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[Citizen/Soldier]

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[jorats]

This is normal between two males. Sometimes they need their own space and sometimes they need cuddles.

Once I rescued two males from Montreal... The himi was constantly being bullied by his brother and he would scream and hide and the whole bit. I was getting very frustrated and was going to have both rats neutered. Then one night I decided to hide and watch them. What I saw was the himi going up the ladder to the level on top of his brother, then he would jump down on top of his brother. The brother would then grab the himi and flip him. The himi would scream and freak out and the whole bit and run away... then I saw him go back up the ladder, wait for the right time and jump down on his brother again. Pascal would then turn around and flip the himi until he squealed like a pig... they were playing! The himi wanted to be flilpped and tickled.. that was the game.

What you could do is give them more out time, maybe start taking them out one on one for some cuddle time with you. Change up the cage once in awhile by adding a new chew toy or new box or something... keep them busy mentally and physically.

 

[Citizen/Soldier]

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[Moon]

The other thing to keep in mind is that nakkies really do mark up very badly, even just regular ratpiles can cause big scratches if a toenail grabs the skin in the wrong way. So the scratches you are seeing might not be from any particular scraps or incidents.

 

[jorats]

If it was an aggressive attack, there would be no question about it. They go for the throat of the testicles, they would be cut up real deep and good.

 

[Citizen/Soldier]

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[jorats]

We've all been there... did the worst care for our rats way back in the day so don't beat yourself up over that.
And don't worry about bugging us about your worries, that's why we are here. :hugs:

 

[Citizen/Soldier]

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[jorats]

Would you say that it looks like hiccups?

 

[Citizen/Soldier]

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[Citizen/Soldier]

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[jorats]

Any chance you can separate the cage in two in a jiffy? When they fight, you separate for a couple of hours and then put them back together. When they fight again, separate again and keep doing this. It might convince the boys they don't like the cage like that, less room for them.

 

[Citizen/Soldier]

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[jorats]

A time out cage is a good idea. But make sure you know who the bully is, you don't want to pull out the wrong rat to put in time out. :wink:

 

[Citizen/Soldier]

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[jorats]

Are you sure Gothmog is not trying to groom Shady?

 

[Citizen/Soldier]

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