[kiehlly]

Hey everyone!

About 3 weeks ago I got 2 young female rats (4 weeks old) from a breeder. At that stage one rat was particularly small in comparison to the other and this size difference has remained as they have grown. They show no true aggression to one another but the larger rat is constantly fighting for dominance and wrestling. The difference in size seems to leave it a totally unfair fight and the smaller rat gets very subdued by these fights and never instigates them nor fights back. Should I introduce another rat into the pair to take some of the heat off of the smaller rat who seems to be exhausted with the play fighting or let it play out?
I know it isnt aggressive but it seems slightly unfair for my little dora to constantly have a rat one and a half times bigger than her on her back! I just want to take the heat off of her a little and I have plenty of room in my cage for another rat, so should i?

Thanks!
Caitlin

 

[Mojojuju]

As long as there is no blood, she's fine. Her submission protects her from fighting, and the other one will probably get over it. They're in a new cage, so sometimes when there's a new space/situation, the alpha feels the need to reassert.

If you want another rat, you should get one, but throwing another into the mix will definitely be interesting as their social dynamic will change again. It may not take heat off the little one--instead, the new rat might try to Alpha it up and she might get another person rolling her over all the time.

Which again, is normal, so she could be just fine in either scenario.