Rat biting other rats' ears?

Question

I noticed a few days ago one of my rats had a small chunk taken out of her ear. I figured she had been in a fight but i didn't know with which rat. Today I realized which rat had done it because she was again nibbling at the injured rats ear, and I also saw her biting at a different rats ear too. I'm not exactly sure how I should handle this. I feel like taking her out and separating her might be too drastic of a measure, but I also don't want her to be hurting the other rats. Any ideas? Thanks!!!

Answer 1

That is the dominant rat and it is establishing it's dominance.  If it is a male, you can get it neutered.  There are no statistics proving whether or not spaying can reduce aggression though, so if its a female there is limited things you can do to prevent this.  Some times rats are more aggressive if they are in an area too small for the number of them.  It may feel as if it does not have enough space.  This can be aided with a larger cage, more toys to keep them occupied and more time out during the day.  If these things don't work then it is time to separate the aggressor.  It is not fair that the others are confined in a cage, unable to flee from attacks.  If the situation is from being aggressive, it is quite possible that you can happily keep them seperated while in their cages, but let them out in a neutral play area where the aggressor does not feel the need to be terretorrial.

And don't even look at jimiti's answer... it's rediculous and those things don't even exist.

Answer 2

If its a male rat who is niibbling the ears, you may need to think of getting him "fixed"

because it makes them less agressive.