Question for iibnf and other rat owners...

[letterblade]

Two young (I think) females sharing a painfully small aquarium. Just in the past two days or so, they've been fighting a lot. One moment silence, next moment THRASHSQUEAK. Looks to be sometimes fighting over food (the seed their proper owners gave me ran out, so I've been giving them various scraps and such) and often dominance stuff. Is this normal?

Comments

[lucky-otter.livejournal.com]

Yup, it's normal. Don't worry about it unless one of them is bleeding. Though you might want to worry about the "aquarium" and the "painfully small" part. It's better to have airflow, as with a cage, and a decent amount of space. Not really anything you'd do about that, though, since they aren't yours.

[iibnf.livejournal.com]

Pretty much what the person above says. They may be fighting over food scraps - always make sure they have plenty of food, never let the bowl get completely empty - and yeah, get rid of the acquarium. Amonia builds up and can irritate their nasal passages, which are incredibly sensitive to damage in rats. They need air flow, and places to get away from each other, as well as places to snuggle up.

Sometimes rats adore each other, and love each other, and sometimes, like people, they just don't get on. Each have a distinct personality, it happens.

[iibnf.livejournal.com]

By the way, what kind of scraps? Rats need lots of fresh fruit and veg, dry or cooked pasta, a little rice, the odd piece of cooked (COOKD) liver or cooked oyster, very occasional bits of nuts for treats (not almonds). Avoid too much seed, as it's fattening and doesn't provide a great mix of nutrients. Loads of fresh fruit and veg - that's important, and if you really want to make friends, give them some avocado.

Dairy is linked to cancer, but a tiny dollop of yogurt will also make them very happy.

NO CHEESE!

[didodiva.livejournal.com]

I don't know about rats, but I once had a pair of female hamsters who were just like that. I ended up putting them in seperate cages and both were perfectly happy. You might want to consider that. But if they get on sometimes, let them visit each other every day.