I'm confused

[lindsayfawn]

so I've been reading the different threads about nervous rats and cagemates fighting and I'm still not sure what to make of alice's situation.
All of the girls have accepted willow but gloria and emily are still picking on alice really bad. It's really strange becuase gloria and alice were sleeping together and now they're not. Gloria will get puffed right up and start picking on Alice really bad.
Today in fact when I was holding alice, gloria came up and bit her tail! I couldn't believe it. Poor alice has some little wounds on her from being in a few scraps with gloria and emily. She's soooo nervous around any of the others too. She was cuddled up with Raina on the bed but when I put raina in the cage first and then alice and alice was nearly face to face with raina she started that scared hissing type noise.
It's really quite weird because she'll follow gloria around on the bed but then when gloria figures this out alice runs away and gloria will chase her and do the puffed up and side pushing thing.
I just feel really bad for alice becuase she's so afraid which is probably why she's getting picked on in the first place. She even yelps when I go to pick her up.
Any advice?

 

[jorats]

Yep, rattie behaviour can be quite confusing. If only we can speak rat and teach our rats what they need to do. I'm having a same situation with Radar and Nessie. Nessie is a little b!@$#. She is constantly after Radar. I wish I could tell Radar to flip her and pin her down. That is what she needs. But instead he squeals and whines and runs to hide. :roll:
So far, I'm letting them work it out. Once in a while I take Nessie out for some one on one. If this continues, I'm going to have a little jail cage. A small cage with nothing in it but water. Each time she attacks Radar, I'm going to pull her out and stick her in the cage for 10 to 15 minutes. This has worked in the past with other rats. We'll see if it will work for Nessie.

 

[lindsayfawn]

that's a good idea for a time out lol, maybe I'll have to try that.

 

[Bronwyn]

I've never heard of that! Certainly worth a shot.

 

[SQ]

I used to give Cindy time outs for about 5 min at a time if she bit me ... she wanted to be with me so time outs meant she was put back into her well equipped cage for 5 min.
It took awhile but it worked.