# Will my rat become aggressive to new rats if he's been a single rat for a while



## mzunderstood09 (Feb 22, 2012)

I have another post in here that is about me thinking about getting females for my neutered rat Zorro and I am warming up to the idea. I still need some time before I get some girls since my other male, Comet, died so recently and it broke my heart. 

I was talking to my boyfriend and he wanted to know if because Zorro is a single rat now, and getting the lion's share of our attention, if he will be aggressive towards other rats because he doesn't want to share his humans. I just want to make sure all of my bases are covered since I am new to owning rats and losing Comet was devastating to me and Zorro, who now looks for him and I don't want to put him out of his comfort zone or bring something in he doesn't like.

I also ask this question because I had a dog who was a single dog for 10 years and then we got a puppy and there were many problems with the older dog getting used to the new dog, eventually they love each other and are now inseperable.

So is there a possibility for Zorro to become aggressive to new rats, even 2 female rats, because he is a single rat?

Thank you!


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## SamIAm (Feb 22, 2012)

I am a first time rat owner but I have had my girl for about 1 year. I got her by herself when I bought her and then a month later I got another female. They would not get along and the other female peed on everything and I couldn't clean the cage enough....So I gave her to a friend who had another rat. So its been just me and Jolene shes spoiled rotten. I tried again to get another rat so I got 2 slowly tried to introduce them...Jolene was not having it first thing she did was bit a toe...So i had to doctor that rat and I wasn't about to try to get them together again....another one of my friends wanted my new rats so I let him take them....Jolene from then on pees on her shelves she never did that till I brought those rats into the house. So its just me and her she seems happy she gets out and runs around the house and snuggles with me all the time. Next time I will def get sisters though. That was my experience but maybe since your rat knows how to live with another rat he will be ok. And I am sorry for your loss of Comet =(


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## mzunderstood09 (Feb 22, 2012)

Thank you. Comet was a sweetheart and loved everyone, even when he was having work done on him while he was sick, he would still lick you and never bit. His loss has been pretty hard. 

I'm glad that you and Jolene are happy. Sorry the other ratties didn't work out for you. Zorro has always been around other rats. He lived with another rat before he came to me and Comet, then he had Comet, and even when they were separated they still talked to each other from across the room and I gave them time to hang out with each other in neutral territory until they seemed like they had enough. It's just I want to make sure he is happy and not lonely. Lately, since Comet's death he's been looking for Comet in the place where his cage used to be and when he hasn't been able to find him he curls up next to me on the bed and just kinda sighs really big and doesn't move for a while. I think he's grieving.


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## SamIAm (Feb 22, 2012)

That is so sad  poor little guy. I hope he starts feeling better soon.


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## katkandy (Mar 3, 2012)

I got some great advice from this forum about putting vanilla essence on the base of your existing and new rats tails and along their spines. It covers their natural scent and makes them smell delicious. I tried it when I intro'd a new male to my baby (male too) and it worked like a charm. These ratties steal our hearts and then break them and then we do it all over again! Sorry about Comet. I hope he's playing with my Anakin overn the rainbow bridge. xoxo.


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## mzunderstood09 (Feb 22, 2012)

I will definately use the vanilla extract trick. Im sorry about Anakin, but I am glad that Comet and Anakin will have each other so I don't have to worry so much about him being lonely. I never thought that after such a short period of time together Comet would completely crawl under my skin, but he has made me realize that I love rats so much, and that they are more kind and loving than many animals.


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

No... they might be a bit territorial over you (urine marking and such) but not to the point of having to live solitary. Jealousy is a very complex thing. I have seen no reason to believe they understand it.

I know a lot of people like to say things like "if you get more than one rat they won't like you as much"... but they are just coverup excuses to deny such an essential part of care for their own selfish reasons. 

I've never introduced altered different sexes personally, but it should be fairly easy to intro a neutered male to females. There are plenty of members here who have rat harems, so to speak.


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## mzunderstood09 (Feb 22, 2012)

I would definately like to get intouch with someone on here who has a rat harem, just to ask a few questions so I'm not so worried. I want to do this right and make sure Zorro has a good life and I think companions would be great for him, since he's always been around rats or in rooms with other rats.


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## Fugitivus (Jan 29, 2012)

It shouldn't be a problem. Biddy was a lone rat until I had gotten her, and I got her at about 3 1/2 years old. We introduced everyone in the bath tub with a big plate of veggies to share. There was some bickering, dominance, grooming, and now they all live happily, no problem. 

Same with my male. Lone rat for about a year and we just introduced him to two other fella's he loves.


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## mzunderstood09 (Feb 22, 2012)

That's awesome! That really helps with the anxiety I am feeling towards this situation. And he is such a sweetie, I'm sure he will get along with some girls it's just a rat momma's worries haha.


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## mzunderstood09 (Feb 22, 2012)

So today I bought a little three pack of stuffed mice for a dollar. It's for cats, but I thought it might be nice for Zorro to have a little something to cuddle with since he's all alone. These mice toys have no catnip or really anything to them, just felt sewed together with ribbons for tails and a bell at the end. As soon as I put one in his cage he immediately went at it and tore it up, ripping out the cotton and everything. Is this a sign of aggression? Will it happen towards other rats? And as soon as this mouse toy was "dead" he left it alone and wanted nothing more to do with it. 

He isn't becoming aggressive by being alone is he? I just thought this was a weird thing because he used to have a stuffed pillow with a squeaker when Comet and he were cagemates and they never attacked it and I bought this from the same store.


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## shawnalaufer (Aug 21, 2011)

mzunderstood09 said:


> So today I bought a little three pack of stuffed mice for a dollar. It's for cats, but I thought it might be nice for Zorro to have a little something to cuddle with since he's all alone. These mice toys have no catnip or really anything to them, just felt sewed together with ribbons for tails and a bell at the end. As soon as I put one in his cage he immediately went at it and tore it up, ripping out the cotton and everything. Is this a sign of aggression? Will it happen towards other rats? And as soon as this mouse toy was "dead" he left it alone and wanted nothing more to do with it.
> 
> He isn't becoming aggressive by being alone is he? I just thought this was a weird thing because he used to have a stuffed pillow with a squeaker when Comet and he were cagemates and they never attacked it and I bought this from the same store.


It could be whatever they used for the fur. If its made out of rabbit fur or something like that, then maybe its him trying to protect himself from this foreign invader! If its fake fur, then it could be boredom. Its amazing how destructive single rats can be! 
Like you said, you had the other stuffed pillow toy when he had a cagemate. He wasnt bored to the point of needing to just do something for entertainment. He probably tore up the stuffed mouse just to have something to play with and once it was destroyed he lost interest in it....come to think of it, my human kids are kinda the same way, LOL!


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## mzunderstood09 (Feb 22, 2012)

Yeah, but I try to get him to play with all other stuffed animals I have laying around as well, like a meerkat, a wolf, a brain slug, anything and he always pushes it away. It's just weird to me. There was no fur on the mouse, it was basically just like felt or cloth with a satiny tail and at the end of it.


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## shawnalaufer (Aug 21, 2011)

If its just regular ol' material and not fur then I will go with boredom. Rats have poor eyesight but excellent senses of smell. He won't look at mouse shaped toy and think its another rat. If anything he would most likely be like "hey, whats this? This looks fun! I wonder whats inside...". Obviously there was something intriguing about it! 
I think even if it smelled like another rat, he would know its not alive based on his senses and would most likely sniff it intensely trying to get all the info he can from it (the age and sex of the rat for example). 

Here is an awesome link to rat behavior and biology including how rats see and smell:
http://www.ratbehavior.org/rats.html


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