will never be able to replace the attentions of his own species. A rat's most active time is in the middle if the night, when most rat owners are unlikely to be able to provide their pet with companionship. One fear expressed by potential rat-owners is that if they get more than one rat, the animals will bond together and be less tame as a result. The opposite is usually the case, as solitary rats can easily become clingy, introverted and neurotic. Rats kept in pairs or groups are happier, more confident, and no more difficult to tame. If you want proof of this, go to a rat show or visit someone who keeps a group of rats as pets. You will be able to meet plenty of extrovert, confident rats and their ratty friends. We are not aware of any sound argument for keeping rats alone, but there are many good reasons to let them live in single-sex pairs or groups: two rats are as easy to look after as one, a cage that is big enough for one rat is big enough for a pair, two rats are much happier and live longer than single rats --and they're many times more interesting to watch! Do not worry about a pair of rats producing unwanted babies - rats should be kept in single-sex groups to avoid this, and it is very easy to tell the difference between males and females with a little experience.

Answer 5

they are just socializing to each other.
to be assure that they dont bite each
other when you put them together, clean
the cage put a new bed so that there would
no "territory" between them.

I also has hamster who bite each other
if one of them are new so i do is separate
them first and give about three weeks
before putting them together so that they
can be easily harm by one another.

Answer 6

Yes, your rats are probably socializing. I have a mom rat and she and her baby fight all the time, and they also lick each other and sleep together.

Answer 7

i think you shoulde have them in seprate cages. but when you take one out take out the other and just let them play for a little bit.
that will let them get used to each other.
than mabey theyl get to be better.
and you can put them in the same cage.

Good luck!:D

Answer 8

they are just establishing a pecking order when they fight, they should get used to each other fine

Answer 9

both