# EDIT: Lyra took a chunk out of Ofelia :(



## RattyJessica (Aug 22, 2008)

I own two rats, Lyra and Ofelia, and I love them both.

But Lyra, I think, is too much to handle. Receently she has begun biting, this means her paws attempting to hold me finger as she (what began as nibbles) literally widens were mouth around my finger and bites. She is erratic and spazy in her cage, crawling and jumping from corner to corner, gnawing and acting almost wild. She is also beginning to bite outside the cage, and at Ofelia. Ofelia however, is perfect, she is playful and happy, and loves being outside her cage.

Am i wrong about Lyra? I am going to try and give her to someone with more experience than me, this is my first tme ever owning rats, and I have come to fear lyra, which makes her play time outside the cage very short and jumpy. 

I just don't feel the same towarsd her as I do Ofelia, I fear her, but I also feel guilty for wanting to give her up so soon. am I wrong?

**UPDATE**

I was in my room cleaning, and heard this horrible screamish squeek, only to find Lyra ripping on Ofelia's ear, resulting in ripping a decent tear into it. I am so sorry to those who encouraged me to keep her, I loved her, and I feel like I have betrayed and let her down, but Lordy, I cannot handle that again. She is with my sister, she seems much better (chasing the cat, steealing toys from the children, and acting calmer. My sister is getting her a cagemate soon, and I am on the lookout for a cagemate for Ofelia. I am so sorry if any of you think what I did was wrong, but that, to me, was the last straw for Lyra


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## BlueSkyy (Sep 27, 2007)

*Re: Getting rid of Lyra, but am I wrong?*

Just do what you think is best for your rats. It's a tough decision either way.


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## phaidraft (Apr 9, 2008)

*Re: Getting rid of Lyra, but am I wrong?*

I dunno, I don't think I could do something like that. Seems like there must be a reason that she's become more aggressive.


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## begoodtoanimals (Dec 6, 2007)

*Re: Getting rid of Lyra, but am I wrong?*

Where did you get Lyra? if she came from a breeder you could return her possibly. Or keep her separated and give your other rat a new friend.


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## RattyJessica (Aug 22, 2008)

*Re: Getting rid of Lyra, but am I wrong?*



begoodtoanimals said:


> Where did you get Lyra? if she came from a breeder you could return her possibly. Or keep her separated and give your other rat a new friend.


From the petshop


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## zoe9 (Oct 3, 2007)

*Re: Getting rid of Lyra, but am I wrong?*

I'm sorry you are having a hard time with Lyra but am I right in thinking she is still quite new? If yes she is likely still adjusting to you and her new surroundings. 

All rats are different and she may just need more time to settle in than Ofelia did.

The fact that she is willingly holding your finger (even though she seems to be trying to eat it!) is a good sign at least and indicates she's not scared of you. Does anything trigger the attempted finger eating, or the biting, such as hand-feeding treats prior? If yes perhaps she is just greedy and grabby and wanting more treats. It's also possible she doesn't understand she's hurting you. Have you tried squeaking at her when she does this? It sounds weird I know but I read somewhere years ago that you should squeak angrily at your rat if they do something you don't like. I had a boy once who used to bite me if I didn't give him enough attention and he was squeaked at quite often. I probably sounded mad to the neighbours but it would stop him in his tracks. So you could try that.

I've also read with difficult rats their progress can be helped by being caged with a confident rat who is friendly with you. Rats do watch and learn from each other so Ofelia could definitely be a good influence on Lyra if you give her a bit more time to observe how Ofelia behaves.

If it were me I wouldn't give up on her. I'm not trying to guilt you into doing anything but I believe when you bring an animal home you have made a commitment to that animal and you should only give them up again under exceptional circumstances. I also don’t want to diminish your concerns but I'm not convinced a new rat behaving a bit erratically in her first week or two is reason enough to give up especially as she's a girl and I believe girls can be quite silly and hyper anyway. Plus her and Ofelia will have bonded and if you give her up Ofelia will lose her cagemate which will be sad.

Ultimately it's up to you. If you do give her another chance will you be able to hide any fear you may have? Animals do sense fear and with Lyra you really want to be projecting calm confidence as that is the way you want her to act.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do. If you do decide to give her up I hope you will ensure she goes to a good home and not back to the pet-shop where she will likely end up as snake food. I also hope you will get Ofelia a new friend.

