Males vs females - questions

[MissGuardian]

I'm just curious..
What are the differences in (your?) males vs females?
I know that most females are more active than the males, But are there any real difference in health or lifetime?
Why do you have what you have?
I have males now, but am considering to get a female at one time..
Would it work fine to spay the female, or would it still be trouble/stress with unneutered males?(IF I'm getting a girl, I'll probably be starting with one girl, since I already have three boys)

 

[SQ]

Spaying girls works great.
Since the girls do not go into heat, it doesn't bother the boys at all. Actually many boys get along better with the girls then with other boys.
Spaying also prevents or helps to prevent quite a few health problems girls can develop.
All my rats are spayed and neutered. I haven't noticed any difference in lifespans between the two sexes.

 

[MissGuardian]

Spaying girls works great.
Since the girls do not go into heat, it doesn't bother the boys at all. Actually many boys get along better with the girls then with other boys.
Spaying also prevents or helps to prevent quite a few health problems girls can develop.
All my rats are spayed and neutered. I haven't noticed any difference in lifespans between the two sexes.

Thanks for the answers!
All my boys get along great thankfully..
But it would be too expensive for me to neuter all my boys instead of only spaying one girl(one neuter costs 1-2000 NOK, don't know how much it is in $ tho.. 1$ is usually about 5 NOK)

Also, if I get a girl and get her spayed, how long do I have to keep the boys and the girl apart to be on the safe side?(I don't really have the possibility to quarantine them, since they would have to be in the same room anyway)

 

[SQ]

Since you will be doing intros, not putting her back in with cage mates you will want to wait 10 to 14 days so the incision has healed.
Of course, if it isn't too stressful for her, you can start intros with cages near each other so they can smell one another, etc once she has been spayed.

 

[jorats]

In my crew, there is absolutely no difference in males and females. My males are just as active as my females. All my girls are spayed and most of my males are neutered. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Factors that can make your male become a lap rat/couch potato: hormonal stress, territorial stress, obesity and being malnourished.
So get them neutered, keep them slim, feed them the right nutrients and you'll have happy healthy active males.

 

[MissGuardian]

In my crew, there is absolutely no difference in males and females. My males are just as active as my females. All my girls are spayed and most of my males are neutered. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Factors that can make your male become a lap rat/couch potato: hormonal stress, territorial stress, obesity and being malnourished.
So get them neutered, keep them slim, feed them the right nutrients and you'll have happy healthy active males.

My oldest has always been calm and loves his cuddles..
They have(as long as I've had them) been getting the best food I could get for them(other foods than seed mixes has been impossible to get her before the last 1,5 years or something)..
There is very unusual to spay/neuter any animal here(except for cats)..
Spaying/neutering rats is almost unheard of..

 

[Sorraia]

I've noticed no differences in temperament between males and females. My males are no lazier than females, females are no active than males, both are equally affectionate, friendly, and attention-seeking. The only differences I have noticed are personality differences between individual rats of either sex.

Where health is concerned, females do tend to be more susceptible to tumors, though it is not impossible for a male to develop tumors (just not very common). Spaying will help prevent "hormone related" tumors. Males generally are more prone to hormonal aggression (which neutering will help prevent), but not all males will develop such aggression either.

 

[MissGuardian]

I've noticed no differences in temperament between males and females. My males are no lazier than females, females are no active than males, both are equally affectionate, friendly, and attention-seeking. The only differences I have noticed are personality differences between individual rats of either sex.

Where health is concerned, females do tend to be more susceptible to tumors, though it is not impossible for a male to develop tumors (just not very common). Spaying will help prevent "hormone related" tumors. Males generally are more prone to hormonal aggression (which neutering will help prevent), but not all males will develop such aggression either.

Thanks for the help!
I do plan on spaying the female(if I get one), but I need to talk to my vet about stuff first, and I only want three rats.. So Not until Zitka has passed away.. I'm also going away for three weeks this summer so no new additions to the family until then
What is the risk of a female getting a tumor if she's spayed? I think I've read it somewhere, but I can't remember where..
So far, none of my males are, or have been aggressive.. But my youngest is only about 6 months..

How fast after the spaying can I put them together?

 

[jorats]

After a spay, I'd wait till she recovers fully, probably a week should do it, then start intros.
Since having all my females spayed, I have only had one girl with a mammary tumour. This is out of at least 20 spayed girls.

 

[MissGuardian]

After a spay, I'd wait till she recovers fully, probably a week should do it, then start intros.
Since having all my females spayed, I have only had one girl with a mammary tumour. This is out of at least 20 spayed girls.

