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Hi ratto friends! I'm agonizing over this and need to hear other opinions.
Info:
We have a mischief of 4 boys, all around 8-9 months old. They were all purchased from the same breeder in May 2022, and come from a healthy breeding pool selected for good temperament. There have been no issues outside of minor play fights and all 4 boys have bonded well.
Their setup is a DCN with a bioactive soil base, litter pans with paper pellets on the shelves, lots of hammocks and climbing/sleeping stuff, 2 water bottles, 2 water bowls, and a variety of bedding. I feed a shunamite style diet with occasional special meals.
The Conflict:
We've been noticing more scuffles recently, but nothing major. No blood, no foul. Everyone went back to cuddling and playing after. Two days ago, there was a big one. We heard a commotion and a squeal, and saw 2 boys tumble off the lower shelf and in to the dirt. I got there to see my top ear marten sort of holding my dumbo marten down. It was instantly over when I got there. The top ear was fine, but the dumbo had a pretty big laceration on his back, about 1.5". I can't tell if it was a tooth, a claw, or something in the cage that caused it. The injured boy got separated for a couple days and is healing up shockingly fast with rest and meds.
The next morning, I heard another big tussle and ran over to see my dominant rat pinning the top ear. There was no puffed fur or open mouths, and my dominant boy turned and walked away calmly. My top ear nipped his tail as he was walking away, and his teeth did nick the skin. That was the end of it and they both walked away. No one was injured past the small tail nick. I separated the top ear boy to let him decompress and decided to try some free range time later so everyone could burn off some energy.
First, I let the 3 other boys out without my top ear. The boys were thrilled to see their injured brother and he was equally thrilled to see them. Lots of cuddling and grooming and gentle play. Once everyone was relaxed and a bit tired, I brought out the top ear. He was instantly happy, greeting his brothers. No fur puffing, no forced grooming, no inciting fights. The only potential hormonal behaviours I saw were some scent marking and one instance of marking the shyest boy. Everything the top ear marked, my dominant boy quickly marked over, and the top ear never attempted to mark over it again. When he marked the shy boy, the dominant rat ran over, cleaned the shy boy off, and pinned and power groomed the top ear until he squeaked. The top ear submitted with no attempt to push back, and the dominant boy ended it peacefully. No fur puffing, hissing, shoving, humping, anything. Soon after, they were cuddling again. Today, I've let them hang out together as long as I was observing and separated the top ear when I left. No incidents, and they've been cuddling and eating together.
I was so sure it was hormonal aggression since they're all at that age and the top ear has a decent amount of buck grease going on, but after observing them I just don't know anymore. Wouldn't you see more dominance behaviours if it was hormonal aggression?
Possible things to consider:
The dumbo boy in the first incident is his littermate. He's super passive in every instance aside from food. He will snatch food from his brothers if it's something he wants and kind of throws a tantrum if they try to take it back. He never gets violent and gives up if his brother tries hard enough to get it back, but there's usually enough food around that the victim of the food crime isn't bothered enough to try. It's never led to a fight before, but I can't say for sure this time. He also is really cuddly with his brothers, especially his top ear littermate, but his littermate is sometimes less enthusiastic and tries to walk away from a cuddle sesh. Again, never caused a fight before, but I can't say for sure it didn't contribute.
We have 2 cats that usually hang out in the sunroom to birdwatch when they aren't sleeping. The cats and rats are never allowed to interact. The cats can see into the cage if they stand on their tiptoes, but usually stay clear of the cage and aren't terribly interested. Since the temperature dropped, the cats used the sunroom less and I've caught them peering into the cage a few times. Could stress from that have led to the incidents? Regardless, I have the cage blocked off temporarily and have a gate coming in the mail to keep the cats away. Our rental unfortunately doesn't have a layout or size that allow us to put the cage in a room where the cats can't go. The gate will at least create a dedicated rat corner and some species social distancing.
The top ear is scheduled for a neuter, but I'm second guessing myself and don't want to risk him unnecessarily if the surgery isn't necessary. At the same time, he draw blood on 2 brothers in 2 days, and I don't want to risk my other boys either. I need advice or reassurance please.
