TheGanjaGuru

TL;DR My pet rats went from best buds to mortal enemies. What gives?

I'm having a bit of a problem. I recently got two male rats from PetCo. I'm sure it would have been better to get one from a breeder, however there are very few breeders in the area and none of them had any available for quite some time. I picked two that were in the same cage and seemed to get along just fine. I waited about week before I actually got them and went back to look at them a couple of times. Each time they seemed ok and seemed to get along.

When I brought them home they looked like they were going to be best buds. They both would cuddle in their hut and groom each other. I started giving them treats and they both warmed up to me very quickly. I named them Frank and Fred. At first it looked as though Fred was the dominate rat, although he was never mean to Frank, he would push him out of the way when it came time for a treat. I always made sure they both received the same amount however.

Then one day out of the blue Frank and Fred began to fight viciously. All I saw was a ball of fur flying through there cage (big cage BTW) and heard tons of screeching. Not squeaking, screeching. I separated them for a while and let them cool off. I notice right away that Fred (the dominate) had a really chewed up tail. I cleaned it up and let them sit over night in separate cages.

I tried again to reintroduce them and they immediately began to fight. This time it was clear that Frank was the aggressor and he attacked Fred's tail again, drawing blood. At this point i knew there was a problem. I bought another large cage for Frank to live in and I have kept them separately since for fear that Frank would kill Fred.

I waited a couple of weeks with just having their cages next to each other and tried to let them interact in a large play pen I constructed from cardboard boxes. I had a spray bottle handy just in case they started to fight. As soon as they got near each other Frank attacked Fred. So I sprayed him and he seemed to get the message. I sat and watched but in no time at all Frank was going back after Fred and would not be deterred by the spray bottle for more than a moment or two.

At this point I'm at a loss. I don't understand why they went from getting along fine to hating/fearing each other. I don't want to keep them separate because I understand they are social and need companionship when I'm not around to provide it. What can I do?

My only thought is that maybe I could try to have Frank fixed since he is clearly the aggressor. It is awfully expensive and risky however, and there is no way to know that it will be a solution.

Does anyone have any other suggestions at all?

One last detail, I'm not certain of there age other than that they are under 6 months old.

TL;DR My pet rats went from best buds to mortal enemies. What gives?

Question in title says it all. I left my Asthmanex inhaler in my bathroom while I was taking a shower by mistake. It was pretty steamy in there and I noticed that the window that shows the doses remaining was fogged up. Is this inhaler still any good or should I try to get I new one? I hate to have to replace it as it is so expensive, but I certainly don't want to continue using it if it isn't any good anymore.

Edit: I would call my doctor of pharmacy but it is Sunday and both are closed.

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