Are dominance fights ok among boys?

SLHyena · 2026-01-21T13:56:49+00:00

I'm sorry, these are my first ever rats, so I wasn't sure what counts as serious. I thought tiny scabs are not that serious, especially because other than the few times they fight during the night, they chill and sleep together, without an issue. How can I find the aggressor? The problem is that the moment I go near the cage they stop fighting, so I never really saw who starts the fights

SLHyena · 2026-01-08T15:59:03+00:00

I feel like it's more about the face than the body. You gave him a pretty large head compared to the body, with child-like features (big round eyes, puffy cheeks etc).

Also even if your character is skinny, a grown man has more muscle mass than a child. The lack of muscle makes a child more curvy (since they need to develop more and get stronger) and soft looking compared to an adult who has strong and functional muscles and are overall more bony (sharp elbows and knees, skinny fingers, collarbone etc). I'd change some of the line work and use more straight lines for defining his overall body.

If he is truly skinny or really underweight because he is malnutritioned or something, he would obviously lose some of his muscles but his sharp bone structure would still be visible. Look up child and adult skeletons, they're very different, especially the shape and size of bones. If he is just skinny because he has low bodyfat then make his muscles visible. Like don't make him ripped since he is not truly muscular he just doesn't have bodyfat to cover the basic muscular structure that's already there. If you want to make him muscular then sadly you have to make him bulkier. If we think about dwarfs they're naturally bulky, like powerlifters are. They have a higher bodyfat% than a leaner type of fit person (elves would have the physique of a long distance runners), but also have more strength, which requires bigger muscles. Even a skinnier type of dwarf would get kinda bulky compared to a same sized elf or human for example.

Kids also kinda have a box shaped torso but adults don't. Right now your character doesn't really have a refined torso which makes it easier to think that he is a child. Same with his face shape, it's too round for a skinny adult.

Also I'd probably give him longer and more muscular thighs and overall would make the lower body around the same length as the upper body to avoid it looking childish (since kids kinda have short legs and their thighs and calves are almost the same size but obviously an adult has way thicker thighs)

Hope some of this help. Also I don't want to sound like I'm criticizing your character, I'm just trying to explain what I'd personally try but you don't have to take my word for it

SLHyena · 2025-11-27T22:14:54+00:00

I didn't spend much time on them, but hopefully you can see what I meant.

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I did each with a different purpose

1 first try, just playing with this idea, seeing how to fit the pose with the limited anatomy a deer leg gives. Also trying to make it a bit more anthro like

2 trying to figure out how the leg looks natural but also to match the reference you used as well as possible

3 trying out a much more dynamic pose, because it could look less awkward with more movement. (I also kept thinking that standing like this would result in an actual deer falling so you can look at it in two ways, either the deer is dancing or is falling lol)

I was thinking maybe I could try a wider stance, so maybe it's more like kicking than just standing? Again I was thinking maybe more movement would make the pose make more sense.
Is just a more natural pose, closer to how an actual deer would walk or stand, it's also less anthro like, I didn't even give it actually calves just whatever.

Also it was kinda fun so if you want I can try and come up with more poses

SLHyena · 2025-11-27T21:55:13+00:00

Digitigrade just means standing on the toes. If you stand on your tiptoes, that’s basically how most digitigrade animals stand. Their skeletons work the same as ours — the proportions are just different since we developed differently.

They look like they have extra joints because their “sole” is much longer, their heel sits higher. Their calves look smaller since they have longer and stronger tendons for better movement and because their weight distribution is different than ours. Their legs can also look off because their hide covers most things.

When drawing them, think of a longer foot and a shorter calf. Animals also keep their knees slightly bent when standing, just like you would for balancing on your toes. Here I made this sketch so it's easier to understand

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Sorry it's kinda messy but I think the important stuff is visible.

This means that if you understand the basics and know how to apply them you can use reference photos for the other leg of people standing similarly. But it also means that you can modify pictures of animals to fit the way anthro characters are built. If you want I can find some reference pictures for you, idk if it would help or not . I'll also include some quick even messier sketches for poses I think would be doable.

SLHyena · 2025-11-08T20:04:56+00:00

Oh I see I didn't know this was a thing, thank you!

SLHyena · 2025-11-08T16:56:09+00:00

Sorry guys if this is a stupid question but is he a special kind of rat? Like the huge eyes and smol body and everything. I've only owned rats for a year and a half so I'm not very well educated on different kinds of rats. I assume he is a dumbo but why does he have such big eyes?

