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Why does my rat attack the other2007-11-24 22:19:26

I just got two baby/young rats, Lola and Delilah. Lola will all of a sudden start siffing the air frantically, and she will JUMP, not walk, around the cage, until she finds Delilah, and she will jump on top of her and scratch and bite her. Are they playing, or can Lola see ghosts? Lol.

Oh, and this usually happens at night.

Answers:

It sounds like a dominance matter. They may resolve the issue between themselves, but if worse comes to worse, they may need to be separated and put into their own cages.

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I have never heard of this happening before. Does Delilah ever bleed. You can email me with more information, and I will try to help you.

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I had to hamsters once , I thought one was male and the other female (but they ended up both being fems) One of them killed the other one , i don't know if its the same as rats but they're both rodents. I think it is a territorial thing.

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Did you get them at the same time or different? If you got one, then the other a bit later it's most likely dominance. I had two rats that did that at night a lot, too.

If you have another cage you could put one in there so you know that they'll be safe.

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She is probably letting the other rat know 'who's Boss'

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Just an instinct. They are just playing. For them, It's fun. =| But, its normal! So don't worry.

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I have two female rats, they are always "fighting" for dominance. Every rat does it in a different way. I had one rat that would hump the other. Some people suggest separating rats when they fight, but I personally don't think that is a good idea in most cases. Rats are very social and need other rats in order to stay healthy. Unless you are spending 6 hours or more a day with them individually, they need each other for company. You have to determine if they are truly fighting or if they are just grooming and playing with each other. Keep an eye of them. You may even hear chirps from them when they are roughhousing. Watch for cuts and other wounds. An aggressive rat will do other things as well, like prevent the other one from eating and pushing them away. If you find them sleeping together and eating together, you usually don't have an aggressive rat. Just make sure your cage is large enough to accommodate both rats, keep enough food for both rats and give them things to play with. My rats particularly enjoy the Popsicle stick houses I make for them. It gives them lots of places to crawl through.

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bcuz its bored i guess

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Most likely they are establishing dominance in the cage. To determine alpha rat they will fight it out for a few days- and after that they will be snuggling with each other and inseparable- As a rule of thumb- unless they are drawing blood leave them together to sort it out- rarely rats will fight to the extent of drawing blood.

Lola most likely doesn't see ghosts, and it usually happens at night because rats are nocturnal- meaning that they are most active at night.

I love the names you selected for your rats.

Don't worry the rats will work things out on their own. The fighting will stop as soon as they determine which one is the dominant one.

Teej.