Hi out there,

Situation explained below - I'm looking for both short-term and long-term suggestions...and also just some general support on navigating this situation.

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SHORT TERM

My rat Mafu, who is normally kept in his own separate cage due to his violent tendencies, accidentally got access to my other rat Templeton today and they got in a fairly bad fight . They are both still able to walk around their cages and acting more or less normally, but both have numerous bite wounds all over their bodies. The bleeding seems to have stopped and I have administered doxycycline that the rats were previously prescribed for others issues (in proper doses for their weight) as a prevention against infection.

This comes at a bad time as I had plans to go camping for a night tonight with my partner and our friends' kids. It is just for one night, but I don't like leaving them alone after this fight. Usually for one night we would just leave plenty of food and water, but because of this we are trying to get a friend to check in on them. She has not responded yet, but we are continuing with our plans to go.

Also we are trying to get them in for a vet appointment later this week but our vet is usually booked fairly far out. My partner also called the vet to get input on these questions but we haven't touched base yet as they are out doing errands to prepare for our trip, so I don't know what the vet said.

Questions:

1. If they are acting normally do you think they will be OK for one night without supervision?
2. Should I administer topical antibiotics on the wounds, or will that promote "outside/in" healing rather than "inside/out" and potentially lead to an abscess?
3. Templeton has been back in the cage with his colony of 3 other rats since shortly after the fight happened about 3.5 hours ago. So far no problems, but should I be worried his colony will attack him for smelling like blood?

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LONG TERM

I have been contemplating getting one or both of these males fixed to reduce aggression for a while. I have hesitated due to cost, the risk of surgery, and because my vet said that at this point (they are about a year old) it may not help. But I'm not sure that is accurate.

Mafu was raised alone for the first 6 months of his life until I got home in a rehoming off of craigslist. I'm sure him being raised alone is a big part of why he can't get along with the other rats - he never learned how. We also botched the integration process (first time rats owners), but that's another story.

I feel bad for creating the circumstances that led to this happening, although obviously it was not intentional. I was actually trying to get Templeton a friend when I got Mafu! I don't want to make Mafu go through rehoming again, but I'm wondering if I should be considering it to avoid the possibility of this happening ever again. I'm also wondering about getting either of them neutered.

Questions:

1. Would you consider rehoming a rat (who had already gone through it once) in these circumstances?
2. Do you think neutering rats of 1 year of age could help with reducing aggression?
3. Is rat neutering for aggressive rats worth the risk of surgery?

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I appreciate hearing about your experiences...and I could also use any cheerleading/reassurance any one wants to offer...this situation can be really disheartening. Thank you.