Rat acting... Crazy?

[Devlyn]

So I'm still a rookie I guess when it comes to rats.
I bought my first two together and they were angels so decided to add a third to the group.
All are male.
The newest one Romeo has always been really different from my other boys like.. odd.
They get along fine and have been together over a month now but every now and then they have squabbles.
Romeo it's like he doesn't know how to play or socialize or maybe he's mental or something but when they were first introduced if one of my boys even came near him he would SCREAM.
My other boys never hurt him or attempted to but still he would scream, he's gotten better at that but if they try and just play with him like wrestle he screams and puffs up and backs his butt into them.
When I hold him he's a sweet little guy but when I put him down for floor time he runs and avoid me.
My others never did that.
Takes me thirty minutes to catch him again everytime I let him out but he needs exercise and I don't wanna deprive him.
He's under a year old still has soft fur and everything.

The petstore I got him from had all the rats in a huge exhibit type thing and only carried males.
So it wan't a bad petstore or anything.

I was wondering if any long time rat owners have experienced a rat like this?
Will he calm down with age?
Will it get worse?
How can I help him chill out?
Thanks.

 

[jorats]

Hi and welcome.
Your Romeo is a typical skittish rat. With lots of socializing and some one on one time with him might make him snap out of it.
A neuter could also possibly help him get over his fears and stress. You've had him a month, so give him more time to adjust and spend lots of time with him, handing him yummy healthy treats and lots of play time too.

 

[Aida]

I agree with Jorats. When I was introducing my rat Charlotte, and my new girl Matilda(Matilda still didn't fully trust me then), Charlotte didn't even have to touch her for Matilda to start screaming.

The more comfortable your little guy is with you, the safer he'll feel in places you put him. Make sure you two have bonded a bit, first. Good luck!

 

[Devlyn]

Well he bit a big hole into one of my other boys last night.
I'm looking into getting him neutered.
Everyone around here is like "We don't do THAT sort of thing here" or " A RAT? No we only do cats and dogs here.".

 

[jorats]

Where is the bite? And how old is he?
Poor guy... and nobody does rat neuters. wow.

 

[Devlyn]

The one that got bit, Casper, is around 1 year maybe older.
He was a feeder when I got him so I'm not sure.
The one that's doing the biting is really young not even full grown.

The bite is on the back of his neck he is on antibiotics for it and I'll be keeping it clean.

After calling like eight places I found someone who will do it but they want 112$.
Hopefully my parents will help me pay for it. :\

Romeo isn't cruel he just has issues he's so sweet when he's not scared. :C
My mom wants me to drop him off at another pet store and all the ones close by sell for snake food.
I couldn't do that without extreme guilt.
The store we got him from is like two hours away...

 

[jorats]

Oh no, you can't give away to a pet store. That would be so sad. If you really can't keep him, I'd find a really good home through forums and such.
If he's a baby, it's unlikely that he's the one who did the biting. Would you say he's about 5 months, then it would make sense that he's coming into his own, becoming hormonally mature.
A bite on the back of the neck is not that serious and you could still try to make it work with the three of them, with slower intros.

 

[hopefloats]

where are you at?

 

[Devlyn]

He's not a baby, he's like 6+ months but that's still young to me.
They have been living in the same cage for two months now and this is the first serious issue they've had where injury has occurred.
They are fine together most of the time and even sleep together.
Should I really separate them and reintroduce them?

I'm in North Carolina.

 

[hopefloats]

What part? we have a member there maybe she could give you a better idea or price for neuters?

 

[Devlyn]

Pikeville/Goldsboro.

 

[annetherat]

I am in NC and would love to help, please PM if you would like assistance...My husband and I run a very small rat rescue here but are happy to offer our help and advice. Thanks so very much and hope to hear from you soon...

 

[Roo]

He sounds a lot like my rat Remy, actually. He's fairly new and terrified of most things. We call him Chickenbutt or Pansyman. :nod:

It's awkward at first. He and my rat Freya would get into fights quite a bit which would end with Remy sitting traumatized in the top corner of our couch for hours.

We kept him in a different cage at night, and cage-swapped so they could get their scent spread around and have to sleep in places smelling the others. We would watch them carefully when they were out together and give lots and lots of treats.

It took a while, but he's getting better now (after about 2 months?). He and Freya are best friends. He'll let us pick him up, but only if he sniffs our hands first and we pick him up in a 2-handed scoop.

We did have him neutered, since our other rat is a female.

 

[jorats]

If they are still living together with mostly no issues, I'd wait it out, unless you really see some aggression, then they need to be separated.

That is so nice of annetherat to offer help and advice!