How should I introduce my rat with a new one?

[Quiet girl<3]

I have a female, black berkshire rat (yes just one, and I know they're not supposed to be kept alone, that's why i'm getting a new one soon) And my parents wont let me bring another rat into the house, seeing as they already hate the one I have now. But in the late winter/early spring, I'm renovating my old playhouse from when i was little. and i'm gonna get it a completely HUGE cage. I want her to have a friend, and I was going to get her little sis. I got her from the pet shop I volunteer at and her mom has new babies at least every other month. So i was wondering if i should wait til I get the new rat to put my rat into the big cage so she doesn't bully her lil sis, or if it was OK to keep her in thenew cage for a few days before I get her sis.
My little rat is such a sweet heart, I'm worried the other one might hurt her. I've had her get along with other rats, two different chinchillas, gerbils, hamsters, and all people, lol. Shes kind of a mamas girl. I can put her on the ground outside, start to walk away and she wont even run away she'll follow me. Is this bad?

 

[Taylor]

They should be ok.. I mean if you go to petshops they have just random rats living together..

 

[Cell]

Someone said you can't put two females together-- that is COMPLETELY WRONG!!!

I had the exact same situation last week, with having an older female rat and needing to get others to keep her company. They got along right away! It was wonderful! No violence whatsoever.

I've read a lot of rat books, and they all tell you to do this extremely long process. Here's a shorter version that worked well for me.

For your rats, I suggest first introducing the babies by putting them in a separate cage and then putting the two cages pretty close together. Don't let them touch just in case someone wants to bite someone else. They should be able to know about one another without any risk in this way. Let the babies crawl all over your hand so their smell gets on you, then put your hand in the old rat's cage so she can smell the babies. Do the same thing again but the other way around, with the babies smelling your hand with the older rat's smell.

You should let this go on for at least fifteen minutes. Longer is better. If you don't see any red lights, it should be okay to put them together. But keep an eye on them in case they start fighting. Don't worry if they start rolling all over each other, squeaking, or wrestling. It's just their way of shaking hands. Do worry if they squeak Extremely loud, though, and try to break up the fight. (Hopefully you'll have a nice hard gardening glove on hand so you won't get bitten!)

Don't forget to MAKE SURE all of the rats are female! If the rat has a sack of potatoes under the tail, it's not a female!!!

Good luck and congratulations!

 

[Bob Dollen]

No dont put her in the big cage!
You just need to go through the proper introduction process, but know that a rat having pups ever other months isn't going to produce very healthy pups. That is a huge strain on her body and that is kind of mean for you support the suffering of your rats mom buy giving them money for breeding her constantly. You should look into oops litters and shelters, it's a much better choice.

Anyways, here are links to the introduction process:

http://fatratcentral.com/interacting-with-rats/introducing-rats/

http://www.rmca.org/Resources/aintro.txt

http://ratguide.com/care/behavior/introducing_rats.php

 

[Lindsey]

i think they'll be ok and if its a little one it would be better and girls dont really fight that much

 

[*~{Joshy}~*]

I had two pet mice when I was about 10 or 9.
They both got along very well.
but they both died tragically....
The brown mouse had some weird.... HUGE bubble of blood growing on the side of its little body.... and died....
The white mouse died of old age.....

I also had a frog.... bad choice of amphibian type i had... it could only survive in fog...... or moist areas..... the frog dried up and died while I was at school and my mom forgot about the frog.......

but, don't worry. no matter what your rats will get along no matter what. I'm sure of it. go ahead, put them both together in a cage....
They are you experiment's that you play with and observe for your own amusement and entertainment.... enjoy it even though their death will be your fault.... ENJOY -.-

 

[✿Bea.MiLo.Jazz✿]

Hi!

Yes - wait till you get the new cage before putting your current ratty into the cage. This is an ideal situation - the new cage will be completely neutral so no chance of it smelling like either of the ratties territory.

This is how to introduce new rattys

Place two cages next to each other with each ratty in - just enough for them to smell each other but not enough for them to touch noses. Then do the 'bathtub procedure'.

> Place ratties in the bathtub. Bathtubs are a neutral environment that do not smell of either ratties territory.

> Put a little vanilla on their heads and backs - this makes them smell the same and encourages grooming which encourages the introduction process.

> Do the bathtub procedure for a few days.

> Then, place them both in the brand new cage. No smells or anything - perfect!

> Put both ratties, with a little more yoghurt and vanilla onto their heads, into the new cage and supervise them for a little bit to ensure they don't begin to fight!

> Remember - NO BLOOD, NO FOUL PLAY. If the ratties are jumping on each other, pinning, squeaking and nibbling, this is NOT fighting - this is 'dominance tussling'. They are just establishing who is to be the 'top rat' and you MUST leave them to it. They must establish a social hierarchy otherwise they won't be able to live together. Don't intervene unless they are FIGHTING - you'll know if they are. Blood will be drawn, fur will be flying everywhere and the rats will be SCREAMING and hissing with hunched up fur - if ratties fight, believe me, they FIGHT. They set out to do DAMAGE. If this happens, throw a towel over them to disorientate them and separate them immediately. You'll get bitten if you try and seperate them with bare hands - were some heavy duty gloves if you don't want to risk the blanket.

You will need a back up cage if the ratties don't get along straight away - this means you'll have to house the new ratty in the brand new cage and introduce your current ratty into there I'm afraid until they start getting along. The bathtub procedure usually works wonders though, I promise.

Good luck and take care!

 

[Emmyjak13]

Before you try to introduce them make sure you quarantine your new baby for at least 1 week, but 2 weeks is best. You want to make sure the new baby does not introduce anything nasty to your resident rattie!

Once the quarantine is complete and there are no signs of illness from either of your girls move the cages next to each other so they can get used to seeing and smelling each other. After a few days take them into a room that your current girl is not used to playing in and hold the baby. When you hold the baby girl in front of the resident she will see that you have already accepted her and this should make her more comfortable. Let them meet each other while you are holding your baby. If all goes well and no one is showing signs of aggression (puffing up, side stepping, or obviously attempting to bite) let them run around and play with each other. This should go on about a week or so before putting them in the same cage.

You should wait until you can put them both in a new cage. This will reduce the need to defend established territory. But if you don't want to wait, when you are ready to put them in the same cage, this is the best method that has worked for me. Clean the big cage very thoroughly to get rid if the residents smell. Rearrange the accessories to make is seem like a new cage. Put the baby in the big cage and the resident in the baby's dirty cage over night. This way the resident gets even more familiar with the baby's smell, and the baby's smell will be in the big cage. After spending a night out of the big cage and allowing the baby to get her smell in there the resident is less likely to feel like it is hers and need to defend it. Watch them VERY closely for several hours to make sure there is no bad fights. Do not remove the baby if there is some squeaking and wrestling. This is normal and removing the baby will only delay the adjustment time.

Good luck.