Rats Fighting, Aggression and Dominant Behaviour
Play Fighting
As with any social animals kept in groups a certain level of fighting is necessary to establish and maintain the hierarchy when adults or for play in kittens. This varies a lot with rat age and sex and also from group to group. Fighting starts as play fighting when the rats become old enough to really begin interacting with their peers. This trains them for later life and is also a fun game for young exuberant rats. Often there will be one kitten who stands out as winning the most fights but this is rarely an indication of who will be the dominant or Alpha rat later in life. Some adult rats continue ‘play fighting’ into adult life, this can be differentiated from more serious rat fighting by the bouncy playful approaches of the rats involved. It will also rarely involve the pinned rat remaining on its back for long and this rat will often attempt to reinitiate the wrestling match when it’s released from being pinned. It is also not unusual for rats to win a play match regardless of their abilities or position in the pack and it can often turn into an extended grooming session. I have found that true play fighting is far more common in sibling groups than in mixed groups. The rats that grow up play fighting together often never really stopping.
Pinging
This is as much play behaviour as part of a play fight, it is not a sign of aggression. A rat will appear is if it’s legs are made of springs, there whole body will appear tensed but there expression and body language will be very open, eager and playful. They will often pounce onto their victim, then leap off manically bounding round the cage, only to return and pounce on them again. It is similar to human children playing tag, though it can be broken up by sessions of manic grooming either of the victim of the pounce or by them. Pinging is usually kitten behaviour; however some adult rats continue pinging right up to the end. It is generally associated with excitement and playfulness. Pinging often turns into a pounce should an unfortunate rat wander in the path of the bouncing rat.
Pounce
This is where a rat attempts to leap onto their victim, normally to mount them. It is particularly common in kittens and young rats but rarer in adult rats who generally prefer to sidle towards there victim. Often a young rat will not give particular care to what they pounce on, happily bouncing on the head, side, back or bum of it’s victim, Adults tend more towards targeted pouncing aimed at the hindquarters. A kitten pounce is generally broken off very quickly as they move onto there next target, adult pounces are normal brief and rarely escalate into aggressive fighting.
Adult Fights
Once the rats grow out of kitten hood (around 3 months old) and start to move towards the rat equivalent to the teenage phase (usually around 6 - 12 months old) their fighting can take on a more serious and sometimes more violent aspect. This is particularly true in bucks who get a sudden influx of hormones which can confuse them and in extreme cases make them aggressive to other rats. Not all adult fighting is a bad thing; in fact the majority is a perfectly natural part of rat society, we often apply human emotions to these things and are convinced that all fighting is going to upset and hurt our rats. It is important to recognise that truly aggressive and violent fighting can cause problems, and so should be watched for and action taken if it becomes serious.
Pinging
This is as much play behaviour as part of a play fight, it is not a sign of aggression. A rat will appear is if it’s legs are made of springs, there whole body will appear tensed but there expression and body language will be very open, eager and playful. They will often pounce onto their victim, then leap off manically bounding round the cage, only to return and pounce on them again. It is similar to human children playing tag, though it can be broken up by sessions of manic grooming either of the victim of the pounce or by them. Pinging is usually kitten behaviour; however some adult rats continue pinging right up to the end. It is generally associated with excitement and playfulness. Pinging often turns into a pounce should an unfortunate rat wander in the path of the bouncing rat.
Pounce
This is where a rat attempts to leap onto their victim, normally to mount them. It is particularly common in kittens and young rats but rarer in adult rats who generally prefer to sidle towards there victim. Often a young rat will not give particular care to what they pounce on, happily bouncing on the head, side, back or bum of it’s victim, Adults tend more towards targeted pouncing aimed at the hindquarters. A kitten pounce is generally broken off very quickly as they move onto there next target, adult pounces are normal brief and rarely escalate into aggressive fighting.
