What are the common symptoms of puberty in male rats and how old are they when it starts?

Question
QUESTION: My little guy Xander is just over ten weeks old, and his littermate just died, so
we brought home a little six-seven week old companion for Xander yesterday.
Starting last night, Xander's penis has  been sticking out, and it's  not receding
back inside. Is he just beginning puberty? Is he too young? Is there some kind of
ailment that would cause this? Is it the little one's presence in the cage?

ANSWER:
Hi Sylvia

How did the other rat die?
I am very sorry for your loss.  :(

Rats reach sexual maturity anywhere between 4.5 to 6 weeks old and females from 5 to 6 weeks of age, making it very dangerous for the little rats since they can reproduce that young and that small.

As the rat ages, many changes take place. They are very social and start to play with each other and chase each other and play fight, groom each other and snuggle together to sleep.  

Rats begin to go through social maturity (puberty) anywhere from 6 to 8 months of age.  Often the owner will notice a bit of aggressive feelings going on, with one male trying to be the boss of the others. Sometimes there are two males that want to be the alpha rat and they may start to fight a bit more aggressively than they did when they used to play fight. Usually they work it out on their own. A well bred rat usually doesnt go through this but if they do, it is never a serious issue. If it becomes one and the rats begin to bite and draw blood, the aggressive male should be neutered.

However, with your young baby, he sounds like he has a medical problem and needs immediate medical attention.  If his penis is still showing and is not covered by the foreskin, this means it is stuck and this can be a very critical matter. It may even become fatal if it is not corrected.  Sometimes you can lubricate it with KY jelly and try to pull the foreskin over the glans penis but it may swell and not go back in.  He will need a vet and need one fast if it hasnt gone back to normal today.

Do you have a vet?  You will need one that is experienced with rats, often an exotic vet or a general vet that sees exotics.  Please let me know right away.



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for your response. We did take Xander to the vet, and she
recommended neutering him to try to see if the penis was exposed because
of some hormonal thing. Unfortunately, they killed him with anesthesia!! So
naturally, we are very upset and second-guessing our decision, and definitely
not going back to that vet, whether it was their fault or not. Now he is with
his brother in ratty heaven :(

Answer
OMG they did surgery on that?  He was TOO YOUNG!
What vet did you go to?  Please let me know. Obviously they were not exotic vets.  I already said what was wrong....all they needed to do was sedate him a bit and retract the foreskin back in place again.
He had a condition called Paraphimosis which occurs when the foreskin becomes trapped behind the glans penis and is unable to return to its natural position on its own, causing pain and swelling!!!
Treatment for this condition is NOT NEUTERING!  I am so upset at the fact there are so many irresponsible vets out there that have no clue what they are doing and still take peoples hard earned money to see the rat. The people waste money, the rat either doesnt get better, gets worse or DIES because of their lack of knowledge and so there you are, with a young rat that died for nothing due to an overly zealous and arrogant vet that had no clue what he or she was doing.

Again, allow me to find a real exotic vet that knows about vet care.

I am so sorry this vet was so incompetent!!!!!!  During our follow up, let me know the name of the Vet and clinic that you went to so I can see if they were real exotic vets. IT will be totally confidential of course if you tag the message PRIVATE only just you and I  can read it and see it.