# how soon after the death of a cagemate should I get a new rat?



## tigerstripesk8 (Jan 24, 2014)

I have (had) two rats, Watson and Holmes. Last night, I'm not sure why, Holmes died.

Watson is only six months old, he definitely needs a companion, especially since I'm out of the house almost all day MWFs. Should I get one as soon as possible? or give him time to grieve?

Also, is quarantine absolutely necessary for the new rat? I don't have space for quarantine, and I worry that Watson will be too lonely while the new rat(s) aren't near him.

I would be getting petstore rats, since I haven't found any breeders near denton, but the people in charge of the rats seem vey knowledgeable, only take in one litter per cage, separate genders, handle them with care, and the cage is always clean when I pass it.


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## Mitsy (Apr 8, 2013)

I haven't had to deal with this yet, but I think it would be after a few days or a week maybe? Enough time for your rat to grieve but not enough so that he or she gets lonely.


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## Jess <3 (Jan 23, 2014)

I've not really experienced this becuase if one of my rats looks like he/she is getting close to passing on or is having lots of veterinary treatment i bring a new pair home and introduce them so that the other rat won't be alone when it happens. Sometimes it is a complete shock though and you don't expect to lose a rat so young. 

What i would do is go and buy a new pair asap, give them a couple of days to settle in and get to know you and during this time Watson should adjust to losing his cage mate and so when you go to introduce the new ratties it will cheer him up! 

As for quarantine, if i get my new rats from a breeder i trust and they assure me their rat's are healthy (and i know that mine are too) then i have no problem beginning introductions within the first week. I do worry with pet shop bought rats just becuase i don't trust the workers even really know what signs of illness to look out for and i have bought home sickly rats before! 

Weigh up the options and do what you think's best!


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## tigerstripesk8 (Jan 24, 2014)

Thanks for the speedy replies! He's going to get a couple days by himself as is because I won't be able to get to the store until Monday at the earliest, unless I want to expose a rat to this weather (it's in the 20s here) and several bus trips.... I'm just gonna wait till my bf can take me on Monday. Poor Watson, though, he spent most of this morning staring at me while I got ready for class. I made sure to wake up an hour early to spend some time with him, and will let him stay on me for a good bit when I get home, but it's just not the same.


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## LeStan82 (Dec 31, 2013)

I have 2 boys that are 2 - 2 1/2 yrs. Old. I just lost one of my boys.My surviving rat knew my passed boy was sick and he knew he died. I gave it a week for him to adjust. Then yesterday he seemed litttle lonely/bored. Today I got 2 new young boys to keep him company. I was nervous about the introduction but he greeted them happily. The new boys are also petstore rats but so was my older boys. I hope the new boys are healthy. So far so good. Good luck with yours and I am sorry about your loss. New rats cant take the place of the ones you lose but helping a new rat in succeeding a good life is rewarding.I would like to think(although rats dont think like this but)our passed boys would have wanted another rat to experience the love and companionship that he had.


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## Isamurat (Jul 27, 2012)

I wouldalways aim for soon as possible if you can, rags dontneed time to grieve in the way humans do, they may be down and upset but they are also lonely and need a friend to get them back to normal. The easiest option would bea pair of babies if you can


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## tigerstripesk8 (Jan 24, 2014)

Do 3mo olds count as babies? The store generally doesn't sell them before 2 to 2 and a half months old. It's not THAT much of sn age gap, but.... he did grow a good bit in the months I've had him.


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## Jess <3 (Jan 23, 2014)

three months is only around 12 weeks which is still young


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## Isamurat (Jul 27, 2012)

3 months is about as old as you want if you want the benefit of introducing babjes. The thing is when they are young they smell different and not like bucks, around 12 to 14 weeks old that starts to change a s they move from being babies to young men. Its so obvious you can smell the change yourself and feel it in there coats, they go from soft and sweet smelling to coarser and more svaory nacho smell. If you can get the together beforee this it makes intros much easier, after is still doable but he will be rougher with them


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