# Introduction of new rat



## remruss (Dec 19, 2018)

We are the lucky owners of now 3 male rats. We got Remy & Russell together (in early December 2018), they were already bonded & happy to be around each other. We went into [email protected] fairly recently to buy some treats & saw a youngster up for adoption... We enquired & got told that he had been brought back as he 'would not bond with another rat', was 'aggressive' & 'wanted to be alone'. It was clear he was barely 16 weeks old & knowing we had a spare rat cage at home, we decided to adopt him. Hello Ralphie! Bonding him with one of our rats has been difficult but we have taken the process very steadily - pushing the 2 separate cages together, introducing them on neutral ground, positive reinforcement etc. He is still kept in a separate cage by the way... It has been just under 2 months. Russell is the eldest, very laid back & submissive so there have been no issues with him getting along with Ralphie. Russell wants an easy life, puts up with any dramas without moaning & is generally a proper cutie. Remy is more hyper, wants all the attention you have to give & has to be in on the action but is just as much of a cutie in his own right. Unfortunately, he has not taken a liking to Ralphie (maybe he is the boss & feels threatened?). When they get together, Ralphie is straight on the defence & very stiff with his fur puffed; the same goes for Remy but he is also on the offence as well - if that makes sense? Remy tends to initiate the fight. Sometimes there are no fights during their introduction time but it's obvious that it's tense. I was just wondering if anyone had any advice for continuing their meetings or knowing when the time's right to keep them in the same cage? We're worried that we're too cautious sometimes when we should probably leave them be to establish their pecking order. We are prepared to keep Ralphie in a separate cage for his life if that's how it turns out & just to confirm, we give him just as much attention as the others!


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