Introducing female rats. With way too many details

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Deph

New Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2019
Messages
4
Location
NC, usa
I had two sisters I bought In Feb around 7 to 8 months old...ish. one sister got a tumor and it took her in abt a month after she started showing. The other got real depressed and wldnt come out of her hidey for days n days. I felt so bad so I went to buy her some friends abt 5-6 days later. Went to PetSmart. I know I know, I looked up breeders and rescue but nothing went in my favor and the soonest I could get one was at least 1.5 months. I bought 2 young female sisters. That was all they had. I followed all procedures I could muster up with Google. I love my rat but she's one mean bi***. In the bathtub after abt a week of switching things back n forth between cages, there is fur flying everywhere and she looks like a dog with a rag doll. Very vicious. Finnaly moved them out of the travel cage and closed off the DCN my oldest had to herself. Moved them in the bottom and they still find spots they can contact each other and she bites their fingers and makes them bleed. Won't let go. I've tried one other time a week or so later in the tub and it was the same deal. Shes so mean. Beyond the normal hierarchical shuffles rats have. Her sitting and biting their fingers is reinforcing the behavior but the only other option is 2 rats in a travel cage. I'm open to any thoughts. I'm starting to think I'm just gonna have a loner rat living adjacent to 2 sisters. At least she's not depressed anymore I guess. Not visibly at least. I'm open to any thoughts or ideas
 
Hi!
Ok, so how old is your older girl now and how old are the young ones? What I usually do when I have a real bully rat, I wait a week or two and try intros again. I do intros on a small table top so I am at their level. I don't put anything on the table other than yummy runny food like mashed bananas and the rats. Her biting their fingers through bars is quite normal. All rats would do this. When your older girl would attack the young girls, would they end up full of cuts and bleeding?
 
The older is around 8 months old roughly. The others are fairly young. Whatever age PetSmart acquires them. Thanks for the advice. Most times it's just patches of fur flying everywhere when she fights but sometimes they bleed and get cut up a little. Here lately it feels like slight progress and if she's not attacking them she's running to me to climb away from them because she wants nothing to do with them.
 
I tried what you said and when I see a few squabbles with no blood, I said F it and I re did the entire top and bottom. Put them all in and monitored. Everything seems good. They fought alot but no blood and a little boxing and side kicking. But they seem to be wearing her down. They are pretty persistent.
 
Yes I'm so happy as of last night they are all living together and doing good. No fighting finnaly! It took a while. Now she is very patient. Well as far as how much they pester her she is pretty patient. I'm so happy right now.
 
PetSmart huh? That store is not known for getting well need and socialized ratties, but some locations will have an employee that takes an interest in them and will handle them when possible to socialize them.
 
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