# Rat play question



## rat_elf (Jan 23, 2007)

I have two rats Splinter and Mecha I am new to being a rat owner and am really enjoying how sweet these little guys can be. My question is when two rats are playing together is it okay if one bites the other and pulls it. Now I am not talking a hard bite that will make them sqeak I am talking they grab the fur and drag their friend a little then drop them. Since I am new to this whole thing I don't know if that is just how they play or if they are being agressive?!?! Thanks in advance for the replies.


----------



## Pixie (Jan 10, 2007)

rat_elf said:


> I have two rats Splinter and Mecha I am new to being a rat owner and am really enjoying how sweet these little guys can be. My question is when two rats are playing together is it okay if one bites the other and pulls it. Now I am not talking a hard bite that will make them sqeak I am talking they grab the fur and drag their friend a little then drop them. Since I am new to this whole thing I don't know if that is just how they play or if they are being agressive?!?! Thanks in advance for the replies.


I was concerned about my rats rough play as well. From what I've read and heard though, rats are just like kittens, they play hard. So long as there's no blood, no chunks of fur missing, or no squeals of pain, they should be ok. Read up on it a bit more and get other opinions too though. I'm still not 100% sure myself, but from what I _have_ heard, it's normal. No blood no foul.


----------



## JennieLove (Jan 2, 2007)

Pixie is right. No blood, no foul, but its always smart to keep an eye on them. When you have two rats, there is always one who tends to be more dominate. And when they westle and pin each other down, thats exactly what they are doing. They are putting each other in their place, its normal. Like I said keep and eye on them. You can tell a good sqeak from a bad one.


----------



## Pixie (Jan 10, 2007)

I'm not so sure about that. Sometimes I hear what I think might be bad squeaks in the night so I turn my light on and get up but so far no blood or chunks of missing fur. Do they tend to have a semi-high pitched squeak normally?



JennieLove said:


> You can tell a good sqeak from a bad one.


----------



## JennieLove (Jan 2, 2007)

Well sometimes when there play fighting they can get too rough (ya know, like people when they play) and one might nip the other too hard. Or when they clean each other, one may groom way too hard and will make the other sqeak like "hey that hurt!" Hi-pitched sqeaks are normal every once in a while, but if its happening every 5 mins thats something to be concerned about. If your having problems with real fighting (not play fighting) then what you can always do is separate the two but keep the cages close together so that they can smell each other and all that good stuff. Let them out to have their normal play time, they should be perfectly fine together outside of there cages cuz they are away from anything they are normally about, and have to rely on each other for comfort. This will allow the rats to bond and become friends. Then after play time is over return them to their separate cages again. Slowly do this until you feel like they are comfotable enough to share a cage with. They will still go through the whole "I'm the dominate one here" thing but at least they wouldnt be trying to kill each other xD


----------



## Pixie (Jan 10, 2007)

I think they're still trying to figure out who's dominant. They're only about five or six weeks old, if that. Originally, when I brought them home, Oreo (the black and white one) was dominant. She'd hold Sugar down in play. But recently Sugar has gained a bit of weight and is now trying to overtake Oreo. I suppose I'll give them another week to figure it out. I only hear the higher pitched squeaks every now and then. If it doesn't stop after a week, I'll separate them like you suggested.


----------

