# Male rat hitting puberty = more aggression?



## StinkyRat (Apr 27, 2013)

I've posted in this forum before about my 6 month old blue rat, Stinky. He's always been a sweet guy, very trusting and we are well bonded. He's my only pet, so I make sure he's out and playing for a few hours every day. 

I'm noticing now that Stinky might be going through rat puberty. He started leaving urine droplets every where a few months ago, so I've become accustomed to it. However, now his urine has an interesting smell to it--usually his urine droplets were odorless. 

I've also noticed change in behavior, he's become more "playful" in that he wrestles my hand often and nips at it. Usually his bites were soft and nothing concerning, but now they've gotten harder and more aggressive. He hasn't drawn any blood from these bites, but they're definitely startling. He also attempts to hump my hand, I'm assuming as a dominance thing. I try to show I'm I'm the "alpha" by pinning him onto his back and keeping him there, which usually causes him to lick my fingers uncontrollably. 

Is this just male rat puberty? While it's nothing serious, I don't want to encourage him to be more aggressive with me. Any advice on how to handle it? Is rat puberty a "phase", like in humans, or does it last for most of their lives?

Any advice would be so helpful! I'm a first time rat owner


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## JudeWriley (Aug 1, 2007)

Just two things: 
1) You need to get him a cage mate.
2) The teenage years can mean all the extra hormones flowing through his body are making him more aggressive. (Since he is a single rat, he could be getting lonely and depressed with it coming out as aggression). If it gets to a point where he doesn't seem to calm down, neutering can usually take care of it.

But yeah, the best thing you can do right now is to get him a cage mate.


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## ratclaws (Nov 11, 2012)

He needs a cage mate to play with more often, but this could be an issue now because he is going through his hormonal phase. Sometimes this phase causes rats to fight a lot... Why didn't he have a cage mate from the start may I ask?


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## StinkyRat (Apr 27, 2013)

ratclaws said:


> He needs a cage mate to play with more often, but this could be an issue now because he is going through his hormonal phase. Sometimes this phase causes rats to fight a lot... Why didn't he have a cage mate from the start may I ask?


I'm a first time rat owner, so when I bought Stinky I didn't even think to get him a cage mate. The friends I'd talked to and had rats always had a single rat. I had read online about getting multiple rats, but I figured I would get him one if he didn't seem to be adapting well to his new environment, and to me. 

Stinky is out of his cage more than he's in it, I have him out to play _very _frequently. I take him places with me on my shoulder and bring him in a smaller travel cage when I sleep out. He seems happy and adapted well to the environment. We are well bonded, this I know. 

He's around 6 months, so I know that's when male rats start acting up. Is the only solution to get him a cage mate? I'm worried that bringing him a new cage mate while he's at this age will only make him more aggressive or territorial.


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## pwoink (Feb 19, 2013)

It's pretty standard procedure when reading about a single rat to advise getting a buddy -- but, that wasn't your actual question.

6 months is around the time that rat puberty happens, and the behavior you're describing is consistent with this time period and what other rat owners have experienced. While the aggression may decrease after the initial hormonal flux, it may not. Some owners get their boys neutered to deal with aggression when it becomes a problem. There may be some behavioural or training tips out there, but that's all I know!


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## Patientzero (Jan 12, 2012)

I have found getting a cage mate for a rat fixes alot of problems, my girl Binx was solitary for awhile after my old girl zero died, she started to get more aggressive(not bad but noticably more), very bored even though I had her out for hours, she would destroy things really quickly, and she started to get very bad barbering habits and she would have patches of hair missing all over her body, I got her 2 babies and since she has never been alone and her barbering has gotten alot better, she only barbers her feet now but not as excessively. I believe he really needs a friend, rats have amazing bonds with eachother and love eachothers company, you may have him out very frequently but when you aren't home he will be lonely and bored. At first when you introduce him to a new friend he will squabble for abit, this will just be to see who is going to be alpha. This age is a good age to introduce at, he isnt to old yet.


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## Rumy91989 (Dec 31, 2012)

I think the issue is a combination of hormones and his need for a buddy. It is very stressful and frustrating for a rat to be on their own, because even if you have him out most of the day he's still locked up alone at night when he's most active. He would also be able to comminucate with, bond with, and play with a ratty companion in ways that he cannot with you.

I have no doubt that you have a very special relationship, and this will not change, I promise.  His life will be more fulfilling with a ratty buddy, though. 

Since he is around 6 months you'll want to get him a companion that's about 2-3 months old so that it's small enough to not be percieved as a threat but big enough that it will be able to deal with the dominance scuffles. The key is to introduce them slowly and carefully, and within a few weeks you should have a very happy pair of boys that will love the heck out of you and each other.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Single rats can work out, but only if you have the time to be his buddy every day, and most of the day and evening... I can actually picture a scenario where dropping another rat into his cage while he's going through puberty might actually cause problems.

Rats play fight for dominance, it can look pretty crazy but they don't draw blood. And you need to win every fight and skritch and hug your rat afterwards to show how much you appreciate him being loyal to you and "letting you win".

If he starts winning play fights, he will start thinking he's an alpha rat and that he is in charge, this will trigger the release of hormones that alpha rats need to be big and bad enough to protect their packs and those hormones in captivity can make him hostile and aggressive. So play fighting is fine and necessary, but the human losing play fights can trigger some very bad consequences.

With rats it's always important to be the alpha human, even if you are the most loving and cuddly alpha in the world... In a rat's brain status is everything and if you lose status he can't be your friend anymore.


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## StinkyRat (Apr 27, 2013)

Thanks for answering my question!


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