Omg this was incredible helpful and thorough!! Thank you so much!!!!!!! 🐀🐀🐀
no worries! happy to help~
emiliearts:
Adoption from a rescue is an option toooooo
^^^ also very true - theres plenty of disadvantaged older rats in rescues who need, and would love, new homes, so if theres any close by, its worth checking~
Hi one of my girls died recently and unexpectedly, but she was a pet store rat so I knew she wasn't in the best condition in the first place. Her sister seems to be doing okay, she's had TONS of free roaming time, more than ever since Marcy passed. She's still drinking, eating, and playing when I take her out. She still enjoys her piñatas too. But I'm wondering if she really needs a friend in there, especially if I'm at school all day or need to go home for the weekend. (Part 1)
“I want to buy her cagemates from a breeder but idk if that’s a good idea because she’s from a pet store. I just wanted to know your thoughts on this? She loved her sister, playing and grooming so I’m sure she’d loved to have two sisters to play with and groom. Also do you have any tips on introducing one rat to two new (much younger) cage mates? Are females ever really aggressive towards new rats and want to be alone like a male might be? (Part 2)”
first off, really sorry to hear about the loss of Marcy - it always hurts tolose a rat. we would definitely recommend getting new cagemates for her sister,especially if you are away a lot - she might be enjoying the time she spendswith you (which is great, bc it sounds like shes adjusting well), but she willlikely be getting lonely in her cage.
as for breeders vs pet store, we will a l w a y s recommend breeders. ifanything, getting her new cagemates from a reputable, trustworthy breeder will onlysmooth the transition, as well-socialised breeder-rats generally have muchbetter temperaments and socialisation skills - even though she’s a pet-storerat herself, it’ll be easier for her to adjust to some nice chill cagemates~
NOW. introducing young rats to older ones - or tbh, any rats to any other, the method is basically the same. Idk if you’ve ever doneintroductions in any way before, so for arguments sake we’ll explain the wholeprocess under the cut~
As you’ve said, we would generally suggest getting two youngsters - thatway, if your girl is a little standoffish for a while, they still have eachother for comfort. also important to note is that you will need two cages,which should be positioned alongside each other so the rats can see, smell andhear each other. Every so often, put them in each other’s cages, and leave themin there until they get bored of exploring – this gets them used to eachother’s environment and scents, without anyone feeling like their boundariesare being crossed. This step lasts until all the rats seem entirely unbotheredby the scent of a stranger, so it really depends on their individual reactionsas to how long it could take~
When everyone seems calm and happy with their neighbours, its time to set upintros in a neutral space. This will be an area that your current rat does notalready see as Her Territory – a bathtub tends to be a popular option. Leavethem together until they start paying attention to each other, at which pointyour current female will likely engage in a little rough power-grooming of theyoungsters. If the babies squeak, that’s no problem and there’s no need tointervene – we tend to go by the rule ‘no blood, no foul’. A little noise (oreven quite a lot) is nothing to worry about~ its super important to let themsort out their hierarchy themselves, and the more you leave them to it, thequicker that process will be.
(IF things do happen to get rough, and your current rat starts gettinglegitimately aggressive, ie biting hard enough to draw blood, keep a spray-bottleon hand if you have one – that tends to break things up Real Quick)
Repeat this step as often as necessary, until you feel like they’ve adjustednicely to one another – this is really up to your own discretion, as you knowyour babies best and again, it depends on individual reactions~
NOW. Nearly there! Clean out your main cage thoroughly – wash the contents,clear as much of the older female’s scent from it as you can, and replaceeverything in a slightly different place than before, so it’s as much like a ‘newcage’ as possible.
THEN, finally, go ahead and dump everyone in together.
They WILL squabble, that’s virtually a given. There will be pinning, squeakingand power-grooming aplenty – once again, that’s totally normal, and there’s noneed to intervene unless blood is being drawn. Leave them together until thedust has settled, and keep a note of how everyone has behaved around eachother. If you feel like things are still a little fraught, its best to keepthis stage supervised – if you have to leave the room, pop the newcomers backin their cage until youre available to supervise again. Keep at it until youpersonally feel confident that everyone is ok together, and voila. You haveintroduced your rats!
It’s worth mentioning that generally, if a rat is really going to dislike anotherrat, it will be very clear during early introductions – if things go consistentlysmoothly throughout the process, then it’s fairly unlikely that someone will takea sudden offence to someone else. Fortunately, introducing females tofemales does tend to be easier than males, although of course every rat isdifferent and it does depend on individual personalities~ general rule of thumb is, keep an eye on everyone, and follow your instincts - the more intros you do, the easier it tends to get to read personalities.
AND, as a final note, always keep fussing and loving your original girl - its a big change for her to adjust to, and she’s gonna need plenty of support, attention and affection from you~
Hope this was helpful – if you have any other questions, concerns or wantsomething clarified, feel free to send in another message!
