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Fight it out?

1K views 15 replies 6 participants last post by  Gwen 
#1 ·
Jojo and Blaze just keep fighting... should I just let them fight it out?
 
#3 ·
Blaze usually pins Jojo on his back then I am really not sure what happens. I can never get a good look before I freak out and pull them apart. Though this time when I seperaed them Blaze continued to do whatever he does on my hand. There's a couple scratched on my wrist since he curled around it and there's a small bump on the heel of my hand where he was rubbing his teeth or something.
 
#4 ·
That doesn't sound awful. You're doing small space intros? Is the space small? As long as no rumps are being bit, no puffing or hissing, and no blood let it happen. Blaze needs to know he's still dominant and that only happens if the other successfully submits. Since he's not struggling it shouldn't take long.
 
#8 ·
Are you sure they're fighting? Sounds like how my boys play. They're always chasing each other around, boxing and then trying to pin each other down until the other squeaks in submission. I know it's play because Tempy is huge compared to the others, especially the little guys Zeek and Nibbler, and I've seen him actually let Nibbler "win". No one has ever drawn blood, except the other day Buddy had some blood on his mouth which looked like it came from a scratch on his lower lip. But no big bite wounds. Occasionally someone will get a little too rough and I'll hear a loud yelping squeak, then I'll yell and they'll stop. And usually they'll look at me like "what'd we do?".

I was a little worried about Tempy for a while because he does tend to do the sideways walk and hip check, and I've read that can be a sign of real aggression, but I've watched him closely and it's just how he wrestles. Not sure why none of the others do it. But he does seem to be a bit smarter then the others, so maybe they just haven't figured it out yet.
 
#11 ·
Yeah, no. You need to back up on introduction steps or someone is going to get hurt. Also don't put yourself in between two fighting rats - you are going to get bitten. Spray the with water, blow on them, bang the bin, etc. or use a towel to separate them. You could try giving them a bath together with a scented kitten shampoo. I've already strongly suggested neutering, if that is not an option you will need to take things more slowly.

http://www.shadowrat.com/rats/intros.html

Lots of other info is available if you google "introducing rats."
 
#12 ·
Okay thank you... I don't really mind getting bitten/scratched. I have seperated them several times and have only gotten 1 minor scratch. In the video I tried spraying them with water before seperating them. (Though I cut out that part)
 
#16 ·
I'm with the others, this is aggressive behavior. My suggestion is to separate the rats and start over with baby steps. When aggression occurs, it then indicates aggression may be more likely in the future. You bit me, so I don't like you and in fact I might bite you back next time. New, slower baby steps where you keep the rats below the threshold of stressful emotions, is best for learning. Some ideas: http://www.joinrats.com/Intros/BabySteps/
 
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