pet rats behaviour

Question
QUESTION: Hi Sandra

Please can you help!  We have 3 female rats who are sisters and are now 18 months of age - they are wonderfully natured toward humans and never once bite or nibbled anyone but with each other in their cage they consistently fight - well with no definite dominant one they appear to take in turns because they all are at times submissive - grab one another from behind and bite rear appear to box - pin one another down - let out a loud squeak & hiss - it is becoming worrying as at first we thought maybe the cage but it is exceptionally large and we move the activities around - they have ropes etc and these are not the first rats we have reared but we have not encountered fighting like this before.

Any advice you may have would be greatly appreciated.

Regards
Tracey

ANSWER: How long has this been going on, when did it first start?

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION:  hi

its been happening for at least 3 months and increasing toward the albino female - prior to this it was sporadic since they were approx 12 months old - the albino gets particularly picked on by one rat who will also pick on the second who then in turn will also pick on the albino - really concerned for our albino female who at times has to battle both females at the same time - our dark brown & white female tends to initiate the fighting

any advice at present is appreciated as exceptionally concerned about our albino in the last few days

thank you

Answer
Hi Tracey


I hate to say it but sometimes when our rats hormones take a turn toward puberty and also toward the ending of their estrus cycle (for females) this in turn can cause them to want to be the alpha female or else they prefer to live alone, period.
I would take the rat that is causing  trouble and put her alone, see how   she   adjusts.  Allow her to be with the other rats during playtime. You should have supervised playtime in a secure area daily and let them all mingle. When its time to go back to their cage, put the rat that is initiating the fights back in her cage, alone, and put the other rats back where they belong as well. This will change things and since they dont live together she wont feel the need to be the ruler of the roost, so to speak. See how that goes.