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Author Topic: Nibblers: Male Seeking to be Dominant?  (Read 1241 times)

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kulatr

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Nibblers: Male Seeking to be Dominant?
« on: February 28, 2011, 11:28:30 AM »

One more question for today...lol

I have lava ledges in my cage for the chins on which to perch and chew. They love them.  However, I notice they often compete for one ledge in particular whenever I'm near the cage.  Not only will they jump to try to knock each other off of the ledge, but if Howard is on the ledge, Vince will bite at the base of Howard's tail to try to get him to get down. 

Since the ledge is no more than 5 or 6 inches from the base, I'm not worried about them getting hurt if they fall (or get pushed) off the ledge, but the tail-biting concerns me.  Howard yips and barks when Vince nibbles his tail, it obviously annoys him and may even hurt him (though Vince never draws blood or anything, just bites the base of his tail & tries to pull him down). 

The boys seem to get along well.  They have small scuffles periodically, but they never last more than a second and I don't ever have to intervene b/c they are so brief and they go back to being just fine.  Is Vince's biting a dominance thing?  Should I be worried about Vince's aggression?  I guess I just get worried b/c Vince seems to be the dominant chin and Howard has such a timid personality that he doesn't physically defends himself, he just barks until Vince leaves him be.  Is this normal chin behavior or should I be worried?
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dianah

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Re: Nibblers: Male Seeking to be Dominant?
« Reply #1 on: February 28, 2011, 01:55:44 PM »

i have never seen any of mine bite. i have three girls in one cage and quite often more than one wants to sit in the same place and they tend to just push their way in. if the other one doesn't move though, and pushing doesn't do it, that's the end of it.

i would be worried about biting even if it doesn't cause an injury - it may turn nastier later.

could you remove that particular perch?
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Debbie.nl.ca

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Re: Nibblers: Male Seeking to be Dominant?
« Reply #2 on: March 05, 2011, 02:42:44 PM »

Ya that's a iffy one, keep a close eye it doesn't get too rough. A little time out for the aggressor might be in order. When he does it put him in a small carrier for 2 min.  ;) Could work
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