we have had our rats for about 3 months now and we adopted them at 3 months old, they have always been together and are from the same litter as they are from pets at home and never left the store just got moved to the adoption bit because no one bought them.
we haven't really had any problems with them in the past and have owned ratties previously so are reasonably experienced but yesterday one of the rats-Billy really went for his brother-Adam, in a way we have never seen them fight before, his hair was stood on end all puffed out and extremely aggressive. when my boyfriend was trying to separate them Billy latched onto his finger and wouldn't let go which resulted in a lot of blood. he hasn't managed to do much damage to Adam yet thank god but we have had them separated since so he hasn't had much of a chance! we have tried putting them near each other today but although Billy doesn't seem in as much of an aggressive mood now Adam is scared of him and wont go near him, and after we put them near each other Adam runs away and hides near us and burys his head and wont move.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com I have seen the advice of putting them in a bath to share a traumatic experience together and reconnect their bond but I was unsure if that would be wise in this case due to Adam being so fragile and scared?
Its such a shame because this has just happened out of the blue they were very close up until now and only had little fights, both have seemed at an equal level so I don't really understand what has happened. If anyone has experienced a similar thing and has advice they could pass on that would be great as I don't really want to keep them separated unless we really have to!
Are your boys just reaching sexual maturity? Six to seven months old is usually when behavior like this can start. Most boys will have occasional spats, sorting out who is in charge or squabbling over a treat but occasionally a very "manly" rat may be just too full of boy hormones to live peaceably with others. of the twenty boys I have had only one has ever been too violent to live with others, it is not common. I would try to bring them back together. A life apart from others is not fair to Adam and the one moment of stress will be worth knowing for sure , and if it doesn't work he will soon forget.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
Starting by stripping their cage and bleaching it out, remove all odors and all history, move shelves, change positions of bowl, boxes etc ... Bathe the boys separately and lightly perfume. Smear peanut butter/yogurt all over their backs and tails and place both into the brand new cage. Neither will smell as they should, the cage has no history and they will be miffed at all the goop covering them. Some places on their body will be difficult to clean, the help of the other rat will be required.
I had two girls who could not get along. The one barred the other from food, pulled out hair, drew a little blood and would viciously attack on sight. I have found this method to be VERY effective. Too distracted with peanut butter the unlikely alliance was formed and they remained very good buddies their whole lives.
Billy could be aggressive due to hormonal issues. A neuter would help a lot, and also reduces risk for testicular cancer.
