Any rat owners in the house?
I've been keeping rats for a few years now, but I'm up against a tough customer. I was looking for an adult who could defend herself against a pair of largish sisters, and eventually came across someone on Gumtree who wanted to rehome their adult doe because she kept beating up their new babies. It sounded to me like they'd not done their intros properly and she was very sweet so I took her home.
Long story short, when I finally completed the intro and moved her in with the sisters, both larger than she was, it turned out that she's this Jekyll and Hyde act going on. With humans she's the biggest attention whore that ever whored the whoring whore. With her cage mates she's a massive bitch. This in itself isn't a huge issue because the general rule of rat keeping is not to panic unless there's blood.
However, her attention whoring ways and her tendency to beat my other girls up have combined into something not very nice. If I stroke them and not her, she bites them repeatedly on the rump until they get the message and leave. If I pick up one of the other girls, she'll jump up into my arms AND TRY TO RIP HER LOVE RIVAL'S EAR OFF. When it's dominance or about food, she'll go for the rump or the shoulder. Traditional targets. But if I'm holding a girl that isn't her, she'll rip into the girl's ears and chase her away into hiding. Even if I don't pick up the other girls, if I spend too long patting them she'll switch from biting their rumps to their ears until they leave.
I'd had possessive girls before but nothing quite as intense as this. I'm not sure whether it's attention in general she's jealous of, or whether it's me in particular. It's got to the point where if one of her victims wants a cuddle, I have to lock her up in the cage first as she rattles the door and dances about frantically. It’s nerve wracking for all concerned. Has anyone had the same problem? Can you give me any advice?
>>2148548
Advice? Find someone with a large, hungry snake.
You have too many rats already.
>>2148548
Separate. Maybe later.
She doesn't even know you yet does she?
>>2150136
I've actually had her for about eight months. She's always been affectionate towards me and a bitch to the other two, and she's always not inclined to share me, but she's definitely escalated in the last two. I've been out of work since the end of March so I've obviously been home a lot and all of the girls are getting massive amounts of attention. You'd think that the attention whore would be more relaxed though, not the other way around. It's got to the point where one of the sisters won't let me stroke or hold her when the attention whore is around. And the attention whore bites hard; she's not broken the skin yet, but that's because she bites at the fleshy base, not the thin skin at the top. And when she bites, she pulls hard enough to yank her victim bodily around, so I don't think the squeaking that goes on is feigned or exaggerated.
>>2150118
OP could buy a couple of moderately large pythons and begin a large scale rat breeding operation. Out of each litter, the least affectionate and friendly 75% are fed to the snakes and the remainder are bred with other bloodlines. Eventually, this will result in a super friendly rat breed.
A similar selective breeding program could be initiated by fitting the python vivarium with a rat sized door operated by a mathematical puzzle. Only the intelligent rats would escape being eaten and the complexity of the puzzle could be increased with each generation.
>>2150161
She's just an asshole. Move her out, stress is killer and can help make tumors in females.
Never force the other two to come to you unless necessary, wait until they come out.
Let the crazy rat play in the yard at sunset, tire herself out. New cage will have to happen even if it depresses her. Get your porph meds ready before you separate because she might make herself sick.
>>2150166
Don't put her outside if there are mites actually. I never had a problem with my isolated yard, if yours is larger than a basketball court or adjacent to a field, just don't.
Too sleepy for this, goodnight and good luck.
lol is it weird to like rats?
I love rats but I have never had one. I have been searching for months trying to find two rats from a local breeder.
I'd say keep her by herself op. I had a rat that HATED other rats but loved people. Worked put better for all when she was by herself. She definitely preferred solitude and human socialization. No other stress and bitten rats either
