[spysquid]

So I recently (almost a month ago) moved my boys into the cage with my girls. Intros were fine until inside the cage, where it was tense for a while but they seem to get along better now, they get in less spats, none were serious because my boys are big babies and not at all mean, so they usually backed off once the girls got too worked up.
Anyways, my issue now is my 6mo old Alpha, Rupert. He has always been spazzy and hyper and loved to tussle all the time with his brother, Theo, which is two weeks older and naturally bigger than him (but a goofy teddy bear, very submissive). I don't think he knows any other way to play, and the girls don't appreciate how rough he is, they will nip him back sometimes but normally kick him until he gets the hint and leaves. But he'll grab them by the back or shoulder with his teeth and I'm not sure if that's ok or normal? He isn't aggressive, he honestly just looks like he's playing too rough and is oblivious to it. He was the runt of the litter so he also has a bit of a Nepolean-complex.
They seem to be getting along better each day and they have started sleeping together the in last week or two (girls mostly sleep with Theo), but Rupert has a bunch of scabs I assume are from them "working things out" with the girls overtime, and I just wonder if I should let him take care of them or if I should try to keep them clean? He is very insecure outside of the cage (he may smell my cat, I dunno, the boys are both kinda skittish since they're still young) and he gets very distressed whenever I give him a bath, or hold him too restrictively, and I hate putting him through that unless it's absolutely necessary.
None of the nips look bad, just a cluster of them around his shoulders, a few on his back. It makes me feel bad when I go to scratch behind his ear by habit, and he moves away because I'm hitting scabs. I'm not worried about his safety, I'm hoping there aren't new nips being made, I just don't know how to correct the behavior if he is getting nipped back by the girls all the time.
So yeah basically I'm wondering if I should try any first aid & if I should try anything to help his relationship with the girls.

Ps- sorry if this is all over the place, posting from my phone and I tend to over-explain things anyway lol

Pic where you can see a lil scab behind his ear and his shoulder has a little reddish spot, they are hard to notice unless you feel them.

 

[Lita]

I haven't had any experience with girl/boy drama but we had girl/girl drama that sounds similar. Cricket was the youngest and of course hyper, loves to wrestle and be a troublemaker. The older girls, specifically the "sisters" Genie and Sips, were not big on her rough housing and it got her into a lot of trouble, including some rather harsh moments between them and Cricket, including some wounds on her sides and belly. Some seemed kinda small one was a bit big. We took out a LOT of their items, so all they really had was some blankets, and hammocks, but no other things they could climb into or get stuck in, and then I took Cricket out for a day (ended up only doing it for 24 hours but I planned to wait a week for her wounds to heal so I would know if she was getting new wounds) but kept her in a smaller cage beside the main cage. Then I took her and Sips (they had the most issues) and put them in the bottom of the DCN alone with just their litterbox and a hammock, and sat there for a while to watch them. Then after a while it seemed like they weren't having as many issues and so I reopened the ramp to the top and let the other three come down and they seemed all better.

So if he is the problem, it might help to give him a sort of time out? Then reintroduce him to the girls alone before trying to put him back with everyone? If there is a particular girl who takes offence with him more then the other I'd start with her and him doing intros alone. And take a look at how your cage is organized. I was told it's best to have a lot of open space after intros, for a good while, to help minimize fight zones and keep anyone from getting trapped.