Male rats, are they agressive?

Question

i would like to know how many people think male rats are agressive and that the smell alot. ive heard alot of people saying that if you get pet rats then you should get females, as males are agressive. i have 2 7 month old male rats and they are anything but agressive.

Answer 1

Codswallop!

I have FIVE squishy boys, and they're all sweethearts. I've got two fellows who are a year old and three bouncy 2 month olds! Reggie is my heart rat, and loves to l**k and groom my hands and fingernails. ;P Usually the people who say that don't have much experience with rats, and just assume that males are aggressive because.. they're males! The three youngins all live together and sleep together and follow each other everywhere. They're inseparable. The old fellows sit in my lap and mellow out while we watch TV.

As for the smell.. I haven't noticed it much. I keep their cages pretty clean, so there isn't really a problem there.. :P They do have the buck grease, but I just give them a wipe now and then which takes care of that.

Perhaps those people were confused a bit. Males ARE more difficult to introduce to each other if they don't know one another, although it's certainly possible. It just takes a little more work to introduce males than it does females. (Although it depends on the rats, too, I've seen females who were very aggressive to newcomers).

Answer 2

The people who say that have never had rats before. yes, on occasons you can get aggressive male rats but mainly they are best ones! The females are generally more aggressive - and far less cuddly. I would much rather have a male on my shoulder than a female!

Yes, males do smell - but all rats do! It is just simply a matter of cleaning - and your friends getting used to the smell!

Answer 3

They do have a ''buck grease'' scent, but it's not too bad.

Males are NOT aggressive. I've only had 1 aggressive male rat, and it was due to a medical issue (seizures) and nothing about his personality.

They can actually be much more affectionate than the females. They often like to cuddle and give kisses. :)

Answer 4

males are no more aggressive than females and they don't smell anymore than females

Answer 5

Hi there.

I have always had male rats, which I always found to be exceptionally friendly. They never bit me, nipped me or showed any aggression. They used to l**k you to death though if you fussed them!

After talking to friends who have had female rats, I think its fair to say male rats probably do smell more, but its all about keeping their cage and bedding clean, and its fine anyway.

One thing to note though, is from talking to other people, I have been advised that female rats are more susceptible to illness such as cancer.  

Answer 6

Males do smell more than females and they do tend to be more aggressive... but not aggressive to a human.  Unaltered males are far more difficult to introduce to one another than females are as males tend to fight more with one another and play fighting can get out of hand. Some adult males that have lived with their companion male can even get too aggressive to be housed together, though this can usually be fixed by getting them... well, fixed.  

Males do tend to smell more than females. This has to do not only with buck grease but with their scent marking. Although females do scent mark as well, males like to do it to everything.  

Altered males are quite a bit different than their unaltered counterparts. Altered males don't scent mark as much and they don't produce as much buck grease.  Altered males are also far less prone to fighting and are easier to introduce to one another.  

Females do smell less as they don't scent mark as much and they don't have the buck grease.  They're quite a bit more adventurous though and love to explore whereas males tend to be more cuddle butts.  =)  This is usually true, but don't tell that to my squishy girls who enjoy cuddling up for a nice bruxing and eye boggling session as I rub their cheeks.  My males are young yet so they much prefer getting into trouble than to lounging with dear old ma'.

=)