Help my rats are fighting.

[Lando]

I need some advice. my two female rats live in a cage. Ki Ki is cocoa's daughter and was been a year ago.. anyways Cocoa and Ki Ki have never fought before, and today I heard squeaking todaay. They were fighting and Ki ki face was bloodu and fur was torn off. My parents say I need to get rid of one of them so they won't fight. I taking of Ki Ki and she is doing fine in my lap right now. I just can't believe Cocoa would do that. Help!

[Bunnicula05]

For God's sake, separate them into different cages. There's no need to get rid of them, just house them separately.

[Sam's My Baby]

I agree, put them in different cages. maybe they just matured and they are getting territoral. Rodents can be extremley territoral at times. My poor little gerbil Sam got beat up by her mother when we put them in the same cage:eek: :(

[Redd]

I know how you feel, I had a pair of guinea pigs that fought all the time, so I seperated them and they would chirp to each other from their cages---so that's as close as they were going to get. I also had a gerbil that would attack my guinea pigs. I have a pet rat and we were going to get him a playmate, but after we saw his reaction to my friend's hamster we changed our mind. As far as I know, females usually get along, but I guess the older female was just have some territorial issues. I agree with everyone else, you need to seperate them. Maybe sometimes you can let them out together on your bed so they can see each other (COMPLETELY supervised). My rat got along really well with my guinea pig, he really liked snuggling up along side his furry body (he also does this with my mom's fiancee's sheltie). I hope this helps and good luck!

[sujei]

ohh my rats fought a lot. well more like one rat would dish it and the other would take it. i had to seperate them because i was awoken at night by loud squeals of hurt. plz seperate ur girls. its for the best. if u want to reintroduce them later on then clean the cage completly so no traces remain to remind the rat of their home so they dont get teritorial. rearange all the "furniture". then give both rats a bath and dab a bit of cologne(aftershave) on their bellies x-pecially near their genitals( a small drop or so as told to me by an experienced breeder) the smell of the rat still gets through the cologne but is mixed and confuses the other rats a bit. then introduce them outside of the cage. if they seem to get along after 1/2 and hour or so put them both in the cage with a treat for each and watch them like a hawk. if they fight again then i think complete seperation is the best.;) good luck!:D

[Aspen and Misty]

My rats fight. But its more of excuss me that is my food! Seperate them, and don't put them back together unless you know for sure they will get along. I once had 25 mice and they got along great so it is porrible for them to get along.

[luckies4me]

Oh my! Where to begin. Seems like a lot of you here think your rats are always fighting! Just because a rat aqueeks does not mean they are fighting eachother. Rats love to force groom eachother and most of the time they squeek while doing so. Mine squeek all the time, sometimes it sounds like bloody murder but it is just force grooming or rough play. Of course if there is blood this means they are having issues with eachother. How old are your females? Are you sure they are both does and there is not a buck there? Were they fighting at night? Does go into heat every five days in the evening and their heat lasts throughout the night. Sometimes, the doe in heat mounts the other female and she can get very annoyed by this. After while they will start to bite if the other doe has not learned her lesson yet. How long have you had your rats? Sometimes as females mature they can turn into rather mean little critters, in which case it is time for your doe to live alone or to find her another rat who she canget along with. A little bleeding is not an issue. You will know if one is trying to kill the other. When my Cocoa was pregnant and in labor, she got really cranky and bit my blue berk doe Blue in the ear. This wasn't a big deal. She was in pain and obvisouly a little stressed. This is how I knew it was time for her to be moved so she could have her litter in peace.

Is there a chance they could have been arguing over food? Some rats are very territorial over food. It could also be do to force grooming and one just got ticked off at the other and issued a warning. Try to house them seperately for a few days and then introduce them again. But first put them bak in together and if they fight again then seperate them.


"I have a pet rat and we were going to get him a playmate, but after we saw his reaction to my friend's hamster we changed our mind."

oh man! What can I say here. Well you must know that rats will most likely kill any other small animal that is tiny, ie. mouse, gerbil, hamster. My rats adore my guine pigs though. Your rats reaction was perfectly normal of any rat. Rats are very social and it is reccomended they be kept insame sex pairs, the more friends the better as long as you can provide properly for them. I am sad you changed your mind about getting another ratty friend. :( It is just to sad when people do not know that rats need other rat friends.

One more thing, this is a big no no! Please everyone do not dab cologne on your rats, especially near their genitals! It is best when introducing for them to smell the same but rats have very sensitive noses and cologne can send them into a fast case of upper respiratory problems. This is why cedar and pine are bad bedding choices for rats. They are very sensitive! I would suggest cleaning out the cage, making sure to rinse any residual cleaner off and then add your bedding. Carefresh, aspen, and Cell Sorb Plus are good starters. You can use a dryer sheet and rub them in it so that they smell the same. You don't want to rub it by their genitals. Rats use their genitals to find out things about eachother. If they could not smell that it's a rat you can expect bigtime problems and fighting. They sniff eachother "downthere" as a way of communication. They can tell if the other rat is male/female, if a doe is in season etc. They don't really need to be introduced though, they allready know eachother! Butif you keep them seperated for more than a few days re-introducing guidelines need to be followed. I like to introduce rats in a bathroom where there is no way for them to escape. Make them smell the same and let them at it. OF course supervision at all times must be done. Do not mistake force grooming or a few squeeks as fighting. If you see them both standing paw to paw thisis a sign there is problems. You can try again later. If all goes well put them in the clean cage that contains no rat smells and see how they do. Yogurt drops are my rats favorite rewards! Hope this helps and please everyone if you are going to get a rat please get two of the same sex! They are very social and need to have another rat as a friend. For more info on rats and their care here are a few helpful links:

rodentfancy, helpful info on all types of rodents (http://www.rodentfancy.com/forum/)
yahoogroupratclubs (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RatsPacNW/)
rattie rascals rattery (http://www.boardmanweb.com/rattery/index.htm)

tons of useful rat info (http://members.madasafish.com/~cj_whitehound/Rats_Nest/Norway_Rats/Health.htm) RatFanClub (http://www.goosemoose.com/rfc/index.php?board=3) cute site (http://www.pet-net.net/small_animals/rats.htm) informative articles (http://www.rodentfancy.com/pet/)


I gave a listing of a well known rat breeder who has plenty of great information on her site! Hope this helps some of you.

Cass
Here is a pic of Roxy, my odd eye split capp stripe blue fawn