My boys + aggression question

[James Goss]

So, I have two male ratties, Oscar and Elliott. Elliott is an old guy, 2years+, and a craigslist rescue. Oscar is his younger companion, age unknown. They've been living together for around 6 weeks now in a tri level cage which is 24"w by 16"d x 24"t. They've had their occasional scuffle, trying to establish dominance. Elliott is a much bigger rat, and on first observation seemed to be the dominant male. There was some squealing and whatnot, but the whole process seemed to be rather normal. About two weeks ago, Elliott injured one of his rear legs. He had some swelling and wasn't walking around too much (A couple days of rest & baby ibuprofin and he was fine), and in that time, I think their dominance shifted. Oscar has started to gain some mass, and the difference between him and Elliott isn't that great any more. I noticed Oscar was pinning Elliott and powergrooming him, still seemed normal to me. My problem is that Elliott in the process hasn't reacted too greatly. He's a sweetheart and a cuddlebug, but after being stripped of his dominance, I noticed him hovering quite frequently in the corners of the cages. He's fear pooping frequently, and when Oscar gets near him, he gets extremely stressed out and jumpy. He squeaks, and starts to breathe harder and leans over on his back, or runs and tries to hide.

It seems to me that his fear is causing some fights between the two. A majority of the time Oscar is just walking around or wanting to snuggle, but the fear from the other rat makes him jumpy, and if he even slightly brushes up against the Elliott, Elliott will freak out, and cause Oscar to freak out.

I noticed last night in their altercations that Oscar is becoming more aggressive in his fighting. I noticed a bite on the rump and belly of Elliott, as well as some scratches (or shallow bites) on the tail. Elliott is so scared of his friend, that even when he free roams, he just finds a place where he can hide and sleep.

any suggestions on things to try?

--
Pt2 general demeanor question.
Oscar is a bit of a timid rat. He likes to play, is extremely curious when he's in free roam. He seems to likes humans and is comfortable with running up and down on me or climbing in my shirt. He however does not like to be petted, held, or resting on my shoulders. He's very active and will squirm. Is this just his personality, or is there something I should be doing to get him more comfortable with being handled/ more calm?

Thanks guys, I look forward to joining this community

 

[eagle]

Sounds like Oscars hormones have kicked in. I would suggest a neuter.

 

I agree with Eagle on this one, neuters work well.

 

[jorats]

It seems to me that Oscar must be around 5 to 8 months now...that's when they become more secure and the bullying starts. You said that Oscar only wants to cuddle but Elliott is scared, I assure you, knows Oscar's intentions by the signals Oscar is sending him so if Elliott is scared then Oscar is not saying nice things to Elliot.
So you might be thinking: Oscar going near Elliott wants to cuddle but Oscar is actually saying: " come here so I can beat the tar out of ya".
You can wait and ride out the dominance but that can take a few months or you can get Oscar neutered. Neutering a rat is like turning them into loving happy puppies.
If you don't have a good rat savvy vet nor the funds for a neuter, you might want to consider getting a bigger cage. The smallish cage is ok for the old guy but not a younger more spry male. You could also give Oscar some extra attention, take him out of the cage more often, give him a good run around the play area and hopefully this will help him de-stress and not take it out on Elliott. This might also help with the second part of your question but you are right in thinking that this is indeed part of his character. As he ages he may become more calm or again with a neuter, he might become a total lovebug like Elliott.

 

[James Goss]

It seems you guys are correct. I just witnessed a pretty major fight while they were both free-ranging. It always seems to start the same way, Elliott is apprehensive and jumpy when Oscar come near him, and then Oscar becomes aggressive once he realizes that Elliott is scared. Either way, Oscar is definitely aggressive regardless of how it begins. I'm going to call a couple local places in the morning and find out about a neuter. Hopefully this aggression will go away, and they can go back to being buddies without Elliott being permanently scared of him.

And I could seriously go without the fear-bombs, my gosh, it smells worse than a skunk in my study.

Thank you!

 

[Maple]

Ohhhh those nasty hormones, SNIP SNIP. :shock: