# Are my rats fighting or play fighting?



## VeronicaJ3 (May 11, 2015)

My rats get along pretty well, but sometimes on a rare occasion, they'll start nipping at each other, especially when they're in their house. I'm not sure if it's attempting to claim dominance, but they'll both chase after each other for no reason, but then they'll stop and then fall asleep right next to each other as if nothing happened. When I give one rat a treat and give the other one the same type of treat, one rat will forget that I gave them one and they'll fight over the treat when both have one each. Is this play fighting or serious fighting? They like to nip at each other randomly. Otherwise they're completely fine with each other.


----------



## VeronicaJ3 (May 11, 2015)

Ok, one of my rats started bleeding earlier on his nail or paw (I would guess nail) and I don't know how it happened, but it seems to have stopped. I'm not sure if it's them fighting or not.


----------



## ratsarecute (Jul 13, 2015)

How old are your rats? It is common for rats to play wrestle when they are young. My babies chase each other and wrestle over treats and in their igloo all the time, but it's nothing serious. Is the attacked rat squeaking or seem in distress at all? If the fighting is just creating a rustling sound I wouldn't worry, but if one is audibly in distress then you might be concerned. Also how much blood?


----------



## VeronicaJ3 (May 11, 2015)

I'm not 100% sure of their age because I got them from Petsmart, but I can guess the first one is about less than a year while the other one seems to be about about a year old. The rat being attacked isn't squeaking, but next time I think I'll pay more attention to see if he's in distress or not. I had picked up the rat and saw it was just a few droplets of blood. Then when I was attempting to pick up the rat to see where the blood was coming from, more blood came, but it honestly didn't seem like much. Not sure how to explain this, but the blood was a medium sized area between my thumb and my forefinger. It didn't seem to be coming out rapidly like when it's pouring out, but it was coming out just slowly, but I put it in some water (with my rat protesting because he hates water) and it seemed to stop after a while.


----------



## VeronicaJ3 (May 11, 2015)

I watched my rats extra carefully when they were doing whatever they were doing. One rat will sideways pin the other rat down and it looks as if he's "nibbling" or biting his skin close to his eye (which concerned me), but when I picked up the rat who was attacked, he seemed fine. No blood. And sometimes, both rats will rear up on their hind legs as much as they can go in their igloo and wrestle slightly. Another time, one rat climbed over the other right on top of his face and just lied there on the other rat's face. I usually have them separated unless I'm home, until I can figure out what they're doing.


----------



## Chaolithe (Jul 13, 2015)

VeronicaJ3 said:


> Ok, one of my rats started bleeding earlier on his nail or paw (I would guess nail) and I don't know how it happened, but it seems to have stopped. I'm not sure if it's them fighting or not.


I'm not an expert by any means, but I would guess it's his nail/claw as well that was bleeding. Rat claws can break from whatever reason (I'm gonna say in your situation it's from rough play) and cause bleeding.

My two boys are only 2 and a half months old and they do the same thing. They play fight. I hear a squeak once in awhile, but I feel that that is normal rat talk telling the other to "back off". I agree with what ratsarecute said about the squeaking. If it sounds like a distressed squeak you should be worried.



VeronicaJ3 said:


> I watched my rats extra carefully when they were doing whatever they were doing. One rat will sideways pin the other rat down and it looks as if he's "nibbling" or biting his skin close to his eye (which concerned me), but when I picked up the rat who was attacked, he seemed fine. No blood. And sometimes, both rats will rear up on their hind legs as much as they can go in their igloo and wrestle slightly. Another time, one rat climbed over the other right on top of his face and just lied there on the other rat's face. I usually have them separated unless I'm home, until I can figure out what they're doing.


And again I am not an expert, and I could be wrong, but I am gonna say by the description in this post that they are playing, because my two males are doing the same thing that you have described and it sounds playful. I have watch them closely enough to know that they are safe together and not really going to cause each other harm. They end their fights by grooming and then curling up to sleep again usually and that's that.

For now, if it makes you feel more comfortable you could continue to separate them the way you have been until you get a more for sure answer. But I'm feeling pretty positive that those two are playing. If you see more blood or wounds anywhere you should try to find a way to stop it or keep them apart.

Best of luck to you and your boys. I hope they figure out their little spats quickly.


----------



## VeronicaJ3 (May 11, 2015)

Chaolithe said:


> They end their fights by grooming and then curling up to sleep again usually and that's that.


I have seen them do that a few times, so I'm pretty sure now that they're playing. That has stopped my worrying for any fights now.


----------

