squabling sisters and handling

Question
QUESTION: hi, I have recently, 2 weeks almost ago, bought 2 female fury friends. I have named one minxy and the other coco. I don't know what type of rats they are, coco is chocolate brown and minx is same brown head and stripe down her back and white. I bought them from a large pet store in bromsgrove, I was told that they were 6 weeks old. Minxy seems to be the dominent one as she keeps nipping at coco and pinning her down, am i right in thinking this is a dominant thing? Coco  does squeek sometimes when minxy bites her.  Also, I am a bit scared about how to handle them. I have hand fed them, Minxy is quite gentle but Coco jumps at me with teeth and claws, she doesn't bite but is a bit intimidating. Is this because i have not earned her trust? what am I doing wrong? how can I gain her trust?
I hope you can help.

ANSWER: It is a dominant thing, and is nothing to worry about. All rats will paly fight, and test one another out to see who is strongest. Your colours are coco agouti, and minx is agouti hooded. Coco is just eager for a treat, most of my girls do this. (we have 16 rats just now!) They are just over zealous, looking for the food, it's not agressive, agressive rats will bite. You really should have gone to a breeder, petshop rats are usually riddled with health issues. If you notice them snuffling, or sneezing then it is likely they have myco, most petshop rats carry it.

Good luck anyway.

:-)

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

QUESTION: Thank you for your reply, very helpful. my girls seem to be healthy, no signs of snuffling or sneezing, but, what is myco? also, the virus you can get from wild rats urine, do pet rats carry this?

Answer
No pet rats don't carry the wild rat virus. Myco is a bacteria that attacks the lungs. It causes sneezing, coughing of blood, snuffling, wheezing, loss of appetite, and other nasty symptoms.

If myco is present, the vet can give a course of anti biotics to clear it.