# My Male Rats all Hate Eachother...BAD fights



## Lucys_Mom (Feb 27, 2012)

I have 3 male rats, all around 1 year old, and they all fight with eachother...badly. The last fight was between two of my boys, Ichiban and Mr Peepers. I heard a horrific scream, and went running towards their cage, where poor Mr Peepers was in his back, in his bed, with Ichiban on top of him. Mr Peepers had a 1/2 inch gash on his belly, and a 1/4 inch gash on his neck and was bleeding badly. We took him to the ER, and they closed it up with some surgical glue. We separated them for Mr Peepers to heal, but I don't want to put them back together. 

Past fights have had similar results. I have tried to pair the three up in every way possible, but it doesn't work. Every time i put them together, someone ends up with a deep gash. The two more submissive rats even fight with eachother if I remove Ichiban, the alpha male. I now have them each in their own cages, but I am afraid that they will be lonely. 

I have two questions: Is there any possible way to get them to stop hurting eachother, and is it cruel to leave them all in their own cages? 

Thank you.


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## Pixxie (Jun 3, 2012)

Are they neutered? Neutering may help


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## LightningWolf (Jun 8, 2012)

Yes I would get them neutered.

Though it might be a good step to see if they will get along with other males, Or if possible pair them each with a spayed female (or a female if they get neutered/are neutered). If fighting still happens with the females, and/or after neutering them then they may need to live on their own. Some rats are so hostile to other rats they can't live with them.

Also try increasing their Iodine and making sure there is no Flouride in their diet (depending on your state this may include taking out tap water).


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## 1a1a (May 6, 2011)

neuteeeeeer


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

As mentioned, the solution here is a neuter.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

At a year old, hormonal agression seems like a slightly too quick diagnosis. How's about a little more backstory. How long have these guys been together? When did the fighting start and what's your role in the pack dynamic?

Rats that have lots of out of cage time and have a strong mutual bond with a human alpha are way less likely to fight amongst each other for dominance. Hormonal agression also seems to have an onset or trigger date which is way younger than a year old and it tends to reduce as rats get older.

So I'm not necessarily saying "Don't neuter." But in the case of non-hormonal or otherwise normal dominance fighting is may not make much of a difference. Also, when you have your guys out for playtime with you do they fight? And how do you manage the fights when you are in between them?


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## Lucys_Mom (Feb 27, 2012)

I know this sounds crazy, but when you neuter/spay, does it prevent sexual behavior? I would consider neutering them and putting them with girls, but I don't want the girls to be living with "molesters"...lol. 

Rat Daddy- They started fighting about 4 months ago. Ichiban is the most dominant one, followed by Fluffy, who is afraid of Ichi, but picks on the other boys. Poor Mr Peepers rarely meets a rat who doesn't pick on him, leaving him terrified. They don't fight as often outside their cage, but it does happen, and it has resulted in aggressive fights. At first, they usually stand shoulder-to-shoulder, on all fours, kind of leaning on eachother and wrestling with their heads. The dominant one will try to approach the other's back side, which leads to them standing on their hind legs, pushing and squeeking. I usually separate them as soon as the next stage occurs, which starts with them fluffing up, and then they scream a horrifying squeal, and roll around in a ball on the ground, kicking eachother hard with their back feet, scratching the other rat's back or belly.


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## marcp1956 (Oct 12, 2012)

Not enough information. Cage size, diet, how much out of cage time do they have, cleanliness, clean water every day, do you spend time playing with them, are they sick, are they part wild, are they from aggressive stock, did the breeder do some creative inbreeding that resulted in the rats you have ... these are all factors (plus more) that could cause the problem you have. Great rats in a small dirty cage will fight, and part wild rats in a large clean cage will often fight as will bored rats.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Yeah I agree, more information would be helpful. In my experience, it's critical for every rat pack to have a well-established pecking order. The most desirable pecking order involves a strong alpha human who is hands-on and Omni present. This gives the rats very little reason to fight amongst themselves because after all your in charge. Although I honestly expect, that with a little more information, I'm likely to amend my advice, I'd say you're best off getting your guys out of the cage as much is possible, handling each rat as much is possible and being as assertive as possible at all times and especially when one starts to get aggressive. It's kind of like dealing with kids, you have to teach them that fighting is not all right.


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