bullying or playing?

[sweetcherrykai]

so i have 2 female rats who are fairly young and have lived together since i’ve had them. they obviously love each other because the snuggle up every night and play together. barbra (the nicer one) has even given treats of her to alley (the meanie) although i’m not sure if that’s because she knew alley would steal it anyway or if she was just being sweet. anyway, the girls chase each other a lot which is fine but i’ve noticed that barbra is usually the one being chased and is squeaking and that alley will trap her in a corner and pin her on her back. barbra will try and kick her away and such. i was wondering if this is pretty normal behavior and alley is just exerting her dominance or if she’s actually bullying barbra. because she does seem to push her around a lot

 

[Dena]

How old are they? Rats power groom (alley is probably doing this when she has Barbara on her back) and sometimes the one being groomed squeaks in protest. As long as blood isn't being drawn, I wouldn't really worry about it. Young rats often play rougher, and squeak more than older rats.

 

[sweetcherrykai]

How old are they? Rats power groom (alley is probably doing this when she has Barbara on her back) and sometimes the one being groomed squeaks in protest. As long as blood isn't being drawn, I wouldn't really worry about it. Young rats often play rougher, and squeak more than older rats.

they’re about 4 months so i what you’re saying makes sense. thankfully there’s no blood. thank you for easing my worries