my rat is being a bully

[dreamsuite]

i got my rats two weeks ago from a local pet store and this week one of them (briar) has started to bully my other rat (haegen). briar will go straight up to haegen and start power cleaning her and trying to flip her over. when briar does this haegen freezes and shuts her eyes and just squeaks, and i feel really bad. though i don't know what to do. i've read that briar is trying to assert her dominance and that usually things like this are settled in a few days, but its been going on all week and i'm getting worried. also i don't really have the money or space to get another cage to seperate them :^( is there anything i can do to stop briar from bullying haegen?

also i thought i should add: briar doesn't seem to like me all that much. she is very timid with me and doesn't really let me pick her up or take her out of the cage, while haegen loves to be taken out of the cage. i don't know if this has anything to with the bullying.

 

[Mandon]

i got my rats two weeks ago from a local pet store and this week one of them (briar) has started to bully my other rat (haegen). briar will go straight up to haegen and start power cleaning her and trying to flip her over. when briar does this haegen freezes and shuts her eyes and just squeaks, and i feel really bad. though i don't know what to do. i've read that briar is trying to assert her dominance and that usually things like this are settled in a few days, but its been going on all week and i'm getting worried. also i don't really have the money or space to get another cage to seperate them :^( is there anything i can do to stop briar from bullying haegen?

also i thought i should add: briar doesn't seem to like me all that much. she is very timid with me and doesn't really let me pick her up or take her out of the cage, while haegen loves to be taken out of the cage. i don't know if this has anything to with the bullying.

It's totally normal for rats to do that - and it will stop on it's own. Continue the recommended introduction steps and watch them closely. As long as they're not biting each other and drawing blood, it's just standard dominance stuff that alpha females do. You can't get her to stop, you just have to let them settle it on their own and soon enough they'll be best friends.

As for briar being scared when you handle her, that's an unfortunate downside of getting a pet store rat. Usually they're never handled and thus aren't used to people at all. My girl Pepper was a pet store rat and it was the same with her. That's not to say you can't hand train her.. it'll just be more difficult. Did you adopt Haegen from a breeder? That's probably why she's more social, she was probably handled since she was born.

 

[Joanne]

I would not separate them. It sounds like they need to work out the pecking order and figure out who is boss. Girls will also get roudier when they are in heat, which may be contributing to things.
And rat personalities are all different. Some are outgoing, and some are shy. Make sure you spend just as much time with Briar as you do with Haegen. When I had just two rats, I would take both of them out with me and stuff them down a loose sweatshirt and hang out watching TV or whatever. That helps them get used to your scent and sounds in a 'safe' spot.

 

[jorats]

Definitely don't separate them. Briar is grooming her buddy. Haegan may or may not enjoy that grooming. But soon enough they will settle into their home life.
You need to keep socializing them and spending lots of time with them. They will both come around and bond with you too.