Adult Fights
Once the rats grow out of kitten hood (around 3 months old) and start to move towards the rat equivalent to the teenage phase (usually around 6 - 12 months old) their fighting can take on a more serious and sometimes more violent aspect. This is particularly true in bucks who get a sudden influx of hormones which can confuse them and in extreme cases make them aggressive to other rats. Not all adult fighting is a bad thing; in fact the majority is a perfectly natural part of rat society, we often apply human emotions to these things and are convinced that all fighting is going to upset and hurt our rats. It is important to recognise that truly aggressive and violent fighting can cause problems, and so should be watched for and action taken if it becomes serious.
Dominant or Aggressive Behaviour
It is important to be able to tell when your rat is being aggressive, or just behaving dominantly. An aggressive rat is one who may escalate things into a fight or injury, whereas a dominant rat is likely to stay calm and tolerant whilst he makes his point. Dominant rats should generally be left to sort out matters unless it has turned into outright bullying, aggressive rats should generally be interrupted or distracted until there aggression has calmed down again. However this is a sliding scale so will take time to really be able to judge well.
Sidling
This comprises the rat moving sideways towards the other rat. Its closest hind leg normally leads with the face turned towards the other rat but held low. It becomes more aggressive when combined with fluffed fur and the tail being wagged from side to side (this is a sign of extreme excitement/emotion but is aggressive in this situation). This behaviour is often a precursor to the side kick or shove or more aggressively actual lunging and biting.
Rats sidle up to an opponent they are not sure that they can beat, this is why the head is lowered and turned towards the object of their attention. It protects the rats easily damaged areas (throat, belly) and makes sure it can keep an eye on the other rat, whilst presenting the tough back and bum as the closest target. It is in part because the rats aren’t sure that they are going to win which means this behaviour can often turn worse. The most serious and damaging rat fights occur with rats that are unsure of themselves and lack self-confidence.
Rats sidle up to an opponent they are not sure that they can beat, this is why the head is lowered and turned towards the object of their attention. It protects the rats easily damaged areas (throat, belly) and makes sure it can keep an eye on the other rat, whilst presenting the tough back and bum as the closest target. It is in part because the rats aren’t sure that they are going to win which means this behaviour can often turn worse. The most serious and damaging rat fights occur with rats that are unsure of themselves and lack self-confidence.
Shove
The rat will normally sidle up to its victim and then push into them. This will normally be used to remove or bully the victim away from that particular area for example, off a shelf or out of their favourite hammock which can become a problem if there is a long drop. It becomes more aggressive when it is repeated with the victim not being allowed to stop anywhere.
Side Kick
This is similar to the Shove but the victim receives a swift kick to the side rather than actual bodily contact. Given the length of rats legs and the amount of power they can put into a kick it rarely causes damage and is the less aggressive of the two. This can also be used as a defensive measure by the victim of a Pounce type attack, particularly where the attacker is a young rat attempting to ‘play fight’ with the older rat. A swift kick to the belly of the offending rat is intended to put them off trying again (but given the enthusiasm and eternal optimism of kittens this rarely works).
Mounting
This is where a rat simulates mating with its target. It is a display of dominance but not really a problem unless a rat takes it too far. If a rat is mounting its cage mates frequently, or harassing them for an extended period of time it can mean that the rat has far too many hormones than is good for it. Neutering should solve this problem and relive the rat of its obvious sexual tension. If you do not see this behaviour you can sometimes see the result of it with a clump of fur around the rats rear end seemingly stuck together with a waxy substance. Girls will sometimes mount though generally it is more common in males. However if another Doe is in heat in the cage it is normal for her cage mates to mount her and not a sign of excessive dominance. Kittens will often simulate mounting following a pounce type attack, this is normally over very quickly and rarely true mounting until there hormones kick in later in life
Pinning
A rat ‘pins’ another rat by pushing them over (possibly from a boxing position or from a sidle manoeuvre) and holding them down with their front paws. It is often followed by dominance grooming.
