Introducing a new rat?

**nightlady** · 05-05-2008, 06:31 AM

After quarantine, how do you introduce rats? I know with birds, they hear each other chirping and are generally curious anyway by the time quarantine is over but rats are a different story! (he's being quarantined somewhere else, so we don't even "have" him yet)

Do you just put them in a cage together? I'd hate to get a seperate cage, kinda defeats the purpose of getting him a cagemate. Are they territorial? Will they fight?

Any info appreciated!

(Disclaimer - really dislike rats, it's my daughter's pet and i'm just the caretaker enforcer

)

**binny** · 05-05-2008, 11:16 AM

Few questions first. (ex-husband did the rat thing) Are they male and female.. what's the mix... M/M, F/F? Is there an age difference? Is one smaller than the other one?

**Little Cricket** · 05-05-2008, 12:21 PM

Putting them in a cage right away is a bad idea. First you just want to let them get used to being together outside of the cage, maybe even let them see each other between bars first. I would give them out of cage play time together for a week, and make sure they get along well before caging them together.

In general, I think into's are easier with females or neutered males.

**McDenny** · 05-05-2008, 01:31 PM

Yes, just letting them see eachother, then play together in neutral territory is a better option than just putting them in a cage together.

**sunbirdx** · 05-05-2008, 05:16 PM

They other thing you can do is completely clean the cage, deoderize it (bleach solution), rearrange it, and then put the two rats together. Your first rat won't be as defensive.

**nightlady** · 05-05-2008, 07:06 PM

Ok thanks for the advice

They're both female, i don't want babies! I didn't realize they could be territorial, so that's really good to know. The first one isn't that old, a few months i suppose. The newer one is young though, so she is smaller. Does size make a difference in the getting along?

**sunbirdx** · 05-05-2008, 07:50 PM

No, I have routinely introduced little babies and older rats. It doesn't seem to matter. You can also dab their privates with vanilla extract to mask their scent when you introduce them.

**binny** · 05-06-2008, 06:23 AM

Originally Posted by nightlady

Ok thanks for the advice

They're both female, i don't want babies! I didn't realize they could be territorial, so that's really good to know. The first one isn't that old, a few months i suppose. The newer one is young though, so she is smaller. Does size make a difference in the getting along?

Listen to Sunbird...
I suggest getting a wire cage and putting it next to it, but not close enough that they can reach and bite each other. You don't have to buy an extravagant cage, they probably will get along, just keep an eye on them. My ex had one of his rats kill the baby he introduced too quickly.