I attempted the first step again, hoping for a longer go at it. Unfortunately, Tierna decided that she didn't want to deal with Malia anymore and waddled away. After Malia didn't get the hint, Tierna turned and attacked! Malia squeaked, and I grabbed Tierna away from the situation. Malia was more than ready to let Tierna be the dominant rat, but Tierna just isn't getting it.
Tierna has become a Republican, I'm afraid. She's so set in her ways, that change makes her aggressive and makes her lose control. It's so sad.
So, now I'm distraught. I have to make a decision... soon. I have to figure out if Tierna will EVENTUALLY be able to accept Malia, so I do the waiting game.
OR...
I have to just assume Tierna will never give in, and I have to go back to Petco and get one of Malia's sisters before it's too late. (There were only two other girls left). Worst case scenario here: Tierna doesn't accept Malia, I go back to Petco and find all her sisters are gone, and I have to get one of her brothers, but get him neutered before he can live with Malia. I'd have to have a temporary cage for the little boy during his recovery.
I've cried over this. I just don't know what to do. I wish Tierna could just listen to me. I know she wants someone to cuddle with, but she doesn't want to share her stuff with anyone else. She's an old codger. (sp?) :(
One more bit about going back a stage in the "introduction process": Malia doesn't mind being in Tierna's cage, because there are more things to climb on and it's more fun to her than her own cage. Tierna, on the other hand, wants to do the survival of the fittest thing -- she tries to hunt Malia immediately, but finding that Malia isn't around, she tries to eat ALL of Malia's food in order to make her starve. Tierna is EXTREMELY jumpy in Malia's cage. I don't think she thinks could defend herself if Malia showed up.
Every encounter with Tierna and Malia, Tierna gets more and more aggressive. I haven't seen her remain calm for more than a nanosecond. At first, she ruffles her fur and tries to squirm her body into a "U-shape" (I guess it's easier to strike a victim if semi-coiled), then the next signs (if I'm holding her back) are EXTREME snorting/sniffing. To the point that it sounds like Tierna will pass out/hyperventilate. Finally, the last aggression sign is her reaching any part of her body in a motion to attack Malia.
Malia is learning that Tierna isn't that friendly, but she hasn't given up hope on Tierna turning around. I've, on several occassions, held Tierna so that Malia can sniff her and get familiar with her size. Malia will try to lift parts of Tierna's fur and sniff under the fur... it's very amusing to watch, since I can't figure out the purpose of those fur lifts and sniffs.
I will hopefully have a solution figured out tonight. In an effort to recall Tierna's past rat encounters, I called Dave yesterday. I tried the hardest to remember where I introduced the 3 girls. (To read about it, click here). It's a good thing Dave wrote about it, because we'd both forgotten their very first encounter location. Neutral territory... so why is Tierna so different now? A few theories: she's gotten used to her way of solo-rat life. She claims me as her territory and is cranky when Maxine is around, so if she's not afraid of something bigger than her, there is no way she's going to be afraid of something smaller. She doesn't feel as secure with herself, movement-wise to let even the smallest creature get the upper hand, even for a moment.
It could be any of those things, or perhaps even, because Malia has different bedding than Tierna, and thus Tierna associates it with Pikku (or post-surgery), which would mean automatic aggression. Or maybe, it just was never meant to be. :(
So, now I stew some more. Wondering what to do...
Carisa