# intro went very well :)



## gypsyacorn (May 3, 2011)

I finally introduced the girls about a week ago and everything went smoothly. First I swapped hammocks and toys into each others cages for a few days, then they went into each others cage. They finally met on my bed. Booty (the newbie) was shy at first but it didn't take long before she wanted to be boss. Acorn submitted rather quickly, but Gypsy wouldn't have it. She put her in her place. No body got hurt. It was just some wrestling and boxing going on. The next day I supervised them in the same cage. No fighting or biting. Just the usual wrestling and boxing match. Gypsy's still top rat and Acorn is the submissive one. Booty usually sleeps by herself. Once in awhile they'll all be snuggling together. I couldn't be happier the way things went.

Booty still like to nip, hard. I don't think she means to, but it hurts. I eeehhp and she lets go. This is an on going trend. I understand she's just learning about me and everything else that she has contact with. Is there a way I can get her to stop or get her to do it lightly? Gypsy nips but I never really notice it. Help, please. When I give then treats; Acorn and Gypsy take it out of my hand so gently and then Booty comes and want to take my hand off, lol. I give her treats with a spoon. I know I'll be accidentally bit.


----------



## Misbehavior (May 29, 2011)

Booty just might have bad eyesight. : My albino boy has terrible sight and nips everything around him, and not lightly at that.  I'm sure it's not that they want to hurt you. I guess you can just keep eeping; maybe at one point they'll recognize the typical smell of your hand and hold off. And congrats on the smooth intro!


----------



## gypsyacorn (May 3, 2011)

thank you  Booty has black eyes though. Could her eye sight be that terrible? Gypsy is the only one with ruby eyes and she nips but it doesn't hurt. What a silly little ratty I have. I gave them a chicken leg today. Cooked as healthy as possible of course. Acorn and Gypsy were just nibbling on it and Booty was trying to take as much as she can in one bite. She seems to be an aggressive eater. Do those exist?


----------



## Misbehavior (May 29, 2011)

Eh. You can only guess.  Here's a nicely detailed article I read about rat eyesight: http://www.ratbehavior.org/RatVision.htm 

Well, I initially thought back to dogs - food aggression. The whole "_The food is mine. You will not touch my food._" deal. But I don't think the situation is about aggression around the concept of food, rather just overzealous eating. From what I've observed my boys doing, it's just a fervid love for food that's fueling the bickering. Here's some pics of the usual morning veggie kabob craze: http://tinypic.com/a/2nk84/4 I'm pretty sure everyone's seeing something similar to this with their rats.


----------



## gypsyacorn (May 3, 2011)

thank you, this was very enlightening


----------



## gypsyacorn (May 3, 2011)

Your Boys are very cute  And I think I need to get one of those stick thing haha. MY mom has one for her birds. Such a good idea.


----------



## Misbehavior (May 29, 2011)

Thanks!  I'm still working on taming them, which is going slow, but hey, at least it's going!  That little kabob thing came with one of the hamsters I have now; my someone spontaneously bought a hamster at a petshop and no one took care of it, so she kept getting passed on until she ended up with me. She's got pretty advanced cancer now and she's too old to safely remove it, so she's probably got a little over a week left. At least she now has a loving home and huge cage and lots of toys and attention. c: So yeah, that's the story of the metal stick in the rat cage. You can hang it up almost anywhere and they go nuts for it. ;D I've seen them sold in petshops as a 'treat' kabob, but the 'treats' are chunks of wood. No animal that I know of considers a chunk of dyed wood to be a great treat. :


----------



## gypsyacorn (May 3, 2011)

Awe, sorry about the little one. It's so sad to see animals get tossed around like that. I don't care it the creature is. My mom never like rats. She still is freaked out about their tails. But she is slowly falling in love with mine. haha. She can't believe how smart they are. Thanks. My mom had a spare kabob so Im using that. Yeah, who would want chunks of wood when there are so many other tasty things out there. MY ratties don't really chew on blocks, it's only when they are bored. As far as I can see.


----------



## Misbehavior (May 29, 2011)

Yeah, cancer happens a lot in hamsters. All that inbreeding.  I see animals being treated like objects all too much these days, and not just pets. The life of a stock animal is pure ****; it makes me sick to think about it. It's why I'm vegetarian/part vegan.  And I love their tails, especially when they're babies. There should be a cream coloured Crayola crayon called 'ratling tail'.  Neither of my parents and none of my friends like rats... ahaha I've got my loves all to myself! And that's great that you got one of those without paying those ridiculous prices! The only ways I've seen those block thingies utilized by my hammies/gerbils/guineas/ratties is as a nice little urine target or shoved around the cage if I put peanut butter on it. (I wipe the butter off, though, so just the smell is left.)


----------

