Fancy Rats: Boys or Girls?

This guide is intended as an overview only, obviously each rat is an individual! Regardless of gender no rat should ever be kept alone. Lonely rats can become extremely depressed and quite cage-aggressive - making them a very poor, unhappy pet. No amount of human interaction can ever substitute for company of another rat. Rats have a very complicated social hierarchy and companionship of the same gender is essential.

If you are having difficulty with a rat being bullied, or aggressive and believe they cannot be kept with others - seek advice! There are plenty of good rat forums and rescues who can advise on the correct way to bond rats.

You might also be interested in our Rat Introductions: Myths and Legends article.

Both Buck and Does

Will engage in same-sex mounting. This can be a way of establishing dominance or where a doe is reacting to another being in season.

Will need regular handling and interaction.

Must be kept with company.

Male Rats (Bucks)

Boys are generally more laid back, and the most likely to be a 'shoulder rat'. They are more content to sit still and be stroked.

Male rats are more like to scent mark than girls, and may produce small droplets of urine as they walk. Not all rats do this, but if you have a particularly dominant male you may want to wear old clothes whilst handling!

Bucks produce a substance known as 'buck grease'. This may tinge their fur slightly orange. It is normal and should not require any extra attention.

The footprint, or floorspace of the cage is more important to Bucks than the height. They do not climb as much as girls, although they do enjoy relaxing in hammocks.

Female Rats (Does)

Girl rats are more pingy, they love climbing and are generally more active. They love to explore and are less likely than bucks to just sit still. This will make more use of the height of the cage than boys will.

Does come into season every 4-5 days and you may notice more activity in your group during this time. Females may mount each other when in heat - this is a way of establishing dominance and is not something to be concerned about. Obviously if you have got your rats recently, and in particular if you have got them from a pet shop, do check the Fancy Rats Sexing Guide to make sure.

Does in heat may be harder to handle and less friendly. One way of identifying a doe in heat is their ears - these will often vibrate quite rapidly.

Female rats are prone to developing mammary tumours, this is especially likely from around 18 months. Any growth on your rat should be investigated by a vet, as early removal of a tumour can extend your rat's life. Since the chances of these occuring are related to estrogen levels spaying can reduce the chances of them occurring. However this should be carefully considered, as no surgery is without risk.

Fancy Rats Behaviour

A pair or group of same-sex Fancy rats make excellent pets as they enjoy interacting with their humans, exploring and toys. See Fancy Rats - Boys or Girls? for information on how characters differ by gender.

Most vocalisation made by Fancy Rats is at a range humans cannot hear, but they do make some eeps in our hearing range. A short eep usually indicates a mild reaction, protest or submission. Rats have a complex social hierarchy and as such will often have an 'alpha' at the top of the hierarchy. Longer eeps, or sudden, loud shrieks should be investigated as they could indicate the start of more serious fighting. As a rats hormone and activity levels change over time so fall-outs are not common, but can happen. You need to always make sure your animals are in a large, interesting enough environment where you can monitor them.

Bruxing

Bruxing is where a rat grinds or chatters its teeth together quite rapidly. This can indicate contentment, especially when occompanied with boggling. However bruxing can also occur as a reaction to pain or stress - if the sound is louder, and with more sharp cracks, it is more likely to be the rat responding to something bad. Rats may brux loud (sometimes known as chattering) to comfort themselves if they are in distress or pain.

Same-sex mounting

this may occur when a doe is in heat, or just because. It doesn't indicate your animals are gay or that you have the wrong gender in there. If you've got your rats recently then by all means double-check, but this is normal among same-sex groups and nothing to worry about.

Scent Marking

Rats will use their scent glands to mark their territory. It is often a high-ranking or alpha that will do this most, and they may also secrete small droplets of urine as a form of marking. This does not indicate incontinence and not all rats will do this.

Dominance Behaviour

A certain amount of dominance play will be how your group establishes its hierarchy. Although this is often spoken of as needing an Alpha - this is not a concrete rule. Rats are very individual and you may have characters that stand aside from the normal heirachy and so have no real position in it. This leaves no clear Alpha as the rat who stands apart may still have an area of life they protect - i.e you can have this hammock or wheel I was in, but not my food!

Dominance behaviour includes pinning - where a rat will hold another in a position where their belly is upwards. They might then groom or sniff them, or just do nothing. This is normal.

Grooming is a dominance behaviour and it may seem sometimes as if this is being forced. This is particularly common where a rat has been kept incorrectly without companions, one result is that the lonely rat may groom quite excessively when finally introduced to company. This should only become a concern if the grooming becomes excessive to the extent that other rats fur is becoming patchy, or fights are breaking out because of the over enthusiastic one. If you have a rat doing this, then try distracting food or play and please do persist. The other rats might find it irritating but this behaviour won't last forever, the lonely rat is just a bit desperate for company.

Aggressive Behaviour

Any responsible rat owner should be aware of certain behaviour to look out for. These can escalate quite rapidly and might need intervention.

Boxing rats might raise on their hind legs and bat at each other with their front paws. This can be minor, but if one rat does not back down or lose interest this can escalate.

Chasing where it is persistent and accompanied by loud eeps or shrieks. Might include mounting or bites to the rear. Any behaviour where blood is caused needs intervention.

Displaying teeth where rats open their mouth and bear there teeth this display is often a warning to another rat. Bears watching.

Sidling where a rat will swing its body into another in a pushing motion. More serious where accompanied by back-leg kicks.

Ball fighting when a situation has escalated into a full-blown fight this may end up where the two rats are locked into a ball together and trying to bite each other. Needs intervention!

Overview of Fancy Rats

Fancy rats are a domesticated form of the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus also know as the Norwegian rat or Wharf rat. Breeding for the fancy began in 18th century Europe and has its origins in rat-baiting. More unusually coloured rats were spared from this horific fate and began to be bred and sold as pets. In the time since a wide variety of colours and coat types have been selectively bred in pet fancy rats. Dumbo rats are just Fancy rats with different ear placement, and can still be kept with normal, top-ear rats.

An adult Fancy rat averages around 9-11 inches long including tail with a weight of 350-450g for a female (doe) and 450-650g for a male (buck). The average lifespan is 2-3 years although they are sadly prone to a variety of ailments. Although they do tend to be demonized, there are in fact no associated health problems with keeping rats providing they are from an ethical source.

Fancy rats, like Fancy Mice are very social. Unlike male mice however, male rats can be kept quite happily together. Female rats tend to enjoy climbing and are more energetic, playful and 'pingy' than males. Male rats can be more affectionate towards their owners, some being perfectly happy to be shoulder rats known colloquially as a 'squish'.

Although your rats should enjoy human interaction and need a period of time to free-range each day, this cannot substitute for company of another rat. Young rats of under 12 weeks can be introduced to each other quite easily, but older rats can also be introduced. This needs to be done on neutral territory, see Further Reading for guides.

Rats do not need a complicated diet, although like many of the more common rodents they do require a more varied diet than just a simple commercial mix. Good rodent rescues can advise of diet and many rat breeders mix their own in bulk and so may be prepared to supply some of this for you. See Fancy rats - Diet for more information.

Rats cannot be kept in an aquarium due to the lack of ventilation, and must be kept in a large, barred cage. See details on environment.