Cheers,
Zoe


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## hayleyingham (Jul 16, 2008)

*Re: Getting rid of Lyra, but am I wrong?*

is she biting hard? i am fairly new at having rats two and one of my boys when i first got him bit me loads, but never bled and i think he was just seeing what i am, but two months down the line loves me so much and loves licking my hands. I have since got two new boys aswell and one of them grabs my finger with his two paws and bites, but i let him and call him a little nipper because i think he will grow out of it like the other one did.

How long have you had them?


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

*Re: Getting rid of Lyra, but am I wrong?*

Teenage rats often turn mouthy and rude (like a puppy). Is she breaking the skin when she bites or drawing blood? If not start eeping when she does something inappropriate...its RatSpeak for "Ouch, let go!", "I don't like that, stop"

How is she biting Ofelia? Is she bouncing around and tussling with her and making Ofelia squeak? This is perfectly normal. They both sound very young and once Lyra gets over her obnoxious young rat stage they should be fine.

No blood, no foul for both rats and humans is the rule for aggression.


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## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

*Re: Getting rid of Lyra, but am I wrong?*

it sounds like it could be hormones, genetic time bomb, or simple miscommunication. i understand not wanting to deal with things like this with your first rats but you will grow from the experience and we are all here to help. personally i think it is too soon to be finding a more experienced home. we should figure out what exactly her problem is first. rats always have a reason to bite, though we may not always understand right away. if in the end the cause turns out to be something more then you are capable to work with then i'm sure we can all help you find lyra the approaite experienced home. but right now if have to figure the cause out first. please answer the following questions to the best of your abilty:

how old is lyra?

how long have you had lyra?

is there blood?

how large is the cage?

what are you feeding?

what toys are in the cage?

if it is possible, could you get a video of lyra and opheila interacting during lyra's rough times? could you also get a video of lyra during out time running around? being able to see for ourselves would greatly help us determine if she is biting out of fear, or out of play and getting too carried away. 

with answers to these questions and possibly the videos we should be able to help you figure this out. again, i understand why you would want to find her another home but i think you would regret it if the reason for her biting was simply bad manners that a few squeaks could fix. anyway, give us the information we need and we can move on from there


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## OnlyOno (Apr 4, 2007)

*Re: Getting rid of Lyra, but am I wrong?*

my baby rat rousseau is a very jumpy, poorly-bred rat. i can hold her, she lets me flip her on her back and she genuinely enjoys skritches, but if i let her loose in the room, it is **** trying to get her back as she screams and jumps. she isn't nippy at all, but every loud noise startles her. honestly, i just grab her from the cage every day and snuggle her, hand-feed her treats every couple days, and generally am overly nice to her. she will never be like picasso or cezanne, because she is simply a different personality, but i know that in time, we can make progress.

basically, what i'm saying is that we have all had scaredy rats that we don't know what we will ever do with. but if you give them time and patience, and don't let the fear overcome you, they will eventually be friendlier (most of the time, there are always exceptions), even if they are never as friendly as your other rats.

try some of the suggesstions that are elsewhere on the forum, for socializing rats, etc. most importantly, don't give up on her just yet (no blood, no foul) and give her your time and patience. don't be scared of her!


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## RattyJessica (Aug 22, 2008)

I'm sorry  But she is with my sister now for reasons I stated in the UPDATE above  I just....I feel horrible, but at the same time, have seen a better change in Ofelia as well


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## chevalrose (Aug 13, 2008)

You did what you thought was best. Honestly, it's better that she's in another home getting treated well than brought somewhere else or sold to someone you didn't know. Some rats just don't get along. 

I hope both of them find cagemates they both agree with!


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## phaidraft (Apr 9, 2008)

chevalrose said:


> You did what you thought was best. Honestly, it's better that she's in another home getting treated well than brought somewhere else or sold to someone you didn't know. Some rats just don't get along.
> 
> *I hope both of them find cagemates they both agree with! :*-)


Ditto!


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## pwrliftinratties (Aug 24, 2008)

Oh no! I'm sorry about that. I hope you find a nice girl to introduce to Ofelia. It might help to go back to the same place you purchased Ofelia at to get a cagemate from the same cage/tank. You'd still have to QT but she might have a familiar and more agreeable scent. I got lucky getting two littermates, but they still beat up on each other and squeak plenty. Maybe Ofelia just wasn't up to defending herself quite that much.


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## RattyJessica (Aug 22, 2008)

Maybe, and thank you so much all of you, for being here to help...I appreciate it


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