Pet rat question...separation issues :(?

Question

i have a male rat (toby) who used to live with another male rat (charlie). toby is not well and has a head tilt. he is very small for a male and has an inner ear infection(he is getting regular vet checks). while living with charlie he was getting bullied, he got the last share of the food & got shoved around a bit (never viciously) but was still snuggling with charlie & liked his company. i separated them cos when toby was in his worst state & was very weak i noticed that charlie was biting him & pulling him into their sleeping box. (toby didnt squeak or have any bite wounds). i used to have 2 female rats (mother & daughter) & when the mum was sick the daughter killed her.

toby is allot better than he was before (since separation) but stil has really bad balance & is very lonely.

could charlies behaviour (biting toby) be signs that he may have been ready to put toby out of his misery? is it safe to put them back together now that toby is a little better?

thanks :)

Answer 1

First of all, it's very likely that the daughter rat did not kill her mother. What probably happened is that the mother rat died in her sleep and the other ate the body. Cannibalism of dead bodies is very common in rats because, being a prey species, their instinct is to hide anything that might attract a predator.

As for your boys, it sounds like Charlie is the alpha and enjoys lording his status over Toby, keeping him in his place, etc. I've seen the behavior you refer to (pulling and tugging into sleeping spots) from one of my rats toward his cagemates, and it doesn't correspond to illness or weakness. It's just something they do occasionally. Charlie wasn't trying to hurt or kill Toby. It's perfectly safe to put them back together, especially if Toby is showing signs of loneliness.

Hannah S - Rats need other rats for company. All of the human attention in the world will never make up for not having another rat as a cagemate. Also, imbalance and head tilt are both very common symptoms of a rat having an ear infection, and can often linger after the infection is gone. Plenty of rats do just fine and live long lives with a permanent head tilt or balance issue.

Answer 2

oh man...

sad face...

females are alot more territorial than males, but of course all will show aggression.

if toby is lonely, then you could try holding and giving him more attention, make him feel like he doesn't need another male to be his company.

the bad balance isn't the best thing for a rat. He might be suffering more than you think (not trying to bring down your mood)

my suggestion, put the rats together for a day. you can keep an eye on them that way. if that goes fine, then give it a noght. check him over for anything in the morning. if there is somthing there, a bite wound or somesort of thing that is unusual, that means that he's going to have a tough time with charlie.

you can also tell if its time by taking a look into your pets eyes. if you see sadness, fear, or begging, its time.

good luck and if it comes to be the worse, im so sorry for you. :'(

Answer 3

no!!