Hello,

I have 2 females - M and J. They are both approximately 4 years old and they have been getting along great for the past 4 years.

About two weeks ago, J had started acting very strange and biting M's tail and following her and bothering her generally. J would chase M around but nothing major... until last night. J would NOT leave M alone and it ended up in a ball fight... the screams from both of them would make your hair stand up.

I had to rip J off of M because she was biting down on her eye while they were balled up... There is a scratch on M's eye now and a bunch of fur missing.

I don't have a second cage at the moment so I left J in the cage and let M out in my room. J would not stop "following" M around the room from inside the cage... like she really wanted to follow and kill M... J would also walk in circles around the top of the cage. I really don't know what is causing this suddenly. They both didn't eat much last night... It really seemed like J is stressed but I don't know what is causing it and why she is taking it out on M.

For the time being, I'm going to have to leave M outside and J inside the cage... I really don't know what's going on... It's like J was so sweet and now she's out to kill M... At first I thought J might have been in heat... but that shouldn't be lasting over 2 weeks... and causing them to ball up and fight???

Any ideas?

Please help!!! I got no sleep last night watching these two...

They need to be kept separated you will need to pick up a temp cage, it doesn't have to be big, in fact we suggest small cages for hospital cages to limit their activity until fully healed.

I would take both in for wellness exams and fecal tests. Going after a cage mates tail can be a visual sign the other is ill or has parasites.

I would also suggest getting some vetericyn vf to spray on the scratched eye. https://www.amazon.com/Vetericyn-Wound-Skin-Care-Spray/dp/B006UJGZNG

I recommend ALWAYSSSSSSSS having vetericyn vf on hand! It's safe on eyes, and safe if they ingest any from grooming. It works great for scratches on the eyes and nose and neck wounds.