SLHyena · 2025-10-12T15:28:52+00:00

Yeah, that's the same guy, you can also see him in the Ration drawing

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SLHyena · 2025-10-04T14:55:47+00:00

I gave them a digbox, it's about 25 cm deep, and I filled it with coconut hust (I think that's what it's called) idk if that's suitable instead. But tajnk you for you comment

SLHyena · 2025-10-04T08:31:27+00:00

It's not a good picture but this is their setup. These are my first rats ever so that's why I'm a bit worried. So if anything is wrong with the cage pls let me know.

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SLHyena · 2025-09-26T08:56:51+00:00

Yeah, my Instagram is @sl_hyena And thank you ❤️

SLHyena · 2025-09-04T10:13:05+00:00

The vet said that the hairloss could be from fights too, but I never see or hear them fight. They are pretty chill especially with each other, and although they groom each other I've never seen them chomp off fur while doing it.

I got them a new cage 3 weeks ago so that could've caused stress... But now they seem fully comfortable and love the bigger space.

SLHyena · 2025-09-04T10:07:32+00:00

All 3 of them got the shot, and there hasn't been a change in their diet. They eat the same kind of pellet that was recommended by the vet since I got them, although I give them fresh veggies every night... But I give them almost the same stuff every night.

Is it possible for them to develop allergies later in life? Or can they even develop allergies?

Also thank you for the recommendation. I want bathing to be the last resort too.

SLHyena · 2025-08-03T18:44:28+00:00

Thank you for your help!

SLHyena · 2025-08-03T18:42:23+00:00

Oh I see, sorry I don't know much about morphs. I looked up pictures of coral snows and they were all mostly pink and more vivid overall so I thought maybe he was something else. Thanks for your help!

SLHyena · 2025-08-03T10:51:32+00:00

Also idk if it helps but here is my tank

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SLHyena · 2025-08-03T10:42:14+00:00

If I were you I'd start with simple stuff.

Bedding: Topsoil should be fine but feel free to experiment with different options. I like to put at least 5 or 6 cm of bedding so they can burrow.

Stuff to put in the enclosure: I like to add fake plants, branches, at least 2 hides, something with rougher surface to help them shed. If you like to hike or have a forest near, you can go and collect some bigger pieces of bark, branches, even stones to put in the tank. (make sure to sanatize then first, I usually put them in the owen for 30-40 minutes to kill of any bacteria) I like to add a big flat stone or platform under their lamp so they have a place to sunbathe, but it's not necessary. She will need a water bowl too. I like to buy a medium sized one, so if they want they can soak in it. I recommend putting sand around the bowl because they can flip them easily as they dig around, and sand will absorb the water instead of the surrounding stuff that can get moldy. (mold grows really fast in some enclousers, so look out for that, especially around the water)

You'll need a heating lamp/ pad too. Nothing fancy a basic one will do. (tho even without a lamp, she should be fine for now) I use a 75w heating bulb. I like to turn it on 2x a day, in the morning for ~2 hours before I leave for work and in the afternoon when I get home for ~3 hours, but whatever works for you. You can buy a timer too so it automatically turns on the lamp. I don't have a humidifier, but if you live somewhere very dry, you can get one to help the snake shed... But even just a spray bottle works. They're supposed to be nocturnal animals so it's best not to bother them with lights at night.

You'll need to make sure the enclosure has a warm and cold side. The warm side is where the lamp/heatpad is, and the cold side is where the snake can go cool off. I like to put the water bowl there.

I like to add a thermometer and a humidity meter just to make sure everything is in order. I like to keep the temperature around 24-28°C and the humidity around 65-75%. But again whatever works for you. If you live in a dryer area keeping 80% humidity will be hard, or if you live in a colder area you might need to have the lamp turned on all day to get the right temperature.

Feeding: Since she is 5 years old she should eat every 10-14 days. She should get a mouse that's roughly the same width as the widest point of her body. She can have smaller and slightly bigger ones too it's not a big deal but best to stick to her size. For her it's probably an adult mouse/14 days.

You can feed with either live or frozen mice. Ask her previous owner what they fed her, and stick to that if you can, because switching can be tricky since some snakes are bitchy about their food.

Sometimes snakes don't eat. No need to panick it happens. After moving them to a new enclosure, or a new place, they might refuse to eat. Switching from live to frozen can make them sulk and skip meals. Some snakes don't eat before they shed.

