Social female now shy, squeaking and shaking

[simonsmom]

Kira is one of my most social girls. She loves coming out and if I stick my hand in the cage she licks it like crazy then hops on to come out. She also never fights with other rats, even if they are newbies. She isn't shy of anything or anyone. Until now...

For a few days she has been getting into fights with another girl, Xena, (who is very aggressive with new rats but never with current cage mates). There hasn't been any blood or injuries but there is a lot of tumbling around, squealing, standing up at each other and Xena chases her. It's much worse if there is food involved.

Starting yesterday Kira is a completely different rat, so much so that I took her for a vet appointment today. She is terrified of the other rats and squeals and runs away when they come near, she won't lick my hand much, she squeals if I pet her and runs away if I try and pick her up. She is terrified while being out and just sits in the corner which is not normal at all - she is a daredevil. She even shakes/shivers while I have her out. When I go to pet her she puts her ears back and flattens her body. But the vet didn't find a single thing wrong. All my girls are 20 months.

Does anyone know what to do for her? Could there be an underlying health problem or is she just being bullied? All these girls are the same age and have lived together since they were 6-8 weeks. I've never had any fights with the girls in this group.

 

[Sheldon]

It sound to me like she might have an injury and is very guarding of it. She could have fallen or been bullied or any number of other things. Try giving her some Motrin?

 

[jorats]

A behaviour change at that age could be an indication of health issues, primarily a pt. I would look for confusion, slight circling, porphyrin, unable to grasp food with both hands, unable to find the food handed right in front of her, things of that sort.
Another reason, could be a case of mites. I've noticed some rats become very agitated and grumpy when there's a mite/lice outbreak.

 

[Carol Weekes]

Have there been any other changes in the cage where they might feel they have to defend territory, especially if Xena is more aggressive and seems to be the one chasing Kira? It sounds as if Kira feels shaken up by something, especially if the vet couldn't pinpoint a health issue (did they check for mites?) Is anyone scratching at fur? If you don't begin to see any indication of a health issue over the coming week or so, it sounds like hormones or territory to me. Something had to be the 'trigger'; try to think of anything new or different in their routine that may have occurred; new toy, new hammock, change of schedule, etc that may have set them off.

 

[AboutPetRats]

Is Kira spayed? If not, she could be in heat. Female rats act different when they're in heat. They can vibrate their ears (which could be observed as shivering) and arch their behinds. I've heard that female rats can go into heat as often as every 5 days. You probably already know there are many benefits of spaying. The biggest benefit is the prevention of mammary tumors.

 

[Joanne]

If you don't know what it is, then you can start by crossing potential problems off your list.
- rats can get quite cranky with mites. So why not treat everyone and eliminate that as a possibility.
- she may have been hurt. So treat her with a pain killer and see if her attitude changes.
...

 

[jorats]

Does Kira live with Xena?

 

[simonsmom]

Yes Kira and Xena live together. Xena is the one who has been bothering kira out of the blue.

None of my girls are spayed. I don't think it has to do with heat cycles as she's never been like this before. I've had her since march 2013.

I'll treat everyone for mites just in case. The vet looked at her skin but didn't do a scrape.

 

[jorats]

Even a scrape won't show mites most times, best to just treat for mites anyway. I bet Kira is that way because of Xena. It sounds like Xena is the problem child in that group right now.