can someone help me with my rats behaviour

[Jay_88]

i have two male rats about 5 and a half months old

Bowie (the bigger one) was always fighting with his brother Ringo
as he was getting older the fights became more and more recent and he would pin him down.
then he started biteing me..not drawing blood but hard enough for me to jump
then one day i got him out like normal and he sat on my lap and he was chatting his teeth really lou then his fur went all spiky then he run from my knee to my face and bit down really hard..it was bleeding for ages and my skin went blue around the bit itself

since then ive had them both neutered to see if it would calm him abit..they seem ok..but he still seems grumpy (its been 2 weeks since)
and now my other rat Ringo (the smaller one) seems to be bullying him!

bowie however is scratching the floor alot and himself..what does this mean?

im worried incase he bites again!


also how long after being neutered do you think it will take for them to calm down and become their seet little self again?

many thanks to all who reply!

 

[hopefloats]

The scratching the floor is him marking his scent. I have a boy that does that, annoying but it is the testosterone. Some boys it can take a bit longer to make sure they get it all out of their system. I would give it another week or two to make sure it is out, then he may calm down.

I have a crabby boy. When I see him start to get stressed, I pet and talk to him. I usually do a long hard pet on him down his whole back. I dont recommend doing this is you think he is overly annoyed. Just to make sure he dont bite.

When his fur is puffed, he is stressed, the chattering of the teeth can be an indication of that as well. how was he before? was he skittish of you? a nervous rat in general? It almost sounds like something startled him that day he ran. Is there a new animal in the house? or is his out time in a different area? Some of my boys hate any change in their normal out time. It freaks them out and they puff up and run.

Some rats need extra attention to work on bad behaviors. I had a biter with a few treats and attention, he outgrew it and became the best behaved boy i had.

Have you checked him for any swelling where his surgery was? Pain can make a boy puff up and get extremely crabby too.

 

[Jay_88]

no ive checked him and everything seems to be fine he just seems grumpy
and that day he jumped up and bit my face he wasnt anywhere new just his normal place where i let them out to play

i was thinking maybe hes still abit hormonal ill see how he is in a few weeks..just dont want to risk getting another bite like that one cause it was nasty and he seemed so angry :| was so unlike him

before his op he was ok until around 5 month and he just started getting more and more aggressive towards me and his brother :S

 

[mamarat]

It can take up to 3 months after a neuter before you see a change in the rat. Make sure your hands or face don't smell of food when you take him out. And try dominating him when he acts up, you can also give him a time out by placing him in a small cage with just water. (No more than 10 minutes though). Good luck with your sweetie.

 

[jorats]

5 months is the prime age for a rat to become overwhelmed with hormones. It's a good thing you had him neutered. Now, he will need time to adjust and you will need time to trust him again.
mamarat gave good advice on how to deal with him.
How long has it been since the neuter?
Is he living alone or are the two boys together?
How big is the cage?
Do they get outside play time together?

 

[Jay_88]

its been over 2 weeks. he lives with his brother who is just so shy and calm the cage is a jeny ferplast cage so its not small for them & they get out an hour in the morning & upto 3-4 hours on an evening (well when they are both wake really)
just dont want him being all grumpy ans biting again he seems abit better with his brother actually they dont seem to get into fights as much when ive had him out yesturday and today

maybe this is things looking up?

 

[lilspaz68]

Definitely sounds like things are improving. A rat chattering its teeth is fear/aggression, and hormonal aggression makes them react suddenly and unexpectedly. Give him another week and see how he does. Are his testes shrinking well?

 

[jorats]

Everything is done right, sounds like a good living and habitat so I have every confidence that he will become much better and calmer with time. Keep doing what you are doing, one day, you will have yourself a sweet rat.

 

[Moon]

Yes, just keep waiting! It can take quite a while for the hormones to go away. There's still hope yet!

 

[Jay_88]

Thanks everyone!

had him out today he seems alot calmer but he still chatters his teeth
does that mean hes stressed?

but all in all he seems a little less of a bully!

hope everything is fine
the vet seems pleased with him after a check up yesturday

 

[Zooy]

Glad to hear he's calming down a bit!! Personally I'm not sure about the chattering, maybe another mod or someone will know.

 

[jorats]

If it's very loud and hard chattering then it's definitely stress but if it's soft and bruxxing, usually that's contentment.