2 Male Unneutered Rats / Behavior and Cage

Question
Hi! Help! I just got two sweet adorable male rats. I've had a female before, but decided to research about male rats online to make sure I am making the best choices for my little guys. I am very confused it seems like the online resources are giving me mixed messages about various topics. I want to understand this unneutered male aggression. They 'play' fought once ( a little tussle and it was over) generally they groom and sleep with eachother. Will this change because they aren't neutered? They never so much have nibbled on me.. will they one day become agressive with no sign because of testosterone and bite? I'd really hate to put them through the surgery, but I don't want them to be unhappy etheir. Will they become unhappy unneutered because they can't mate with a female (one online website said they would)? Will they turn on eachother? I'm not sure of thier age.. I know they are not adults but don't look anything like babies. I would guess they are young adults. How can I tell how old they are.. and is it true age has to do with size of thier testicoles? I'm sorry for asking so many questions .. I just want to make the best decision for them.

Lastly, I 'saved' them from becoming reptile food and quickly took them home in a 10 gallon tank for one night, then I went and purchased this three level wire cage that you hook on top of a ten gallon tank. The sides, floor, and ladder are wire except the bottom which is carefresh litter in a 10 gallon tank. Is this sufficent housing? They have chubes (looks like a large toliet paper roll) a hammock, and igloo, toys, ect...  Will I need to cover the wire levels with reptile flooring (green carpetting) or is it safe for thier feet? If so, should the wire ladders be covered as well?

Hope you can help.. Nimh and Brisby (my boy rats.. named after the movie Secret of Nimh :  - )  and I would be really thankful!

Answer
Hello Marissa,
Nice to see another rat lover aboard. I love their names! You have some great questions, and I can understand why you've been given so many mixed messages online.

In my experience, and that's about 14 years, and 800 or so male rats, 99.9999% of the time, if you have a happy baby male rat, you'll have a happy adult male rats. They tend to keep temperments the entire time they're alive unless they undergo some neurological, or traumatic events.

Since the pair are happy, grooming, and enjoying each other, I don't think you'll have any aggression issues. If for some reason, one starts acting differently, there may be a health issue, but you can let your vet know that. Unless there are more males due in, or you have females nearby, the mating aggression isn't likely to happen.

They will likely play, "I'm the boss" now and then. One may try to mount the other to say, "Don't think you're in charge", but they aren't really hurting each other. I've had males never even as much as nip at each other, and others who think they need to box twice an hour just for fun. Mostly, they will groom and tiff when one gets more into cleaning than the other.

As far as age goes, and that's a great question, too, there are two ways you can tell how old a rat is. The first is by having him since he was born, and the second is a bit of detective work. For the first nine weeks of age, a rat grows about an inch a week. Most male pet rats are full grown at 8-10 inches from bottom to nose tip.

After they've reached full size, then you have to look at other clues. How soft is his fur? How long are his teeth? Does he have any callouses on his feet? Are his ears scarred? How long are his whiskers? There are a few dozen more ways to look at him, but basically a male adult rat will generally look 3-16 months exactly the same. When he starts to show signs of old age, (hair thinning, teeth thinning, slower motions, etc), he could be a year old, or even four years old. It's not as easy to figure out the years on the pet as you'd hope, I'm afraid.


To your last question.. what a fun house! Sounds like you're doing all the right things. I cover our wire cage floors with old carpet remnants or tiles you can get from hardware or housing stores asking for samples. We also have daily newspapers spread out on the wire, so the rats can chew it up, and make their own bedding. Cubes are great, and hammocks are wonderful.

Ladders don't have to be covered, because they spend little time on them. BUT, you'll note there are wires at either end of the ladder, and that can be a place where toes get caught. We use electrical tape and sliced up milk cartons to cover those areas. Toes don't get caught that way.

You're a terrific rat mom! It's always nice to hear that two boys are getting so much love. CongRATS!

Cathe