Too aggressive or ok?

[Sica]

Ive had my boys aboout 2 months now...they've always played rough, but I've noticed the past week or so Ben's been causing wounds on Clouds throat.  Enough to bleed a bit then scab, and probably bites it back open before it heals.  I seperated them Sunday to give cloud some peace. Then today i noticed Ben had a scab on his back so Cloud's been giving it back a bit. Ben stomped around his cage all day yesterday and was super depressed and wouldn't come out of his house today, so I brought him over to my house where cloud is and now have them in seperate cages next to each other. My question is, is this normal to have this rough of play every so often or does it seem too much?  They don't seem aggressive when they do it...it seems like play...but Ben does hump a lot during it.  and although it seems cloud is getting beat up, he gets up and chases ben down when Ben runs off. and since I noticed this rough play, i also noticed they  don't cuddle together as much as they used to...they used to always be in the same hammock, now Cloud is always in a hammock and Ben is either on a shelf or in his hut. I know their current main cage is too small and I'm waiting for my tax refund to get a bigger one...could it just be territorial since its a little cramped?  Maybe they need another cagemate so they have someone else to socialize with instead of JUST each other all day everyday...? unfortunately, for right now, nuetering is out of the question, so any other things i could try to simmer them down would be appreciated.

[JR1030]

The way you describe the play sounds normal to me.  If your boys are getting scabs on their heads, shoulders, chins...areas like that...it sounds more like mites to me than injuries.  Don't separate them...they'll be sad without their friends.  Can you get pics of the scabs?

[Sica]

i doubt it's mites...it's only a couple scabs and they're pretty big...like bite wounds. and I saw one as it was still bleeding. the one on Bens back is about the size of this smiley ->   And the big one on Coud's throat is about the same size but a bit longer down. there's on more smaller one on his chin. I just didn't want them to keep drawing blood.  I'd take pics but they don't sit still for crap and they've been apart for a couple days so they've already healed pretty much...which is also why I don't think it's mites.

[JR1030]

Gads.  I'm afraid other than neutering, I don't have any good suggestions for calming them down, except for maybe the bigger cage.  When you do get the big cage, if you've kept them apart the whole time, you might have to introduce them as if they've never met.  Do you have a bigger area, like a bathroom, where they can have playtimes together, so they don't forget each other?

[Sica]

Well i felt bad cuz this morning they were both still mopey so i put them back together...they played gently for a while, went pea fishing and shared a snack and are now cuddling so, I'll just have to keep an eye on them.  thanks anyways!

[scout]

Male rats can go through a very hormonal phase around 5 to 8 months old when their fighting can increase. A bigger cage will help some. You might also look into giving them some mental challenges to keep them occupied. http://www.dapper.com.au/toys.htm is a good web site with lots of ideas for toys to keep them busy. You might also take them on walks inside (or even outside if it's rat safe) to wear them out. Tired rats aren't likely to fight as much and if they do, they're not as likely to do much damage. I'd recommend exercising them before you go to bed so they're worn out at the beginning of their "day".