# Sex through the bars?



## Suzuks (Jun 25, 2008)

Okay, here's my (possibly paranoid :roll: ) concern - I have 2 boys - and someone is giving away 2 girls (they're SO cute). I want to get them, but I'd like to be able to give the boys and girls free-range time in the same room, but at different times. 

However, the cages are all going to be stored in my room as well. I'm just concerned that when the boys or girls are loose and the opposite sex are in the cage that they might get interested in each other. I don't want them to climb up on the bars and manage to get it on through the bars.

Is that possible? :?: 

I'd rather ask a dumb question than make that kind of mistake.


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## A1APassion (Jul 29, 2007)

it is rumored but I am quite skeptical about this.... I believe the rumor stems from those who have been a bit careless with separation. I cover-story so to speak or just a story that seems believable when they actually have no idea how their rats turned up pregnant.

This is one for Mythbusters. They say they are always looking for show ideas.

I've kept both males & females for over 25 yrs & we had one oops in all that time & that one I can't even claim responsibility over because the darn rat came to me in a cage she had always been living in & I had her for a few months before we found her inside a a male's cage. Once this was discovered, we bought a different cage, marked the calendar & crossed fingers.... crap. Ten days or so later she had babies. So that means the little hussy was skipping out, doing the deed & slipping back into her own cage prior to being busted. 

So... if you take extra special care to never allow the two to get together. Or you take the added precaution of getting the cage off the floor & away from a source for them to climb up to it... you should never risk any breeding.

However, I will tell you this. Your boys are going to be miserable crawling around an area that smells of girls. They will be distracted by their scent trails, completely focused on trailing these pee-paths all over the room & playtime with you would go straight out of their minds.

I don't allow my boys to free range in the same area as the girls. I can see a huge difference in their behavior between running around in the room they are kept & when they are in an areas that is void of girl smells.

So there you go... you can get them but be careful but I would advise separate areas to free range in or all you will get is boys focused on finding the girl rat & the other end of the scent trail


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## Vixie (Jul 21, 2006)

A1APassion said:


> This is one for Mythbusters. They say they are always looking for show ideas.


That would be SO cool to see, as long as they don't use real rats! :lol:


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## Forensic (Apr 12, 2007)

Personal, although it's not probable, I'd say it's possible.

I know dogs can do it, why not rats?


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## cinderella (Sep 10, 2007)

Im not going to say its not possible.

I will say Ive chosen to keep my males and females in a separate room, because it seems my gals go into heat at the same time and trying to feed males during those days is difficult as they kept trying to get past me and all hung over each other in one corner of the cage, like kids ain a school yard saying pick me, pick me


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## Suzuks (Jun 25, 2008)

That's really good advice - about not keeping them in the same room cause the boys will be distracted by the scent - I hadn't thought of that. 

Thanks - I'll have to REALLY think about this some more. . .


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## begoodtoanimals (Dec 6, 2007)

Snip, snip and your problem is solved, they can all live together and pay attention to you too.


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## Stace87 (Jun 24, 2008)

Could you afford to neuter/spay *Suzuks*? Could be quite costly couldn't it? :?


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## CrazyBones (Apr 1, 2008)

begoodtoanimals said:


> Snip, snip and your problem is solved, they can all live together and pay attention to you too.


Lol, yes that solves everything


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## Neverstrayed (Jun 16, 2008)

I've got 5 boys that i need to get spayed :/ one a month is how we'll do it lol


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## Suzuks (Jun 25, 2008)

I've heard others post about abscesses forming in the area where their rats were fixed - Is this a common problem? 

I don't wanna endanger my boys


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Neuter abscesses do occur sometimes (usually a retained stitch that didn't dissolve) but not that often. They aren't really dangerous more a PITA than anything. But they can also be taken care of pretty easily too.


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## A1APassion (Jul 29, 2007)

it happened with a boy I had taken in from a woman who had him neutered, the poor little guy never healed properly & pretty much spent the the rest of his life (about 9 months) on antibiotics battling one abscess after another around the surgery site. He was eventually PTS due to a rapid growth tumor. The vet & I both concurred he had already been through to much so we allowed him to cross over peacefully. 

