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So I bought Chester, a hooded dumbo and he was living with my elder rat Stanley, who passed away several months ago. He was absolutely fine with the older rat, showed no aggression at all and has always been such a sweet soul ever since I bought him so when I bought him Casper, after Stanley passed, I thought everything would be all right.
I'm used to rats play fighting, and I definitely know when a rat is really being aggressive but I'm unsure at the moment because Casper is the one who is being the annoying one. I've got them in separate cages at the moment, because Casper is a little too small and Chester has a very large head and is just a big goof ball so I'm a bit anxious to leave them alone in the cage as of yet. I let them meet on neutral ground, they clean each other, nap together, play together and chase one and another but there are times when I see Casper chasing Chester, Chester trying to get away and it always resulting in Casper being bitten, being thrown onto his back and cleaned roughly by Chester which I know (or think) is a dominance thing and then when Chester tries to leave, Casper is right back at it, chasing him and trying to push him again but he does it continuously until Chester gets annoyed, slams him and and bites him. Casper really squeaks when he gets bitten too... but as mean as it sounds... he's kind of asking for it all the time!
I've taken them out together, every night for the past 8 days several times a day; one minute they're getting on and the next it can seem a bit shocking because it comes out of no where and Casper, although being half the size of Chester the dumbo doesn't seem the let up on him!
My questions are- is this a rougher type of play or are they showing signs that they're going to fight one day?
Is Casper the one showing signs of early dominance?(because I wouldn't want Casper to get bigger and bully Chester either)
Should I continue to let them meet neutrally until I definitely know they're getting a long, or am I just being a worry wart and should just bite the bullet to put them together?
I've honestly never had problems with putting rats together before, so this is baffling me. Thanks if you've taken time to read over this!
I'm used to rats play fighting, and I definitely know when a rat is really being aggressive but I'm unsure at the moment because Casper is the one who is being the annoying one. I've got them in separate cages at the moment, because Casper is a little too small and Chester has a very large head and is just a big goof ball so I'm a bit anxious to leave them alone in the cage as of yet. I let them meet on neutral ground, they clean each other, nap together, play together and chase one and another but there are times when I see Casper chasing Chester, Chester trying to get away and it always resulting in Casper being bitten, being thrown onto his back and cleaned roughly by Chester which I know (or think) is a dominance thing and then when Chester tries to leave, Casper is right back at it, chasing him and trying to push him again but he does it continuously until Chester gets annoyed, slams him and and bites him. Casper really squeaks when he gets bitten too... but as mean as it sounds... he's kind of asking for it all the time!
I've taken them out together, every night for the past 8 days several times a day; one minute they're getting on and the next it can seem a bit shocking because it comes out of no where and Casper, although being half the size of Chester the dumbo doesn't seem the let up on him!
My questions are- is this a rougher type of play or are they showing signs that they're going to fight one day?
Is Casper the one showing signs of early dominance?(because I wouldn't want Casper to get bigger and bully Chester either)
Should I continue to let them meet neutrally until I definitely know they're getting a long, or am I just being a worry wart and should just bite the bullet to put them together?
I've honestly never had problems with putting rats together before, so this is baffling me. Thanks if you've taken time to read over this!