new rat old rat

Question
I have a rat Bonnie that we have had for about 8months
we decided to get her a friend (female of course) we got a new rat about 2 weeks ago and she is very aggresive with us
when you go to pet her or give her treats and she is making Bonnie somewhat stittish.  why and what can we do  we dont want to give the new rat back to the pet store.

Answer
 A lot of times pet stores do not properly socialize their rats and therefore they can be shy or downright mean.  Was she skittish or aggressive when you picked her out at the store?  She may just be having trouble settling in, but if she is being aggressive so soon it is possible that she won't ever get to be perfectly tame.  If you want to try to socialize her you'll have to start slow, seeing if she will take a treat from your hand and eventually getting used to being touched, working your way up to picking her up and handling her.

 Some rats are what is called 'cage aggressive' where they are either protecting their cage or feel as if they are cornered when you try to handle them in their cage.  You may have to leave the door to her cage open and wait until she comes out before trying to handle her, or scooping her up with thick oven mitts or a towel and only trying to handle her with bare hands when she is outside of the cage for free play.

 If nothing works and she is still aggressive you either can return her, find her a new home, or keep her alone and let her live out her life (though if she is good with Bonnie you may want to let them stay together).

 Here is a good article on socializing rats that may help you: http://ratfanclub.org/trust.html

 Good luck!