There is no conclusive way to determine whether this was 100% the result of the neuter but the vet was pretty sure it was.

Based on my personal experience... I'll take getting bit by a male rat or make custom living arrangements for him because he is a bit ill-tempered rather than put one through that type of post-operative mess

I am not suggesting people NOT explore this option

It is just my own personal decision on this 

YMMV


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## Forensic (Apr 12, 2007)

I don't think you can determine not to neuter based on one botched neuter.

With an experienced vet, problems seem to be minimal or easily dealt with.


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## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

i've had a few neuters done now. and though one ended up in abscesses i will still have my boys neutered by the same vet. like forensic said, one botched neuter does not mean all of them will have problems. i do trust my vet. not every operation no matter the experience is going to go perfect all the time. the more experience the less likely there will be problems but that doesn't mean you still won't have problems guaranteed. if a neuter is something you are interested in pursueing then discuss it with your vet. some vets won't do it all and you will need to find someone that is not only comfortable but can back up that comfort with experience. i have also come across vets that have agreed to spueter that had never spuetered before or ones that have done routinely terrible jobs at it but were comfortable in doing it so long as they got paid. as with any operation, be it for human or for rat, you need to talk to the doc that is to the operation and get a feel for their experience level and their comfort level with the operation. you can so far as asking them to verbally walk you through what they intend to do. a neuter is a pretty routine elective surgery, there are risks of course, but normally, with the right vet, they go off without a hitch


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## A1APassion (Jul 29, 2007)

Forensic said:


> I don't think you can determine not to neuter based on one botched neuter.
> 
> With an experienced vet, problems seem to be minimal or easily dealt with.


Please let me clarify because it looks like my post has been taken the wrong way by at least one reader & I do not wish there to be any confusion 

I don't want anyone to think I am suggesting they do not look into this procedure... just do your homework & ask your vet A LOT of questions & then ask other vets A LOT of questions. 

Just in case this reply quoted was in reply to my post about "one botched job"... I didn't determine this choice to not do this because one botched job. It was just the final one I plan to have to experience with a rat. I'm actually having a male rabbit snipped next Wednesday. (btw, I researched this & found Isofluorene to be the anesthesia of choice for rabbits) 

This neuter was preformed by a very capable vet. I don't fault her for this at all. I honestly believe it was completely poor recuperative ability of this rat. When you read about neuters gone bad often it is because the rats don't heal well with any type of surgery. I also know that the rat she neutered a couple days before he was neutered passed before the procedure was finished. Another unfortunate thing that happens with any form of surgery with small animals. I also know about several other neuters as well as tumor removals that were performed prior to these two that didn't go well & were all successful.

The vet that I worked with while treating the abscesses since the original vet is not local to me does neuters & we talked about the mortality rate. He said only about 40 to 60 % heal with no complications at all. That means no abscesses, no ripping at the surgery site... just snip & good to go. I have since spoke with a few other vets & they have pretty much told me the same thing.

So I determined that those odds just weren't good enough for me. My personal thoughts are that if I can find an alternative that works in order to avoid elective surgery... that is what I will pursue because I can keep all male communities, I can keep an aggressive male on his own, I can keep a rat that wants to draw blood. I can... I'm not saying everyone can or everyone should.

I think that clarifies that. I would never tell anyone to not.. just make sure you know what you are doing & make sure you understand the pros & cons.


In my post earlier I clearly said 


> Based on my personal experience... I'll take getting bit by a male rat or make custom living arrangements for him because he is a bit ill-tempered rather than put one through that type of post-operative mess
> 
> I am not suggesting people NOT explore this option
> 
> ...


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## tdnrat (Jul 23, 2008)

Personally I wouldn't neuter the males just because you want new rats.


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## Suzuks (Jun 25, 2008)

See, that's kind of what I was thinking - I hate to make them go through that - since they're my primary ratties.


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