We try to get the girly rats all together so they can get to know each other. Last night, after the initial sniff-and-lick, it appeared that Eva tried to establish herself as the Alpha rat over Regina and Beatrice. Regina at first appeared to tolerate Eva's forced grooming and would submit. But when Eva became more aggressive Regina immediately reacted defensively. Beatrice, however, decided there would be none of that and immediately informed Eva that she was not one to be submissive. Eventually I had to marshall them to make sure no one got bit or scratched and tried to distract them with treats before putting them back in their respective cages.
We noticed some very particular behaviors when they were interacting, including: tail writhing (Regina); piloerection (Beatrice); mounting (Eva mounting Beatrice); and - at which time we separated them - 'fight ball' (all three of them)...
Boxing between Eva and Regina was also observed.
2 comments:
Doesn't sound like that went to well. I had the same problem when I tried to introduce Will Shakespeare to Georgie as a possible cagemate after Fig died. So far, Georgie remains alone. We are hoping that he might get used to one of the new little ones since Georgie seems lonely. Good luck with your girls. ~Poi Mom Jane
Yep, it's a myth that only the males are territorial. Have pateience, though...keep giving them brief amounts of time togther and hopefully they'll come around. Good luck!
Post a Comment