Splinter grooms Izuru. Took them a while to be comfortable enough on the bed to groom.

Splinter is the "dominant" rat even though he is much smaller than Izuru. They're still so much more laid back than Scamp and Nick were, with us and each other.


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Grooming in rats is both a friendly and also usually a dominant act, kind of like how playing with dogs is. Usually the more dominant rat will groom the more submissive, often pinning him underneath and not letting the other move until he feels like letting him go. This is not always the case, as I've seen both rats groom and dominate each other, though Izuru on top to a lesser extent. Most of their interactions are very friendly: without the rats pushing each other around (dominant rats will forcibly push a submissive rat around), biting too hard, raised hairs (really pissed off) and squeaking (basically rat for "knock it off") that can occur.