Should I Castrate my Rat?

In many ways, castrating fancy rats can be likened to castrating dogs. Rats are pack animals and as such always need to establish an ‘alpha’. In most cases, they will do this amongst themselves once they realise you are a)not a rat, b)much bigger than them, and c)you provide the food.

Rats will fight each other, this is perfectly natural and so long as no one is bleeding, you should not interfere. This is not a cause for castration, this is perfectly acceptable behaviour. Some rats though will always be very aggressive, not just to you but to other members of the colony as well. There are many websites on which you can find information on establishing dominance over rats, and they all agree that castration is a last resort.

Remember that despite what many people think, rats are very emotional, intelligent animals and their living conditions will affect their behaviour. They are also very social and should NEVER be kept alone. Always buy them in two or more. Clean them regularly and let them have some free roaming time out of the cage. If they still refuse to accept dominance, then castration may be in order.

Some people say that castrating male rats is a good idea as many of them develop testicular cancer, but the cancer rate in male rats isn’t that high, not high enough to warrant castration anyway. Female rats do have a very high rate of mammary cancer though, which probably where this idea comes from.

Keeping a mixed sex colony is a bad idea in many respects as it requires a lot more from you, in both work and vet’s fees. Keep males and females separate rather than castrating the males and keeping them with the females.

At the end of the day, you’re considering cutting off a guy’s knackers. How would you like it? Think if it will really improve the quality of life of your rats if you use castration, and take the matter up with a vet before making a firm decision.

Do you own another pet that may need castration?

Rabbits.

Dogs.

Cats.