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ok, i just joined this community to find advice about the current situation i have going on with my three rats. i have had lots of rats (3 at a time) over the last 15 years, always rescues and never a "fancy" rat before now. they always lived together in peace, boys and girls, some fixed some not. about 9 months ago i fell in love with a young male in a pet store i wandered into. he is a dumbo rex un-neutered and absolutely the smartest, sweetest most interesting rat i have ever had. i feel like he understands and communicates with people alot more than any other rat i have known. he figures out what i want him to do unusually fast. he was potty trained the first time i set him in his box to go and even when i put him in it and he doesn't have to go (but knows he doesn't get to play until he tries) he emits a long squeak to tell me he doesn't have to go at that time, and he comes to his name from anywhere in the room and he understands "don't go past this line" and "set the yogie on your head but don't eat it until i tell you to" and "bring me your blanket from inside your house so i can change it" (he fetches anything i point at, thats the trick) and even tugs on my pant leg if i am ignoring him to get my attention. when i am mad at him he sulks around and slowly follows me licking my hand and staring at me. i swear he understands things i never thought a rat could be capable of and has learned tricks that absolutely amaze me. are fancy rats just that much smarter than the others or what?? anyways.. now to the problem, and its a big one.
first of all he hates other rats. if he sees either of the other two out and playing from inside his cage he puffs up and rubs up and down on the bars, attacking the cage every pace or so. the other two rats only even live with us because we were trying to get him a buddy (and then get the buddy a buddy once the first rat didn't accept his). lately his aggression has been getting way out of control. if i leave him alone with a human male (he doesn't do this to human females), a minute after i walk away he goes up to the guy and will bite his arm and try to hump him. he has started doing this really hard, definately drawing blood. when i am around he is nice as ever and will roll on his back in other peoples laps for tummy rubs (which seems really submissive right?), but the second i leave.. again with the biting..
now to the third companionless companion. the female who we got to be the friend of the little boy who the first rat didn't accept.. (the second boy is neutered and not fancy) she is siamese and even as a very young rat would maul her "to be" buddy. she also attacks the bars on the side of her cage anytime she sees one of the other rats. she also goes into heat at least once and month and sometimes twice (literally has spent more time in heat than out in the last 4 months since we have had her). she is super intelligent too, not in weird ways like the first but pretty darn smart. she was from a breeder so for the first male i could possibly think it was irresponsible breeding of overly aggressive parents but whats up with this darn overly aggressive thing in the girl? i am literally scared she will kill the boy if i try to put them near each other again. last time i was holding her and he was accross the bed and she wiggled out of my hands and flew at him like a bullet and mauled him. squirt bottles had no affect.
since she has been in heat this last time, my first boy is totally nuts even from the other room. finally it happened. he attacked me too. i was petting him and he was being overly "rubby" and he just snapped and grabbed my hand and bit it over and over leaving it a bloody mess until i could maneuver it out of the cage. i am absolutely heartbroken. he is sooo smart i just feel like he HAS to have known what he did. i squeaked like all heck when he did this but it didn't affect him. finally i put my hand back in an hour later just to give him his veggies for the night and he just mauled me again out of nowhere.
yes i realize this is extremely long but i feel like the details are very important because my real question is this:
does my boy know what he did?
(being so rediculously aware of "people-interaction" does that give him the extra awareness to understand attacking? and what the heck am i supposed to do when he does this? am i supposed to punish him or play some dominance game over him to get him to stop? these were NOT scared bites. i don't understand what the heck to do with him. right now he is looking at me through the bars with the most remorseful look on his face but i am just so mad at him i don't even want to try again. i feel like he has to understand what he did.. am i humanizing him too much?!?)
and..is this what fancy rat breeding has done or are these just flukes?
i am going to go ahead and get them both fixed (which terrifies me because i have had a boy die in this surgery).
thanks,
a girl and three rats
first of all he hates other rats. if he sees either of the other two out and playing from inside his cage he puffs up and rubs up and down on the bars, attacking the cage every pace or so. the other two rats only even live with us because we were trying to get him a buddy (and then get the buddy a buddy once the first rat didn't accept his). lately his aggression has been getting way out of control. if i leave him alone with a human male (he doesn't do this to human females), a minute after i walk away he goes up to the guy and will bite his arm and try to hump him. he has started doing this really hard, definately drawing blood. when i am around he is nice as ever and will roll on his back in other peoples laps for tummy rubs (which seems really submissive right?), but the second i leave.. again with the biting..
now to the third companionless companion. the female who we got to be the friend of the little boy who the first rat didn't accept.. (the second boy is neutered and not fancy) she is siamese and even as a very young rat would maul her "to be" buddy. she also attacks the bars on the side of her cage anytime she sees one of the other rats. she also goes into heat at least once and month and sometimes twice (literally has spent more time in heat than out in the last 4 months since we have had her). she is super intelligent too, not in weird ways like the first but pretty darn smart. she was from a breeder so for the first male i could possibly think it was irresponsible breeding of overly aggressive parents but whats up with this darn overly aggressive thing in the girl? i am literally scared she will kill the boy if i try to put them near each other again. last time i was holding her and he was accross the bed and she wiggled out of my hands and flew at him like a bullet and mauled him. squirt bottles had no affect.
since she has been in heat this last time, my first boy is totally nuts even from the other room. finally it happened. he attacked me too. i was petting him and he was being overly "rubby" and he just snapped and grabbed my hand and bit it over and over leaving it a bloody mess until i could maneuver it out of the cage. i am absolutely heartbroken. he is sooo smart i just feel like he HAS to have known what he did. i squeaked like all heck when he did this but it didn't affect him. finally i put my hand back in an hour later just to give him his veggies for the night and he just mauled me again out of nowhere.
yes i realize this is extremely long but i feel like the details are very important because my real question is this:
does my boy know what he did?
(being so rediculously aware of "people-interaction" does that give him the extra awareness to understand attacking? and what the heck am i supposed to do when he does this? am i supposed to punish him or play some dominance game over him to get him to stop? these were NOT scared bites. i don't understand what the heck to do with him. right now he is looking at me through the bars with the most remorseful look on his face but i am just so mad at him i don't even want to try again. i feel like he has to understand what he did.. am i humanizing him too much?!?)
and..is this what fancy rat breeding has done or are these just flukes?
i am going to go ahead and get them both fixed (which terrifies me because i have had a boy die in this surgery).
thanks,
a girl and three rats