You have a cage aggressive rat. It happens with rescues. They usually come from bad beginnings and a tiny cage they are never let out of. Then they are moved to a shelter where they may or may not have adequate caging, then on to you. At this point the confused and neglected rat only feels that the cage is his and will defend it and his cagemates. He's not being an a**hole, he sounds more like a fear-biter who is doing pre-emptive strikes.
It doesn't sound like you are able to deal with his behaviours so your best bet is to give him back to the rescue. Someone else could try to work with him who is more experienced with this sort of thing, and you can enjoy your boys. Removing him from the other boys just to see if it improves him, would be cruel at this point and would possibly make him worse, since he's fearful to start.
It doesn't sound like you are able to deal with his behaviours so your best bet is to give him back to the rescue. Someone else could try to work with him who is more experienced with this sort of thing, and you can enjoy your boys. Removing him from the other boys just to see if it improves him, would be cruel at this point and would possibly make him worse, since he's fearful to start.