Thank you.
That's great!
I'll see what I'll do.. And see what's possible to find online that's not too far away..(I want to adopt from someone who can't keep, but I'm not able to, and can't afford to drive for many hours.. No shelters here..)

 

[Sorraia]

Like Jorats said, wait until the girl has had time to recover after her spay before trying to introduce her. A week ago I had two little girls spayed, and their incision is almost completely healed. I personally feel more comfortable waiting another week before starting any introductions - just to make sure.

I can't help with the risk of tumor development after spaying though. I've only started having rats spayed about a year and a half ago. None of them have developed tumors yet.

 

I have 3 unneutered boys, 4 unspayed girls, & 2 neutered boys and all have pretty much the same energy level with their iwn personalities.

 

[MissGuardian]

Thank you for all the answers!
Does anyone know the price difference? is it a big difference?

 

[kestrel9]

The vet was unable to revive my young rat after a spay operation. She died on the table. I wish I could go back and reverse the decision to give her this unnecessary operation that cut her life so short. There are risks. Maybe we should get better pre-op examinations done?

 

[Dazzle87]

There are risks, yes. While it should be considered, it is very rare with a competent vet (not saying your vet was incompetent though). There is a chance of them not making it through surgery, but there's also a chance of it preventing their untimely death. I had two girls get uterine problems shortly after turning one. Three out of a group of four unspayed got tumors well before 18 months (I believe the youngest was 14 months). Those girls are now 23 months and doing wonderfully (except for the one who never got tumors and died ) and stopped getting tumors after being spayed, even though one of them was 19?ish months for her spay. My young ones are spayed but too young to have those sorts of problems still. So what I'm getting at is, a risk, yes, but IMO it is hardly unnecesarry. Perhaps if I had a same sex colony of rats from a line with very low tumor incidences, I wouldn't find it necesarry, but with my rescues, spaying has been the best option to prolong the life of my girls. It was actually more risky for Missy and Tilley because I didn't spay until there were problems and they were older, than if they were spayed when I first got them.

ETA: About the pre-screening, you can request whatever you'd like if you can afford it. I'd think the most helpful screening tool would be chest x-rays, since that would show an enlarged heart or reduced lung function, both of which make surgery more dangerous.

 

[Bamboo]

Thank you for all the answers!
Does anyone know the price difference? is it a big difference?

Spays are typically more expensive then neuters. You'll have to check around your area to get a good estimate, since it varies so much.

 

[kestrel9]

Thanks Dazzle. I'm not saying it is unnecessary but in Dill's case, it sure was. It was her end so in her case, non-essential surgery cut her life very short. It also affected the remaining rat who died a few weeks later. She had surgery the same day for a tumour (she had been spayed) and when she came out of the anaesthetic, her friend was dead. She seemed to be recovering fine but a few weeks later suddenly had a pituitary tumour or stroke or both. What effect Dill's death had on her remains to be seen. She was from a hoarder's home so would have had issues of course but can't help but wonder what the stress of Dill dying did to her. My last sight of them was Maggie grooming Dill as they carted them off to surgery so right now, spaying is leaving a poor taste in my mouth as I'm sure you can imagine.
Good advice for the preop exam! Thank you

 

[Dazzle87]

Oh yes I do understand where you're coming from, and I'm sorry for your loss by the way. I don't know if there are any scientific studies, but a lot of people have posted about bonded pairs giving up/not fighting an illness as hard when the other rat dies. I also of course don't think anyones wrong for not spaying. I've just seen a lot of benefit to it.

I've never had that done for pre-op, just the typical exam to check how their lungs sound and all that, but when you said that a light went off in my head lol. It's really probably not a bad idea, since I'd guess heart and lung problems would be two of the bigger risk factors.

 

[jorats]

It's becoming a known fact among vets that surgery or rather anesthetics actually promotes a pituitary tumour making it progress much faster than had the rat not gone under anesthetic.

 

[HuncaMunca]

I've had more females than males, but found them to both to be very wonderful, though my males were always a bit better behaved/easier and laid back. I've never had an altered rat, though I was told one of my males was, but turns out he wasn't. I really want to get my girls spayed, not only for the health benefiants, but also so I could maybe add a male in the future. But my vet charges $160 a spay, and with Beverly having respitory problems, it's just not possible at the moment.
I've only had one female that had mammary tumors, but I also had a male that went through recuring tumors and abscesses.
Though I love my active girls, I would love to have a squishy manrat around again. I remember my rat Reggie and what a spoiled rotten, yet loving thing he was, it makes me miss those boys.