# Introducing new rats



## uldaman (Jun 11, 2007)

I posted here a the other day about sexing my rats because I didnt know if my first rat a boy or girl. But after I read a lot about how to introduce new rats, I have each of them in the other's cage right now, and they are going freaking nuts!

They are darting back and forth and digging like crazy. Is this normal or does this mean they are going to tear each other apart when they meet?


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## Forensic (Apr 12, 2007)

It's the OMG, another rat! Must find other rat! combined with OMG! FEMALE! and OMG! MALE!

Have you had the male neutered? You cannot introduce a neutered male to a female for three weeks after the neuter.


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## uldaman (Jun 11, 2007)

no, i exchanged the male for another female, because my original rat is a female, so ive got 2 girls. and the newer one is albino, and younger i think shes nearly an inch smaller than the first one


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## Forensic (Apr 12, 2007)

Ah, well then it's just the first bit. :lol:

Rats grow very fast, you'll find. She's probably just a couple weeks younger than your first rat.

That's normal. They'll want to remove/cover/analyze the strange rat smell.


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## uldaman (Jun 11, 2007)

im very impatient i want to just put them together today and see what happens but that probably isnt the best of ideas


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## trish (May 30, 2007)

they will be bestest friends before you know it :lol: take just a little time.


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## uldaman (Jun 11, 2007)

the albino head-bobbing is really weird


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## Forensic (Apr 12, 2007)

The boy in my avatar sways like he's on a boat... it's funny. :lol:


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## uldaman (Jun 11, 2007)

ok so yesterday i had them in each other's tanks and today I put them together in a box to meet each and eat cheerios. and they didn't seem to fight at all, though they kind of had a slap-fight with their front legs at one point, it didnt seem violent.







so they ran around crazy for just a few minutes sniffing each other and licking each other's ears, then just crammed themselves into the corner here and didnt move for like 20 minutes. maybe they ate too many cheerios. but anyway does this mean I could put them together in the big cage now, or should they still live seperate and just play together for a while?


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## Matt (Jun 14, 2007)

I would Try doing that a few more times before you put them together. Just to be Safe. Thats what I would do if they Were my Ratties.


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## uldaman (Jun 11, 2007)

they are both frantically trying to get out of their tanks now that i seperated them again


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## Poppyseed (Feb 1, 2007)

If you want to chance it, make sure the big cage is uber clean and put them in there together suprivised for a few hours to see what happens. You could risk a set back (having to go back to intro level one) but I wouldn't want to keep them in the tanks much longer if possible if I were you. Rats hate tanks it seems.

Girlies do tend to accept eachother more. Boys take FOREVER to intro D:

How big is the big cage?


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## Pomperella (Jun 4, 2007)

good luck all sounds good.

mine get on fine, but twice now two of my girls have been cut really badly by one of the bigger ones. i have had to seperate them even though they sit in a squishy rat pile most of the time. i never see it when it happens, so don't put all your trust in them too soon!


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## uldaman (Jun 11, 2007)

the cage is 30"x18"x18" approx and i actually had to install quarter-inch screen over the whole thing because the smaller one can fit through the bars, i found out yesterday. because while theyre in the their tanks, I was using a wall from the cage as a roof for the new one, and i looked over at them randomly yesterday and she is on top of the other rat's cage. i dont know how she managed climb her weight up and squeeze out the roof first of all, and i REALLY dont know how she got up on top the other tank.


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## Poppyseed (Feb 1, 2007)

Yep that is big enough for two rats! But only up to two rats just so you know 

Cage sizes always surprise me, that's why I always put things through the rat caculator to check and see. My boyfriend finds it humerous how I measure all cages in rats lol.


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## uldaman (Jun 11, 2007)

well theyve been living happily together for several hours now without problems. but a couple times ive seen one of them, not always the bigger one, jump onto the other's back and then chase it around. i cant tell if theyre really fighting or just playing


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## Forensic (Apr 12, 2007)

LIttle bit of dominance play is all...


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## Matt (Jun 14, 2007)

I agree with Forensic. I would just Keep a Close eye on them.


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