Sudden aggression in one of our new girls..and a belly!

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RatPack

RatPack

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2014
Messages
1,503
Location
WV, USA
So just 7 days after we rescued sweet Hope we were contacted by this girl that had two female rats named tater and honey(We call them TT and Blue) that she couldn't find homes for and so of course I couldn't say no. So surprise! we are unofficially a small rescue and by small I mean the 5 rescues I have right now are the limit until everyone gets their medical stuff taken care of (Hope's tumor and Honey's eyes) I tried to get as much info as I could from her but she really gave me the bare minimum and dodged alot of my questions. TT is the one this thread is for so I will get to my point... She supposedly was owned by someone else who got her and another rat from a pet store last christmas and a few months or so ago her cage mate died and it was very hard on her and she began pulling her fur out so she was rehomed to the girl that gave her to us. She took her in and then was told by her dad that she had to get rid of some of her rats and so she picked TT and Honey to get rid of. She told me that she was aggressive in her cage and she was pretty irritated by anything coming near her cage when it was shut but when it was open she was sweet as can be. Fast forward to 4 days ago when she out of nowhere attacked her cage mate honey over a carrot! This wasn't like when my rats fuss over something she actually left a good quarter inch cut on the back of honey's neck so I removed honey for awhile and let things cool down and when I put her back everything seemed fine until yesterday once again they got their daily veggies and she went after honey again so when I went to pull her off of her she then came after me! while this has been happening I have also noticed her belly getting quite round and yesterday some of her nipples were exposed. I know some females can become aggressive when pregnant but when I tried to contact the girl that gave them to us I got no response which makes me think this is something she is not wanting to discuss with me whether boys have been involved though it was one of the questions I asked before we drove 2hrs to pick them up but it was avoided.She said TT should be a year old this month and like I said that she had her for a few months and honey she said she got from a pet store but she wouldn't when or how long she had her. Honey is an american blue dumbo which I find hard to believe she plucked her from a feeder bin but I guess it is possible.They are both grown girls with honey weighing 366grams and TT coming in at 439grams which is only about 30grams less then big Hope with the tumor! as of last night and I will weigh her again today and so on...I just bought them a brand new cage last week because the one they came is was to small however it has 1 inch bar spacing so they are currently in the upper half of my DCN to protect dogs and my husband who likes to stick his fingers in the bars.....I don't wanna take sweet honey out because then she will be alone and she clearly enjoys tt's company when she isn't mauling her...but then again I don't want her to continue being attacked because her cage mate has become a hormonal nightmare. I think Hope and Honey have compatible personalities but Hope is still on baby watch and Honey has something going on with her eyes and she gets porphyrin pretty bad at times her eyes get dried shut so she has a vet visit in her near future.Anyway back to my point haha any thoughts/ideas about TT? I have never had an aggressive rat before so I am really at a lose as to what really to do other then watching my fingers during feeding,cleaning and playtime.First picture is TT the day we got them and next pictures are from last night and of course my poor finger! I was not even messing with her at the time I was touching the ramp on the shelf and she was at the other end and she just came for me...
 
Today we are gonna go to home depot and look at a mixing tub made of PVC that just happens to be the same size as the base pans in the CN but it is 8 inches deep and I thought they should be good to put 2-3 inches of bedding in case she wants to nest because right now they have 2 hammocks,a wheel,chew rings,litter box and fleece liner so not much to really nest with and gonna have to take the hammocks and the shelf and most likely the litter box because they move it about so much I would be afraid babies getting squished by it when they shove it around or I could try making holes and fastening it to the side but if we can find the tub then it won't really be needed. Just kind of adjusting as things happen and trying not to go into full paranoia mode like I did with gabby and hope haha Hope looked very pregnant there for awhile when we first got her and acted as such but no babies from her yet *knock on wood* I also don't wanna spend another 50 bucks on a tiny cage haha cause that money has better uses like vet bills,food..ect for the ratties :) That and I just bought them a frisky ferret cage last week and the boys finally got their CN..it is only a single but there is only 4 of them and that should be here by friday. My neighbors probably think I am hoarding animals with all the cages coming in my house hahaha but I want everyone to be comfortable :) It is pure craziness in this house right now with all the cage switches.Then next week if no babies for Hope we have to explore cage options and possible cage mates for her and...I should say and one more time...get her ready for her tumor removal at which point she will be back in the small cage for recovery...Sorry I am venting :(
 
So I did talk to the previous owner of the girls and she said that she had TT 3-4 months which she said previously and the only boy that she has was neutered 2 days after she got her so....If that is true then it isn't possible that she is pregnant and is something else? I guess that means off to the vet with her as well.
 
It could be a tumor in there that would make her appear pregnant. Boys are sterile for only 2 weeks after their neuter so unless he isnt neutered or it was a botched neuter I would question. She has to keep them apart after so sadly owners gt the time frame of all of it messed up often.
 
