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Treatment

Your rat's fight wounds can be treated by cleaning them with a disinfectant solution, draining the abscesses, and applying appropriate antibiotic ointments. Your veterinarian will go over the appropriate treatments, medications, and methods for treatment so that you can care for your rats at home.

Living and Management

If your male rats are fighting for dominance, you will need to take steps to separate the rats that are fighting frequently. Follow the topical (external) treatment that is prescribed by your veterinarian until the wounds have healed. Keep your rat's cage dry and clean. A wet environment can encourage the growth of bacteria and keep the skin from drying out sufficiently to heal. Keeping the wounds dry is also an important step in preventing the spread of harmful bacteria over your rat's skin.

For behavioral management, try to divert your rat’s attention if it suffers from tail biting and consult your veterinarian about the various steps that can be taken to overcome tail biting in your rats.

Prevention

One of the possible solutions for preventing aggressive dominance behavior in your rats is to avoiding housing rats of different age groups in the same cage. Similarly, avoid housing rats that are showing a tendency to fight with other rats. Toys and other play activities may also be used to diverting the rat’s attention, which can also discourage it from biting its tail or behaving in an aggressive way.