Would this be ok?

[Marrissa]

I really don't like my first trio having back to back litters and I scrambled with their last two litters to get them all fed when they were still the size for my girls (Allure helped a good deal with having 2-3 a meal). I want to pull the male out and put him in his own tub. I don't have enough females (nor have enough snakes to warrant it) to have females paired off and rotate him through the tub. I have another younger male, but since I'm going to use this male to start my rat colony, I really don't want to risk anything by putting the male in with the younger male. Would it be ok to house this male separate as long as he's next to another tub of rats? Do they need to be with each other to have the socialization they need or can viewing the rats next to them be sufficient?

My thought was have him in a tub of his own next to the females then move one of those females in for 4-5 days then move her back to her tub after she's been in there long enough for a heat cycle.

He keeps harassing those girls even when they are clearly pregnant and I don't feel it's right to have them doing back to back litters all the time. I also don't want them with my other rat trio since these guys are on the chopping block for a reason. I also don't want him to be lonely or sad.

[Skittles1101]

My rat lives alone. He had a friend but he got sick and died. Granted I don't use my rat for breeding, he's a pet, but he's just fine by himself. He's just super happy to see when when I get home lol. If he's pretty social now, he should be okay by himself at least for a while.

[angllady2]

I keep my boys separate from my girls. Some boys do okay alone, as long as you give him social time. Other males really do better in at least pairs. I can't speak for all or even most male ratties, but my guys get along just fine. Of course, momma doesn't tolerate any rattie bullies. She's been known to give a fierce scolding to a bully, and occasionally a rattie spanking and a time out.

Seriously though, I've only ever had one really nasty male rat who could not be trusted with any other males. The other guys I put together in pairs or groups and swap them back and forth as breeding and space require. They squabble a bit, but a stern," You better don't!" along with a finger point from mommy usually makes them behave. Of course, all my guys have been handled since before they even had their eyes open, so maybe that makes all the difference.

In your situation, I'd try putting the boys side by side in small tanks or tubs, so they can see and smell each other but not fight. Give each one a little extra rattie lovin' each day to keep them nice, and alternate breeding. I usually put one male with one or at most two females, because if several girls catch at once and you get good, big litters it can overwhelm you. I try to stagger my pairing by 4 weeks. A female will usually catch the first or second week she's paired, I give it 14 days and then separate her. Once she drops her litter, I wait until her babies are about 2 weeks old, then pair the next female. The first female will be weaning her babies at about the time the second female catches. Since they take roughly 3 weeks to drop a litter, this give the first momma 5 or 6 weeks to rest between litters. It works well for me. I let my momma's have four maybe five litters at most, then I retire them. They could keep producing beyond that, but since mine are as much pets as breeders, I don't want to push them. I don't mind keeping them as pets for a couple of years after they stop breeding.

Gale

[Marrissa]

Thanks guys! I appreciate the advice and insight into your breeding schedule. I introduced them a few days ago and all has been well. They sleep snuggled up together and play with each other.

[iamratpimp]

Hello Marrissa!

Rat males can be kept together in large number, for the most part, without any problem. Bucks, when the start to get older can sometimes develop a nasty attitude due to hormones but other than that they will get along fine if there's no female in heat to fight over.

Rats are communal animals are need to be around their own kind - they can literally die or get sick from depression or at the very least be expected to have shorter lives because of this. Keeping your males together to play with each other would not only be okay, but is something I would encourage you to do (but to monitor if you have more than one much older buck).

I dont sleep much or very well, so im awake at 430 am but I am kind of tl;dr right now- I hope i wasn't redundant.

PM me with any other social situation questions for your rats if you would like

-rat pimp