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
yahoogroupratclubs
rattie rascals rattery
tons of useful rat info RatFanClub cute site informative articles
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
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