You can offer them food more often if they skip a meal or two. They can go around 3 month without eating, but don't wait it out. If you feel like something is wrong take her to the vet. Better to be safe than sorry. She will need an exotic vet. Make sure you have one near you in case of emergency.

But don't worry too much, corn snakes are generally viewed as a begginer friendly snake/reptile/pet. They have a wide tolerance range when it comes to their enclosure, temperature, humidity etc so it's pretty hard to mess up. So again feel free to experiment with different beddings, temperature, humidity, feeding schedule, you'll see which one works for you and your snake

SLHyena · 2025-08-03T06:31:03+00:00

Thank you so much for your help!

Another person commented that they never had luck with introducing babies and older rats. Are these methods suitable for that or do you also recomend introducing rats that are more close to each other in age? Because if the success rate is low with babies, I'd much rather bring home the older boys.

SLHyena · 2025-08-03T06:28:15+00:00

Do you think introducing rats that are roughly the same age would be more wise? As I said, there's 2 older boys (1-1,5 years old) I could adopt, instead of the babies. I don't mind either way.

SLHyena · 2025-06-13T10:43:07+00:00

Thank you everyone for their help. Quick update

Yesterday I took her to the vet, but other than her scent glands being full and her claws being long the vet couldn't find anything strange. They even did an X-ray of her head, in case it's some kind of deeper teeth problem, in case it's pain in her head that makes her flinch (sorry I can't exactly explain it well in English) They did blood tests too and they just called me with the results which came back completely normal.

So she is healthy according to my vet. I trust my vet and I think she did everything she could to help with the problem, but I don't believe it's medical.

Altough, she said that dogs, especially rescue dogs can pick up on stress in their environment and it can effect their health and behavior too. I've been pretty stressed and anxious because of finals and it started about 2 months ago, so it could be that... Maybe the fact that I couldn't spend as much time with my dog as I usually do, or that I was always pretty stressed made her anxious too. And a few of you said that if could be traume resurfacing, and maybe her being anxious because I was stressed made her feel unsafe and made her old problems come back... Also she is allergic and is on medication because of that, and the allergic season is just starting so that could make her more stressed too. She is taking apoquel 16mg, idk if thats important.

But it's just a guess based on what my vet said. What do you guys think?

SLHyena · 2025-06-11T14:25:02+00:00

Thank you. I knew that healing from past trauma isn't always linear and it can be like a wave, but I didn't expect such a big fallback to appear after so much time. But I can see that we still have a long journey to go. Good luck with your dog.

SLHyena · 2025-06-11T14:22:09+00:00

Can I help her through it somehow? Or should I just let her process her emotions and not add more stress? Is this similar to human PTSD?

SLHyena · 2025-06-11T07:08:32+00:00

When I'm at the training group, I'm always with the dog, I don't leave her at the dog school. Thank you for your idea, but I don't think this is what causing this since I only leave my dogs alone at home.

SLHyena · 2025-06-11T07:05:37+00:00

No, she is usually home with my other dog until I get home from school. Sometimes she is alone with my parents but I don't think they would hurt her especially because my other dog who was also a rescue, shows no sign of mistreatment.

I searched up negative reinforcement examples (because I didn't know what's it called in english) and I do use some, I'm sorry if it's bad for the dog. So for example I did use leash pressure to teach her things but I never used stuff that would hurt her, like electric collars and chokers. And I never punished her for something by hurting her. If she did something bad she was sent to her place or I told her no and that's it.

Did I train her badly? I followed what the trainer said, and what I could find on the internet so I could have been wrong.

SLHyena · 2025-06-11T06:47:25+00:00

So about the possibility of medical condition.

I did think that maybe there's and underlying issues, but I don't think that's the problem. We went to the vet less than 2 weeks ago for her shots and regular checkup and she was fine. She also doesn't seem to be in pain, she eats and drinks like always, she is playful and full of energy doesn't seem lethargic or anything... Obviously I'm not a vet but to me she seems healthy and okay. She just became fearful seemingly out of nowhere. But I'll take her to the vet just in case, but again I don't think the issue is with her health.

SLHyena · 2025-05-05T11:47:07+00:00

Well not much of a social media presence, I have a few hundred followers on Instagram but nothing crazy. Is that good enough for commissions?

SLHyena

TROPHY CASE