Chasing
This is a more adult version of the pinging behaviour. In this case the victim will generally run away to avoid confrontation, closely followed by their pursuer. The pursuer aims to initiate dominance behaviour to confirm themselves as the dominant rat. The victim wishes to avoid this. If the dominant rat catches or corners the victim they will often initiate another form of behaviour, sometimes pouncing and pinning, sometimes dominance grooming, more occasionally a bite to the rump. If the victim fails to back down and allow this to happen a ‘face off’ can occur, possibly leading to boxing or a full blown fight.
Generally speaking if the victim allows the dominant rat to prove their dominance adequately the chase will be over, occasionally the aggressor may not be satisfied by the victim giving up and will harass them constantly not allowing the victim to rest. This is extreme aggressive behaviour and should be intervened in, with possibly thoughts to neutering the offending rat if it continues. This shouldn’t be mistaken with the victim not giving in and allowing the aggressor to prove their dominance, in this case the focus should be on the victim rather than the aggressor
Generally speaking if the victim allows the dominant rat to prove their dominance adequately the chase will be over, occasionally the aggressor may not be satisfied by the victim giving up and will harass them constantly not allowing the victim to rest. This is extreme aggressive behaviour and should be intervened in, with possibly thoughts to neutering the offending rat if it continues. This shouldn’t be mistaken with the victim not giving in and allowing the aggressor to prove their dominance, in this case the focus should be on the victim rather than the aggressor
Face Off
A face off occurs when 2 rats meet where the hierarchy is not established. The rats will face each other and posture, neither showing any signs of backing down or submission. This will often evolve from a sniffing greeting then one rat will object and they will turn to face each other heads slightly raised and mouths slightly open baring their teeth. This can be elevated by tail wagging, fluffing fur and aggressive teeth chattering, or in a less aggressive reaction the rats can stand on their hind legs and go into the ‘boxing’ position.
The position can be ended without elevating if one of the rats lowers it’s head beneath the eye/nose level of the other rat, this is a sign of submission. The victor will then most likely aggressively sniff, sidle, possibly kick and then and pin the victim followed by forced grooming, though a few more ‘face offs’ can occur before peace resumes (these are generally very short in duration).
The position can be ended without elevating if one of the rats lowers it’s head beneath the eye/nose level of the other rat, this is a sign of submission. The victor will then most likely aggressively sniff, sidle, possibly kick and then and pin the victim followed by forced grooming, though a few more ‘face offs’ can occur before peace resumes (these are generally very short in duration).
Boxing
This is an elevated version of the ‘face off’, the rats stand on their hind legs directly facing one another, mouth slightly open and teeth bared. They will stand as tall as possible and may fluff up there fur too. This is an effort to appear the bigger rat and so have the other rat submit without resorting to actual fighting. The rats may spend a long period of time doing this, neither willing to back down or certain enough of his chances to move it into a true fight. Occasionally proper boxing will occur with the rats attempting to push the other rat with a paw only to be blocked by the other rats paw. This can lead to an almost hypnotic slow motion dance as the rats reach and block and then reach out again. In some cases one rat will lower its head and back down, in other cases the victor will succeed in pushing the other rat over and then dominate them. Boxing rarely leads to an outright fight without some transition into other behaviour, it is also rarely seen between an alpha and subordinate but more likely a pair of young beta’s who are not yet confident in their skills to win a battle
Full Blown Fight - Rat Ball
This is thankfully very rare in rats and in most cases breaks up seconds after it starts. The rats, having postured around each other for some time will suddenly launch themselves into each other and end up in a ball of fur, teeth and claws. This is the state where serious injuries can occur and should be split up straight away using a water spray or something thick (like a towel) to protect your hands. Even a rat who has never bitten or shown any aggression towards humans in their life will bite hard anything in their teeth’s reach in this state and human hands are no different.