Info:
We have a mischief of 4 boys, all around 8-9 months old. They were all purchased from the same breeder in May 2022, and come from a healthy breeding pool selected for good temperament. There have been no issues outside of minor play fights and all 4 boys have bonded well.
Their setup is a DCN with a bioactive soil base, litter pans with paper pellets on the shelves, lots of hammocks and climbing/sleeping stuff, 2 water bottles, 2 water bowls, and a variety of bedding. I feed a shunamite style diet with occasional special meals.
The Conflict:
We've been noticing more scuffles recently, but nothing major. No blood, no foul. Everyone went back to cuddling and playing after. Two days ago, there was a big one. We heard a commotion and a squeal, and saw 2 boys tumble off the lower shelf and in to the dirt. I got there to see my top ear marten sort of holding my dumbo marten down. It was instantly over when I got there. The top ear was fine, but the dumbo had a pretty big laceration on his back, about 1.5". I can't tell if it was a tooth, a claw, or something in the cage that caused it. The injured boy got separated for a couple days and is healing up shockingly fast with rest and meds.
The next morning, I heard another big tussle and ran over to see my dominant rat pinning the top ear. There was no puffed fur or open mouths, and my dominant boy turned and walked away calmly. My top ear nipped his tail as he was walking away, and his teeth did nick the skin. That was the end of it and they both walked away. No one was injured past the small tail nick. I separated the top ear boy to let him decompress and decided to try some free range time later so everyone could burn off some energy.
First, I let the 3 other boys out without my top ear. The boys were thrilled to see their injured brother and he was equally thrilled to see them. Lots of cuddling and grooming and gentle play. Once everyone was relaxed and a bit tired, I brought out the top ear. He was instantly happy, greeting his brothers. No fur puffing, no forced grooming, no inciting fights. The only potential hormonal behaviours I saw were some scent marking and one instance of marking the shyest boy. Everything the top ear marked, my dominant boy quickly marked over, and the top ear never attempted to mark over it again. When he marked the shy boy, the dominant rat ran over, cleaned the shy boy off, and pinned and power groomed the top ear until he squeaked. The top ear submitted with no attempt to push back, and the dominant boy ended it peacefully. No fur puffing, hissing, shoving, humping, anything. Soon after, they were cuddling again. Today, I've let them hang out together as long as I was observing and separated the top ear when I left. No incidents, and they've been cuddling and eating together.
I was so sure it was hormonal aggression since they're all at that age and the top ear has a decent amount of buck grease going on, but after observing them I just don't know anymore. Wouldn't you see more dominance behaviours if it was hormonal aggression?
Possible things to consider:
The dumbo boy in the first incident is his littermate. He's super passive in every instance aside from food. He will snatch food from his brothers if it's something he wants and kind of throws a tantrum if they try to take it back. He never gets violent and gives up if his brother tries hard enough to get it back, but there's usually enough food around that the victim of the food crime isn't bothered enough to try. It's never led to a fight before, but I can't say for sure this time. He also is really cuddly with his brothers, especially his top ear littermate, but his littermate is sometimes less enthusiastic and tries to walk away from a cuddle sesh. Again, never caused a fight before, but I can't say for sure it didn't contribute.
We have 2 cats that usually hang out in the sunroom to birdwatch when they aren't sleeping. The cats and rats are never allowed to interact. The cats can see into the cage if they stand on their tiptoes, but usually stay clear of the cage and aren't terribly interested. Since the temperature dropped, the cats used the sunroom less and I've caught them peering into the cage a few times. Could stress from that have led to the incidents? Regardless, I have the cage blocked off temporarily and have a gate coming in the mail to keep the cats away. Our rental unfortunately doesn't have a layout or size that allow us to put the cage in a room where the cats can't go. The gate will at least create a dedicated rat corner and some species social distancing.
The top ear is scheduled for a neuter, but I'm second guessing myself and don't want to risk him unnecessarily if the surgery isn't necessary. At the same time, he draw blood on 2 brothers in 2 days, and I don't want to risk my other boys either. I need advice or reassurance please.
