I'm thinking of getting some male rats, but I really don't want to have to put them in seperate cages, as that defeats the purpose of getting more than one.
Have you ever owned more than 2 male rats in one cage? Did they fight often? What actions did you take?
Answers:
mmm looks over at 11 completely unrelated males ages ranging from 14 months down to 6 months all sharing one huge cage and ponders a while =)
my boys have the odd scuffle, mainly over the choicest food or sleeping place, who has the right to bundle out of the door first, who gets the first cuddle,
yes there have been scuffles over aplha and beta status but once thats established peace doth reign, you just have to remember the no blood no foul rule and let them get on with it, boys are wimps they squeal more than draw blood
best bet if scuffles start that are worrying you, either blow in their faces which will make them spring apart OR have a plant spray bottle with water in, a quick squirt will make them stop and start cleaning themselves
if your really that worried go to a breeder and get a pair of brothers who have good temperament lines and have been handled from birth, but ALL of mine, every single one, are petshop or rescue boys and get along just fine
most important rule though is
GET THE BIGGEST CAGE YOU CAN [ NOT TANK CAGE]
and then fill it with as many hammocks tubes etc you can that way they can be together or apart, they have the choice. too small a cage and you are asking for more squabbles, but still no real fighting
myth - males have to be related
myth- they have to be the same age
myth- they fight to the death
myth- they have to be castrated [although one of mine is, not because of fighting though]
myth - keeping two boys together means they will smell more as a sign of dominance
TRUE - boys are no harder to keep together than girls are
It's pretty good.
pretty darned good. but then, they're rats, so I couldn't care if they kill each other, but I can see where you might, as I have cavies and a rabbit, myself.yes, they likely will fight, especially if within sniffing range of a female.
100% are the chances they will fight even just 2.It's a territory thing and they will feel the other is invading their space.You can fix a female and a male will still attack her.Rats need to kept separate.
u may get 2 or more male rats...but to prevent serious injuries,I would get them at a young age. Males tend to be more layed back but wen it comes to domonance and territory there always has to be the"Top Rat". wen u get ure male rats be sure to calculate(rember get them at young age)the behavior of them and mark down who may be the dominant male...if he is then keep a close eye on him because he will be the one who starts most fights..this is wat i did...and if u see them fighting seperate them from each other and then bring them back together(they will get it)!
GOOD LUCK!!!
"All rats are Dapper"
As long as you get them when they're young and they're used to being together (such as litter mates), then you shouldn't have a problem.
But, I've never had more than 2 male rats in a cage at a time.
Don't listen to that person that said rats need to be kept seperately. It's the other way around. Rats are social and like being together.
Chances are very good your male rats will fight. If you want more than one rat..alter your male and get a female.
However, I have had 2 female rats together in a very large cage, and they did great for many many years.
There is a very good chance. Because the are males they are more aggressive. At the pet store by me they don't keep any more than two in the cage at a time.
I have anywhere from 2 to 14 boys per cage. All except one group has lived in peace.
In the unrelenting group I had 14 boys which I have had to split up. In a few cases when I have more then 7 males in a cage that's when the short-lived fights start to break out. From what I have read from other rat keepers a maximum of 5 males per cage seems to be a hormonious arrangement. If you are new to rat-keeping I would suggest that you start out small and get bigger gradually as you gain experience.
I have the room and the cages, so what I do is work out who gets along with who and I separate the boys into groups, keeping in mind that the boys who are bickering the most are the alphas, so there still needs to be an alpha per group.
The alphas don't fight a lot, there's never been serious blood-letting, but when they do bicker they make every other boy in the cage nervous and on edge. This stress is no good for anyone, including myself, so it's best to split them up into groups of friends that get along.
I am always introducing new boys to my rat room, so my situation is a bit different. If you decided on how many boys (up to 5) you wanted to start out with, and got them all from the same cage at the pet store/breeders, at the same time, then they should be good friends for life. In this case it doesn't matter if they are different ages if they are from the same cage.
I admit, when we hear of the Dapper Rats we think of Robyn and her Australian rats and website. I also do a double take when I hear of someone using the same name for themselves. But the answerer using the name "dapper rats" has spelt it in small letters. In this case I think the answerer is referring to her rats as "handsome, spruced-up, debonaire", rats as is the definition of dapper in the dictionary.
spazrats
"my life has gone to the rats"
If you get them when they are young and they grow up together you won't have much of a problem. I have 5 females in one cage and they fight just as much as the 3 brothers in the cage next to them. There aren't any serious fights, just some disagreaments sometimes. I would maybe only get two though, two's company, three's a crowd. Good luck and enjoy!
maybe so, maybe not, ya never kno
If they are raised together from a young age (four to six weeks) chances are good that they will get alon (aside form occasional playfights). After six weeks the chances of fighting increase.
I have never had a fighting issue among my male rats.
Right now, I have a 13 month old buck living with his 8 month old son. They were introduced when the son was about 4 months old.
Chances are you will be getting two the same age and that they will be babies. They will be just fine.
Make sure that they have lots of toys, tunnels and hammocks to play with. Feed them a high quality diet and you will have happy healthy pet rats.
Please don't get one to live by himself and don't get a male and a female unless you want LOTS of babies. My male was an accident and the son was one of 17 babies!
Good luck with them - boys are very lazy and very cuddly.
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