Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i went to check on my rats today and one jumbo males head was completely eaten. i dont know if it just died and was eaten or killed by the other three jumbos and than eaten? also i noticed the other three after i changed there bedding that they were all closely rolled up together and it looked like they were breathing a little heavier. they appear healthy but i cant be 100%? anyone have any suggestions?? thanks!!

I would keep an eye on them and not feed them off for a while just in case they get parasites.
Just feed them more, and keep in mind that male rats do tend to want to kill and/or castrate each other, especially when they are jumbo sized.

~jenny
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"Polysyllabism in no way insures that what you're saying is actually worth being heard." - Blake (an e-friend of mine)

"I have never made but one prayer to god, a very short one: "O lord, make my enemies ridiculous." And he granted it." - Voltaire

Have you added to the group or changed "partners". How long has your group been together. I have kept thousands of rats over the last five years, and the only time my rats would fight was when their groups were changed. Adding a new female usually causes minor squabbles with the other females as they try to determine hierarchy. Adding a new male in a long term group, can cause the dominant female to become very aggressive toward the new guy. I once had a male rat whose ear was virtually removed by an aggressive girl. Adding an adult male rat into a situation where there is another male will usually result in fights as well, but most people don't keep adult males together unless they've been raised together.

Did they have food available? Sometimes, if food or especially if water is scarce (check your water source...rats love to plug it up), older individuals will die, and the others will feast on the dead body. This is more common when dehydration is an issue than food, as rats learn quick that blood hydrates!

I gave up breeding rats as having an attached garage with breeders tends to make the house stinky...I wish I could still breed them though as I spend almost $800 on frozen feeders a year, which is over 8 times what I used to spend!
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Thanks,
Amy
My Boids

Amy, thanks for all that info. I wasn't aware of a lot of it. I would always just make the killers dinner for the BCI

Quig
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Don't interupt me when I'm talkin' to myself

thirsty critters need water..even if it is from a brain......

.......other than that? too too cold?......

.......adding rats won't make them mad or puffy and cuddled......

I kill all rats ,mice,hamsters,asfr, gerbils etc etc etc after 6 months of breeding......are they old?....

(*yes stuff can breed for a year or 2 even but for best production use young stock)...

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this could be nothing but the truth.......Old rats breed like crap....I made the mistake of not cycling my groups soon enough because they were breeding fine and when I cycled half, the half that I didn't have pretty much quit breeding.....now that the young half is picking up, I will be cycling the old ones in about a month when I get some females that are big enough...Thirsty rats kill other rats before hungry rats will....If I ever have a dead rat that has been eaten off of, 90% of the time the water nozzle is clogged, clean and no more canabalism.
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Josh & Krysty Hutto
J&K Reptiles

Various Ball Pythons, boas, dogs, cats, fish, an amel tiger retic female, a couple sulcatas and a few other odds and ends.

a BAD dog is MADE not bred, support the American Pit Bull Terrier as the greatest breed of dogs on Earth!!!!!