# a little bit rude of roobs



## fallinstar (Nov 26, 2006)

hes behaving ok ish now but hes gotten in to the habbit of licking and sniffing the others balls and sometimes nips them why??!! also in the last few days all three of my boys have started wriggling their tails ive never seen them do this before is this normal?


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## Nazarath (Feb 20, 2007)

Seems like aggression to me, som of my male mice do it to each other and then they start fighting and i have to split them up. I would split your boys up. This could be just if they are horny and then after a while you can probly try putting them together again.


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## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

i woouldn't bother splitting them up unless a major fight occurs and remember o blood no foul. rats need to have a few fights to establish heiracrhy every now and then but they seldom go too far and even less seldom with already established cagemates. how old are your boys? its sounds like a bit of teenage hormones to me. which would be normal if they're only a few months old. mind you i'm no expert with male rats. the eldest male rat i've cared for continously was the babies i rasied and was finally able to find homes for at 5 months of age. i'm not sure what the tail wagging means, i once had a rat that would wag her tail when she was happy but she was a very odd rat and i'm not sure if she still does it now that she's all grown up.


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## fallinstar (Nov 26, 2006)

i have already sepperated my rats they are only ever together when its play time! they dont like sharing a cage as i got roob at a seprate time from toby and cody. my toby and cody are about 7 months old and roob is about 6 months old lol well thats based on the age the pet shops sed they were wen i got them!


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## Night (Feb 23, 2007)

Separating your rats is a very bad thing to do. Rats NEED to live with other rats. They are not animals who can live alone happily. If they're getting aggressive, simply have them neutered and the fighting will cease.


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## JennieLove (Jan 2, 2007)

Neutering aggressive rats will lessen the amount of aggression and will rarely stop it completely. Like twitch said, there is not point in separating them if it isnâ€™t serious fighting. Alot of the time its just boys being boys. I have only owned male ratties and in all cases they have shown some slight cases of aggression in the beginning, but as time went on they out grew it and have all been great. I have also neutered my males and there was little, if any difference at all in the amount of aggression towards each other. If your rats do end up getting very aggressive, to the point where they are drawing blood, you need to separate them and then slowly re-introduce them together. No worries though, they will get use to each other in time  I hope everything work out for you and your babies, Im sure it will!


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## fallinstar (Nov 26, 2006)

Night said:


> Separating your rats is a very bad thing to do. Rats NEED to live with other rats. They are not animals who can live alone happily. If they're getting aggressive, simply have them neutered and the fighting will cease.


ok then if its wrong to split rats up does that mean it is right to introduce a new rat who wants to attack the others in their cage? if i didnt seprate my rats wen i did i would have 3 very beaten up rats, i had a lone rat before i had my 3 boys and she was a very happy lone rat and lived a happy life until she got cancer, also if i get my rats neutered its not that simple ok the cost isnt to much but i dont think i could cope with one of my boys not pulling thu the anistetic thats alot worse then having them seprate! so rats do not NEED to live with others as my daisy got all the love and attention she needed from me and my family and neutering isnt simple!


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## fallinstar (Nov 26, 2006)

jennie love ive tryed and tryed with my rats when they are out for a while they are ok then they start fighting drawing blood and biting each others fur out in chunks! so i asked around and the advice i got from the vets and friends was to seprate them! but their cages are next to each other so the can sniff at each other hopefully they will be ok soon!


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## Night (Feb 23, 2007)

Rats actually do need to live with others. They are extremely social animals, and no amount of human interaction can substitute that. 

Neutering is an extremely simple, quick procedure that takes about 10-15 minutes to do. I have had countless rats neutered/spayed, and all of them have pulled through with flying colors.


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## fallinstar (Nov 26, 2006)

well thats your rats i love my rats and dont want to chance loosing them for the simple fact it might make them get along, i no many lone rats that are happy and healthy, my daisy lived nearly 3 years on her own she lived with me 24/7 lone rats are possible


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## Night (Feb 23, 2007)

Keeping rats alone is possible, sure, but rats are much happier in groups. This isn't just my experience - this is fact. If you would like me to link you to articles, I will be happy to do so.


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## fallinstar (Nov 26, 2006)

no im quite happy with the way things are thank you


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## nerdchick (Feb 26, 2007)

Fallinstar, I've noticed that you are very against neutering/spaying. I don't mean to be rude, but why is that? Did you read something that turned you off of the procedure, or did someone you know have a bad experience? I just want to know what's going through your head. I am a big supporter of neutering, but I'd like to know what your thoughts are.

-Caty


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## fallinstar (Nov 26, 2006)

i know sevral peopl near me who were told as i was that there was low risk and 4 of their 5 rats died and they wernt even done all at the same vets!


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## Night (Feb 23, 2007)

That just means those vets weren't very experienced.


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## fallinstar (Nov 26, 2006)

yes because 4 vets all dont know what they are doing im sorry this is my opinion and thats that!


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## Night (Feb 23, 2007)

Uh, actually, that's completely plausible. Extremely rat-savvy vets who have done lots of surgeries and have worked with rodents for years, are very hard to find. It's not unheard of for an owner to have to drive 2-3 hours to get to a good exotics specialist.


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## nerdchick (Feb 26, 2007)

That is very tragic about your friends' rats. But, neutering is the best way to deal with aggression, I say find a very experienced vet, have a consultation with them, look at their case history, etc. If they are rat experienced, and I mean experienced with everything from respiratory issues to surgeries, it might be worth a chat. Bring in the ratties, show how they interact, and all that. I'm not saying you should do anything, but a consultation is never a bad idea.

-Caty


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## JennieLove (Jan 2, 2007)

I do agree with Night and nerdchick...It will lessen the amount of fighting but won't or will rarely stop it all together. If itâ€™s as bad as you say and your babies are drawing blood, the best thing (just for now) is to separate them, at lest until you figure out what to do. If you keep the rats together knowing that they are hurting each other its common sense to separate them before itâ€™s too late and you wake up with a dead rat. I understand that neutering them is a very big concern of yours and even with a rat-savvy vet, there is always that chance of losing the rat. I have had this problem many times seeing how all I have ever owned was male rats who do tend to be more aggressive. It does take time and working with them everyday is something you have to do if you want them to get used to each other without getting them neutered. All you can do is introduce the rats slowly. Have you tried switching cages? Thatâ€™s a trick that has helped me a lot with introducing ratties. One week a rat would sleep in one cage and the switch it up, let them get a feel for the others cage. This helps them get use to each others scents without actually keeping them together in one cage. When you take them out to play, donâ€™t do it in the same room their cages are in. Take them in another room or in the bath tub, this way they rely more on each other when they are in a new environment and bond much more quickly. I know, fights will still break out every so often but thatâ€™s apart of introduction as well. Just be there for them, when it gets out of hand then thatâ€™s when you know that they need a break. Slowly but surely they will come around. Itâ€™s worked for me every time! Make sure that you keep their cages close enough so that they know they are next to each other, thatâ€™s very important. Donâ€™t worry everything will work out.


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## fallinstar (Nov 26, 2006)

the weird thing is when i get them out for play time 2 gether they are fine for the 1st 2 hours then start to fight and every time i try puting them in the same cage roob stops eating drinkin moving and all he does is squeek and bite, yet on his own hes fine i think its more that he was in a pet store for 3 months and still thinks hes ment to have his own cage so im a softie and give him his own way as it causes less problems


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