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New cagemates to two female rats2007-11-24 22:13:10

I have two female rats and i want to expand their cage and get them a few new cage mates. The rats im looking at are three adorable baby female rats at a local animal shelter. Is it safe for the babies to be introduced to the adults??

Answers:

You shouldn't have any problems introducing your older girls to younger ones - generally speaking the girls tend to get to know each other much more smoothly than the boys.

You can help the whole process to go even more smoothly by ensuring that the environment they're going into is clean, and that any toys/equipment is moved around so that the original girls don't recognise it as their territory. Also by spraying the girls with a specific animal deodoriser (just a light spray on the rump) so they all smell the same this helps to avoid any bickering.

Also before they go into the new cage try introducing them on neutral territory (somewhere such as a bathroom) so that you can keep an eye on them and let them adjust to each other first.

It is worthwhile if it's an extension onto the cage to perhaps keep them separate to begin with but with the cages side by side for about a week or so, and then take toys out of each cage and swap them around just so they can begin getting used to each others scents.

Hope this helps!

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Yes, But! YOU MUST! introduce them in separate cages.

put the baby's in a cage beside the other rats. [making them meet may take about 1 month to fully get them used to each other] every day just switch there cages so they get used to the smell of each other... but i must warn you... when you introduce them fully... do it in UN-marked territory...

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Yes, but be sure to watch them while they are discovering eachother. Don't be afraid if they crawl on eachother or jump on eachother. They are just seeing who is in there cage and getting use to their new surroundings.

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it is very dangerous to introduce your rats to any new rats without quarantining the new rats for at least two weeks. if they have been THE ONLY rats at the humane society for two weeks and they haven't shown any signs of sickness, then you're pretty safe to assume that they are okay. if you are not sure if the rats at the shelter have been exposed to other rats then go ahead and adopt them but keep them at a friend's house where they will not come in contact with any other rats, for two weeks. when you visit the quarantined rats be sure to wash up and change your clothes before going home and handling your rats. once the two weeks is up and you are ready to introduce them to your rats do it very, very carefully. a bathtub is a great place to introduce them as it doesn't hold smells and is less likely to be a territorial place. even if the initial meeting goes well, please still be very careful and do not put them in the same cage with your current rats. rats will rip each other apart if they feel threatened by the other ones. keep their cages side by side (but not too close so they're not able to grab each others feet or tails) and let them get used to each other that way before moving them all in together permanently. before i was educated in introducing rats to each other, i was devastated to see that my rat basically ripped my new rat to pieces. it was a horrible, horrible thing to see and i still feel very guilty so that's why i keep emphasizing for you to be careful. good luck with everything and good for you for adopting from a shelter.