Well she said she had TT for 3-4 months and that her male was neutered 2 days after she got her and then followed that up with she had an oops litter 2 months ago....I really don't know what to think about all that and TT is 449grams tonight up from 339grams last night so just gonna keep watching her and tomorrow I am gonna call my vet and see what she thinks and probably end up taking her in when I take Honey for her poor eyes.She isn't as agitated tonight but earlier today when I did cage cleanings I had to keep dodging around her cause she wanted me pretty badly. I bought them a new wheel earlier and she was terrified of it so I had to remove it cause I don't wanna add anything more to make her cranky. The one they came with was one of the wire ones and the girl said they used it alot but the most I have seen them do is sleep on it haha but I figured an upgrade wouldn't hurt but like I said she isn't a fan right now.
 
I meant 439grams hehe was stupid typo... We just got back from the vet with sweet tt and by sweet I mean she tore into my husband when we were putting her in the carrying and the vet had to put gloves on to examine her. Anyway I had them test her for mites because I did notice today when she came out of her hammock she had 2 sores on the side of her neck. She was negative for mites and her abdomen exam told us all that we needed to know :) much to our not so much surprise TT is in fact pregnant.....The vet said she only felt 2-3 babies in there but they are there and should be here in the next few days. The amount of anger I feel having been lied to twice is well words can't explain. I am not really mad about her giving me a pregnant rat but the lying is really what boils my blood.I might weigh her again tonight depending on how she is cause the vet visit was stressful for her and since I just weighed her yesterday the vet didn't wanna push her anymore then she had to. She just did the important things and the weighing I can do here and keep her updated if anything changes. She also needs her bottom teeth trimmed but again she said to bring her back in when babies are weaned and she will do it for us.
 
So I talked to the girls previous owner and she swears there is no way tt was with an intact male and she is pretty convincing but I have to believe what the vet says because well she is professional and if she thought it was something more then babies she would have definitely said something to us. On top of that to think if it isn't babies and as fast as those 2-3 masses are growing then that would most likely mean cancerous tumors right?? Would that make her agitated,itchy and pluck hair from her nipples?? I am still preparing for babies because as much as I don't want babies the alternative is so much worse. We are still sleeping right now so I can't tell you if she is mean as a snake today haha when she wakes up I am gonna start cleaning the other rat cages and the boys SCN arrived today so I get to put that together and get them settled in that :) Been a busy day and still got alot of stuff to do.The lady also asked me why the vet didn't do an ultrasound and what I really wanted to say was "Well are you gonna pay for it?" but I held my breathe and said it wasn't needed at the time and tt was much to stressed out to do anything that wasn't absolutely needed.Am I wrong to be so angry?
 
No. She's already blatantly lied to you. I would be furious...
And if your vet is some what decent then she would be able to diagnose a pregnancy by feeling the babies in there... Generally ultrasounds aren't needed unless there are complications. All it takes for a rat to get pregnant is a couple seconds with a boy. So if she had any intact males in the house at all it's very possible.
I don't even know if cancer grows that quickly anyways...
 
TT is awake now and hungry! haha she wanted her nom noms and like yesterday! She didn't bite me and even took a few pieces of food from my hand and her sores on her neck look much better today. The lady is pretty adamant that she has only one male and he is neutered so it has to be something else..there is no way she is pregnant. So when those babies come out I am gonna send her a picture and maybe she will change her story then...probably not even then with the evidence right in front of her haha my concern is her other rats because she has 3 other females that are with the male or so she says. She also said that if something happens to tt that she would take the other girl back...I wasn't even sure what to think of that comment even my husband shook his head.
 
Today she is gonna hate me because I am removing everything from the cage :( We bought a 8inch deep mixing tub yesterday from home depot so we can put lots of bedding for her to nest but the one hammock I think she thinks is her nest because she is very protective of it. The tub fits snug in there so they can't get in between it and the bars.. It is perfect for the situation since the only cage I have that is proper for momma and babies has hope in it waiting out her days on baby watch which is only 5 more days :) however tt isn't gonna wait that long.
 
Right! Waiting for my hammocks to dry now so I can get to work on the boys and other girls cages and then I am coming for miss tt mwahahaha! I am horrible I know ;)
 
So I stripped everything from the cage and gave her a shoe box full of paper towels,fleece and bedding but now when I open the cage she gives me the most pitiful looks :( As for the cage mate I told her she can keep her as long as she is nice to her
 
I will after my short break :) She has already drug everything out of it and piled it somewhere else haha I just got the boys cage put together and some hammocks sewn so I need a short break before off to clean the other girls cage and I will throw in some more stuff for tt then. The boys are super stoked about their cage and are climbing and exploring everything :) That feisty ferret cage is much to small for four hunky boys and actually now that I have had it I don't know if I like it that well as far as size goes.I'll post a picture of their cage in the CN thread :)
 
Not at all I hate finding out when I pick a girl up that they were with males and it happens all the time. I get just as ticked off.
 

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