Kira is agressive now?!?!?! what the hell happend?

[bruxxy]

My sweet little 8 month old dumbo girl has turned into a Jekyll and Hyde rat. She used to be a sweet little girl but ever since she became alpha she has become a huge bully towards the other rats. She picks fights with her cage mates for no reason and won't stop until everyone is running away from her. And when she is out of the cage, it seems like her mission is to go to the other cages just so she can bite the other ratties who are smelling her through the bars.

But then other times I see her cuddling with her cage mates in the hammocks, grooming them and doing the stuff that happy rats do.

It also seems like she goes into a trance...might sound weird but when she gets like this, its like her eyes are blank and the only thing on her mind is to go after other rats. Her body gets very stiff and puffy and she bites anyone who goes near her. Even when I pick her up she freaks out in my hands.

I know most rats can get into these little states that cause them to get all puffy and dominant with other rats, but all my girls stop once I pick them up and calm them down...not Kira though.

I don't know what to do with her. I've never had a rat chance personalities so fast and I'm wondering if this could be a late onset of some aggressive personality trait.

I realize that sometimes when rats are under stress or their environments change, they too can change.

So this is a list of a few of the more major things that have happend in the last few months.

-She became alpha
-Shes becoming an adult rattie
-Unaltered boys in the same room (she was slightly aggressive before they came but has gotten worse since their arrival)
-New babies
-Everyone seems scared of her which might be encouraging her to be more aggressive?

I've had her since she was a tiny little baby so its not like she was treated badly prior to living with me.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Cityratt]

Is there any way that she may be hurting? (and then other times not in pain?) The more i think about that the less feasable it seems but i figured id throw that out there....

theres also a post by mamarat about Morgan talking about how she changed when the intact males passed, from unpredictable and aggressive to a nice calmer girly?

maybe thats it???

 

[Fidget]

Could you try putting the unaltered boys in another room for a while and washing your hands after touching them/before touching her just to see if it makes a difference in her behaviour? Hopefully you could then either rule that possibility in or out at least.

 

[jorats]

Some rats just can't bear to have other rats in the room. They get very hormonal when they can smell other rats but don't live with them.
A spay might help but even then, she might always be this way.

 

[mamarat2]

Some rats just can't bear to have other rats in the room. They get very hormonal when they can smell other rats but don't live with them.
A spay might help but even then, she might always be this way.

I have to second what Jo said. If you go back into the behavior area and read Morgans' story she had massively hormonal reactions to the intact male I had. She was scheduled for a spay in March and then my intact male, Stanley, was pts 2 weeks back due to respiratory distress. Since then she has gotten progressively better.

I also have neutered males and she gets along very well with them. Maybe consider getting her spayed or the boys neutered?

 

[bruxxy]

I think my boys are a bit too old to be neutered now. They are over 2 and one isn't in very good health.
I also don't want to spay Kira unles I absoltuely have to. I don't have the money to throw around on things that might not work. I guess I will just have to wait until my boys are gone to see if she changes. It doesn't really seem like there are too many options here.

 

[mamarat2]

One other thing to consider with spaying Kira, you wouldn't be throwing money around, as spaying is also a major factor in development of mammary tumors,

 

[jorats]

Can the boys be put in a different room?

 

[bruxxy]

unfortunately not. I'm living at my parents place right now and one of the rules surrounding the rats is that they have to be kept in my room.