Is it normal for male rats to chew on each other?

Question

i have 2 male rats. one i have determened is the dominate one. is it normal for the dominate male to chew on the other one? what can i do to stop this behavior, if anything?

Answer 1

The two will fight to the death, separate them immidietly!!!!!

Answer 2

Rebecca is entirely right. :) When you say "chewing," my first thought is grooming, and that's perfectly normal and healthy. Does it appear as if one rat leans over and chews on the other one's face or neck, or behind his ear? If so, that's actually a good thing! It means they're bonding. :)

If they're not fighting or showing other dominant-aggressive behavior, then there's no problem at all. :) Nothing to worry about. As for stopping dominant behavior, in your situation, I'd not worry about that, either. Rats naturally have a pecking order of sorts, and so there'll always be dominant behavior even with rats who get along well. It's just a matter of whether or not the dominant behavior is harmful or aggressive. It's just how they do their politics as well as socialize, and as long as there's no problems involved, then you don't need to interfere. :)

Answer 3

you could seperate them. when this happens, one establishes dominance over other is normal. 2 males alone is a problem. to stop this is to get two females and put them into the cage. this will give balance back to nature. hope this helps.

Answer 4

Males are known to fight. Also, it could be just rough cleaning.

Answer 5

They could be just grooming, unless there is blood I wouldn't worry too much.

Answer 6

Male rats will always fight each other, If there is female in the same cage the might fight until one dies, I'd separate them if you can.

Answer 7

Male rats don't ALWAYS fight with each other. Hormonal male aggression is a pretty common problem, but there is no reason to separate them unless they are actively hurting each other. It's natural for them to form a hierarchy where one is dominant over all the rest.

When you say "chewing", is one rat actually BITING the other one, or is he grooming/cleaning him? Grooming each other is natural rat social behaviour. It's how they bond and socialize. Sometimes one rat will squeak/squeal when being groomed by another.

If one of the rats is actually hurting the others, you can try to give them more toys and a bigger cage. You could also re-arrange all the stuff inside. You can also try to separate him and re-introuce him, as thought you were buying a new rat. If that doesn't work, you could get him neutered. Neutering almost always works on aggressive males.

As a last resort, you could separate him into his own cage, but then you would have two lonely rats and that's no good.

Signs of a rat who is being seriously abused by the other one are bite marks on the back, sides, butt, and tail.

Check out these sites:

http://www.ratbehavior.org/

http://www.rmca.org/Articles/aggres.htm

http://www.ehow.com/how_2105372_eliminat...

Edit: Jamey R is wrong!! Don't put females into the cage unless you plan on having TONS of babies. Sheesh! Adding females will not cure behavioural issues between males.