Male Nuetering

[Dee_Dee]

I have a couple of questions about neutering.

I have a boy whos agressive. Barely lets me touch him, and if I try to he gets puffs up and starts huffing ready to attack. He does have a cage mate and attacks him once in awhile but never drew blood on him, I have two girls in with them and he has no problem with them, but with any other male he hates with a passion. (the girls are spayed)
I don't know his exact age but I'm guessing it is over a year old. would their be too much of a risk to get hime neuterd? would it be a waste of money. I always given him attention just as much as my other rats, he was fine when he was a baby (when I got him first) but when a couple of months after I got him he hated attention and started acting like that. Any ideas on what I should do?


Heres a picture of the my boy

 

[SQ]

If he is healthy and the vet is experienced with rattie neuters, he should be fine.

I have found that once neutered, boys got along with one another much better.

 

[jorats]

If you have a good vet, which I'm thinking you do because of your spayed girls, I would totally have him neutered. Your boy is stressed out, he's scared and can't deal with his hormones, they are out of whack so he attacks those he loves. Neutering should help that.

 

[mamarat]

I would say neuter too. All my aggressive males became sweeties after a couple of weeks after their neuter.

 

[Dee_Dee]

I got my girls spayed up in Halifax, by Dr. Carnegy. The vet around here she says she's done it before and can do it. she's excellent for check ups and has removed tumors. It would be her I would go to to get digums done since I don't know when the next time I will be up in halifax.

 

[jorats]

If you feel confident in your vet, go for it!

 

[Moon]

Just keep in mind that, although it's very very likely a neuter will help, there is always a small chance that it wont help very much.

Also, sometimes it can take a few weeks for you to see a real difference.

 

[SQ]

Is she the one that did the neuters for Dahlas?
Her boys did fine.

 

[PoleRat]

As long as the topic is still fresh...
Neutering can reduce the aggressive tendencies in the males? They are both fine with me, no particular problems yet.
Although...
Nibbles is fairly rough with Skittles, I can hear squeaks coming from the cage, indicating that Skittles has probably reached his threshold of tolerance. I'm not sure about how much rough housing is normal. If Nibbles were to have this done, would Skittles smell or sense a lack of rat-tosterone... and pardon my bluntness... grow some balls and turn the tables?
Or would he stay fairly meek?
He is a little bit younger than the bully boy and maybe just needs some time to catch up?

 

[mamarat]

I have two brothers and when Tiki got neutered, Pepper took over as the meanie. He got neutered too and now I have two sweeties. :heart: Good luck.

 

[PoleRat]

You know what I like about this forum?
It doesn't take long to get an experienced and knowledgeable answer! :thumbup:
Well... it would serve him right to get a little of what he dished out! :whip:
The only other question would be should they be separated until healed up or see if there is a discounted price for a pair? (and still separated?)
I'd hate to spoil any of Skittle's perceived future triumphs, but since he hasn't chipped in for food, rent or utilities he may have to make one last sacrifice. :nod:
As far as pulling their own weight and being productive, they do make a lot of raisins and while not as efficient as my electric paper shredder, they are more entertaining.

 

[mamarat]

I didn't separate mine, there was no blood and most of the time they were cuddled together.

 

[jorats]

You're too funny polerat!

If you do decide to neuter, I'd do one first but if you get a discount for two which I'd be shocked if you did, then I'd go for it.
Some rats will become meanies once the bully loses his gonads but in my experience most times, they don't.

 

[AlexandraBoo]

I would neuter, Either way goodluck! :joy:

 

[Kat]

Is it always a good idea to get males neutered, or only in extreme cases, like aggression? Because I would really like to get a few males sometime in the future.

 

[mamarat]

I neuter only when my rats are aggressive. Since I get all my girls spayed I can have mixed colonies anyway.

 

[SQ]

I try to get all my males neutered ...
Their hormones seem to cause them a great deal of stress ...
and they seem to do better once neutered.

Because I frequently take in rats, having all my boys neutered works better since I often find myself waiting for a girl to become old enough to be spayed.
I also like the benefits of less urine marking, a softer coat, and increased harmony.

 

[mamarat]

And no penis plugs. :laugh4: I find all my neutered males don't need to be "cleaned".

 

[Kat]

What do you mean by they don't need to be cleaned, what happens to them? lol. and also, how old should a male be when he is old enough to get neutered?

 

[mamarat]

I meant I don't have to remove their penis plugs. lol

My vet does neuters at 5 weeks but most vets do them at between 2 months and 5 months.