rapid personality change.

[julia_silve:)]

lately my rat boo has been more aggressive than usual.she was always the alpha female but not mean. yesterday i was petting her and she bit me four times twice in the hammock ( i made sure she was already awake) twice while i was cuddling with her in the CN. in the bottom half of the CN are my boys and the two younger ones casper and dexter, like sniffing at them through the little bare bars in the corner . terry would always sniff back but boo would puff up and atempt to bite them! today while the boys where free roaming my bed room the alpha male Fivel was sitting on the edge of the open door and was fairly close to the bars on the girls cage and boo did the most horrifying thing she bit his back leg and tryed pulling it as hard as she could , aggressively, i managed to hit the bars hard enough to scare her and make her let go i heard fivel scream loudly but i dont see blood. does anybody know why she has been getting suddenly more aggressive?

 

[lilspaz68]

Behaviour changes like this are usually due to pain, not feeling well or a change in their home. Are the boys newish?

 

[jorats]

Are the boys new? How old is Boo?
Sounds hormonal to me.

 

[julia_silve:)]

boo was born in sept 2011. so a year and a half about. i have had one boy since rememberance day 2012. and the other two for a month.

 

[jorats]

Ok, at her age, it could be the beginning of something neurological or like lilspaz mentioned, pain. Check her over, look for any scabs, check her teeth, her vagina for any discharge.
Also, it's not unheard of a rat going through a type of change at that age, something like menopause... which can make any females grumpy. But be on the lookout for any other symptoms.

 

[julia_silve:)]

Ok, at her age, it could be the beginning of something neurological or like lilspaz mentioned, pain. Check her over, look for any scabs, check her teeth, her vagina for any discharge.
Also, it's not unheard of a rat going through a type of change at that age, something like menopause... which can make any females grumpy. But be on the lookout for any other symptoms.

what sort of symptoms, and i really hope she is just going through menopause because after an one hundred-sixty vet bill for an ear infection my dad is not going to be happy.

 

[jorats]

Watch for things like lots of porphyrin, confusion, knuckling/clubbing of the front hands, walking in circles.
She could really just be a moody girl. Did you do a full body check up on her? looking for scabs and such? A mite problem could also make rats very grumpy.

 

[julia_silve:)]

no scabs, no discharge, no circle-walking, i check my rats for those problems all the time and i checked her again. when she bites me she seems more annoyed with me then anything! a week or to ago i noticed some weight gain but not very much and i havent caught her in heat for awhile. could she be preggers and just not have it noticable i do have the boys on the bottom cage but they are never together? i am overreacting but just in case im comparing her nipples to terrys......

 

[jorats]

Unless she's been with the boys, full body contact, then she can't be pregnant. Rats can't get pregnant through cage bars, that's a complete myth.
At her age, it would be detrimental to her health to be pregnant. I'd keep a close eye on her for now and hope she settles back to being normal.

 

[julia_silve:)]

Unless she's been with the boys, full body contact, then she can't be pregnant. Rats can't get pregnant through cage bars, that's a complete myth.
At her age, it would be detrimental to her health to be pregnant. I'd keep a close eye on her for now and hope she settles back to being normal.

alright thankyou and i sure will keep an eye on her