# About neutering aggressive males?



## Adrian (Dec 31, 2013)

How often does neutering an aggressive male rat calm them down, in most cases? Has anyone here had a lot of success doing this to ease aggression?

I’m quite sure I will be getting Rollo, my aggressive and super moody male neutered, because it’s gotten to the point where he’s drawn blood on his brother Askell who NEVER starts the fights or even fights back, and where he has attacked their cage mate Falon so often and relentlessly that Falon felt he had no choice but to but Rollo quite hard, leaving a mark. Falon is normally a very playful, gentle and affectionate rat (even with Rollo) so I know Rollo really had to push him to make him feel like he needed to bite hard. Despite all the help I’ve gotten on this site Rollo also continues to nip me (never hard, he gives “warning nips” when he’s agitated).

I have been trying for about a month to solve Rollo’s aggression, moodiness and standoffishness with me and the other two rats. Sometimes it seemed progress was being made, other days he has been a terror to his cage mates, usually attacking completely unprovoked. As for his standoffishness, some progress has actually been made. Moving the boys into a smaller cage (it’s still quite large, large enough for 4 rats and they are only 3) and out into the dinning room so they are around me more often has helped. Rollo used to run away to be by himself in the big cage(it was calculated to be able to hold 6 rats comfortably). The smaller living quarters has made it so there are fewer good sleeping spots and thus Rollo has spent more time close to cage mates and is slowly learning how to be a normal, sociable rat. But this hasn’t done anything for his aggression.

I’m really hoping neutering will give Rollo the calmness to be able to adjust properly in other aspects of his life and can really improve his life overall. If he wasn’t so aggressive, the other rats would want to play with him more. If he could learn to play with the other rats without turning it into a fight, he could learn to play with me as well, then he’d be able to bond with me more (because just spending time getting petted, getting treats, riding in my hood, hoody pocket and on my shoulder hasn’t done anything at all to improve our relationship). And hopefully bonding to me and the other rats more would make him want to play with me and the other two boys when out free ranging instead of running around by himself in every dark hidey-hole he can find, so he’d be able to spend more time outside of the cage, which I know he’d love.

Anyhow, any info about how neutering can help aggressive rats, personal stories, things to help aggression in general, etc., would be helpful. Thanks.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

If the aggression is hormonal, neutering can be a fix. The problem is if it is behavioral it won't do a thing. So, if he is just a bossy butthole neuterin won't make him better. But, if he is sweet but just seems manic from hormonal changes (usually between 3-8mo) then a neuter can level the playing field. 

I never neutered for aggression but obviously it's been done and has worked. I have noticed that my puberty boys calmed down with marking and dominance assertion with their neuter; but I also do immersion so that helps the behavioral side (for example, Elias is a flirt and wants to look big and strong in front of the girls. I kept negatively responding to any related behavior and it markedly decreased in relation to him bullying Milo). 


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Well to be honest, most rat aggression is the result of humans screwing them up. So immersion works best on behavioral problems caused by humans...

The second problem is that when humans don't manage their packs one rat tends to take on the alpha role. Nature gives rats that start thinking themselves the alpha an extra boost of hormones to make them bigger and stronger and more aggressive so they can be better leaders. Once a rat loses it's alpha status... usually to another rat, but a human can take charge too, it's hormones go down and it becomes "normal" again. Again immersion can overturn a petty dictator rat and get him normal again, not easy and it takes some time for the hormones to get to normal, but we've done it.

Then there are a few rats that actually have a hormonal imbalance, I mean a defective situation unlike the normal ones listed above. This rat has physiological or mental problems that causes him to become more aggressive. In some cases neutering helps these rats where hormones are either the trigger to the bad behavior or a consequence of some other problem. In some cases, neutering doesn't help. It's a try it and see kind of a thing.

I've encountered a few people that have wound up neutering most if not all of their male rats and other's that have raised male many rats without ever neutering any. So I believe that rats with mental and physiological issues are really in the minority and most rats can be fixed behaviorally. The fact that some folks tend to always wind up with aggressive males while other's never do strikes me as a difference between pack management more than luck in choosing the wrong rats.

Different people tend to approach their issues differently, some folks try the neuter first and if that doesn't work try immersion, while others do immersion then try to improve their pack management and if that fails move on to neutering. 

Crossover? Can immersion actually help a rat with an unnatural hormonal imbalance? Or can neutering fix a rat with behavioral issues... Perhaps to some degree yes. A rat with a short fuse might be carefully managed behaviorally to keep him from being overly aggressive, even if he's got a tendency towards aggression and a rat with a behavioral problem can get the wind knocked out of his sails by the surgical process.... So the technically wrong approach might help in some cases.

In either case when the proper approach is applied to the right rat and it's followed up by proper pack management and sufficient hands on participation by the human the success rate is pretty good. 

Rats that are aggressive due to brain tumors and such are beyond help.

Lastly, just like in the human world there are maximum security prisons and mental hospitals where some inmates can't be helped. Their aggressiveness and lack of impulse control makes them dangerous. The same is true of a similarly small group of rats.


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## Isamurat (Jul 27, 2012)

Neutering is generally worth a shot once youve had a good go at solving the problem with strong handling. Even in a rat who has behavioural issues that are predominantly due to a bad start in life it can make a difference as a portion of what makes male rats aggresive, even if only small. I would try it in most situations after working with them for a while, as long as the rats are healthy and fit risks are low, though it does carry a risk. Picking a vet who is experienced in rat neuters helps a lot with that. If it doesnt help then it opens up the possibility of that boy living with girls and is generally good for there long term health to.


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## Daize (Jun 8, 2013)

Adrian said:


> How often does neutering an aggressive male rat calm them down, in most cases? Has anyone here had a lot of success doing this to ease aggression?
> 
> I’m quite sure I will be getting Rollo, my aggressive and super moody male neutered, because it’s gotten to the point where he’s drawn blood on his brother Askell who NEVER starts the fights or even fights back, and where he has attacked their cage mate Falon so often and relentlessly that Falon felt he had no choice but to but Rollo quite hard, leaving a mark. Falon is normally a very playful, gentle and affectionate rat (even with Rollo) so I know Rollo really had to push him to make him feel like he needed to bite hard. Despite all the help I’ve gotten on this site Rollo also continues to nip me (never hard, he gives “warning nips” when he’s agitated).
> 
> ...



Neutering a rat will calm him down. For some, it's very drastic and others, not so much. It's not something that happens overnight either. It takes time for hormonal changes to occur, even with lack of testicles. 

My friends rat, Charlie, ended up getting neutered. It wasn't really what she wanted to do, but my rat, Belle, attacked him and ripped one of his testicles out. This resulted in a trip to the vet and a neuter. 

Charlie was never aggressive towards me, but would bite his owner a "LOT". They just never really bonded or maybe she was intimidated by his size. He's a HUGE male. After the neuter he became much calmer. He was still himself, but a kinder gentler form of himself. He did put on about 50 grams after the neuter. She had to adjust his feeding/exercise and he lost 35 grams. So, he ended up 15 grams heavier. He stopped marking as much, but he's still very active..... for a male. He seems rather sluggish, to me, compared to my female. 

Neutering can be a good thing, but some people have had their animals die during a neuter. So, it's not something to be taking lightly. Although deaths are rare, they do happen. If you've exhausted all other methods of calming your boy down, then maybe a neuter is a good idea.​


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