# Looking for an OLDER boy



## RockstarRats (Jul 11, 2008)

Does anyone in my area have one HEALTHY older boy up for adoption or just in need of a good home? Preferably around 8 months to a year? I'm in Los Angeles, ca


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## A1APassion (Jul 29, 2007)

I'm confused... I thought you were a rescue? Why are you looking to adopt?


there seem to be adoptable rats on your website, maybe that would be the place to look?









<<<confused>>>


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## RockstarRats (Jul 11, 2008)

Ah yes, I can see why you're confused. Let me clarify for everyone. 
Yes, I run a rescue but I also have my own resident rats. You would think that my own rescue would be the place to look, but if you look at my website, you'll see that there are only boys 4 months and younger. One of my own older boy's cage mates just passed away and he seems so lonely.  I would have him live with my other younger boys, but he's MUCH bigger and has lived with his one cage mate all his life. I don't want to run the risk of my other two boys getting injured. 
If I can't find one soon I am going to see how the boys react to each other when their cages are placed side by side, but I'd just like to stay cautious. 
So, thank you for your remarks, but if I had another older male of my own, or one that was brought to the rescue, then he would probably already be living with my big boy.


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## Randi (May 25, 2008)

I've heard that sometimes it's easier to intro an older rat to either a younger rat or a pair of younger rats, because it's easier for them to establish dominance. People seem to think that age is an issue, but it's never been an issue in my case. Plenty of people have had no problems intro'ing rats of differing ages. You should give it a shot, especially since you already have the rats there! Even though they're already in your rescue, you'd still be giving them a permanent home, and that would be awesome.


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## RockstarRats (Jul 11, 2008)

Thanks Randi.  Yeah, I'm going to try it out. I placed their cages next to each other last night and so far there seems to be no problem. I've read several things as well and http://www.ratfanclub.org/newrat.html that article as well as a few others just put up the caution. Anyway, if there hasn't been problems for you so far that's great! Hopefully these boys will follow suit. 
Thanks!


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## Randi (May 25, 2008)

I hope it works out for you... keep us posted!


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## A1APassion (Jul 29, 2007)

I thought maybe that was the case but I ruled it out since you are running a rescue I thought you would know this is not a good idea,hence my confusion. With that said, I guess you are still rather new to rats. You've come to a good place to learn. 


This isn't true in all cases but generally speaking, males don't take to introductions all that well... especially the older boys. You are suggesting placing two older boys together. Not a good idea especially if the new older boy you are bringing in is solo & has been solo. I can assure you that you will almost certainly have fights with blood & this really isn't the kind of stress this older rats need to be put through. It could open up a can of worms by way of stress related URI's or infections brought on by fighting.

The younger boys would be your best bet but that really depends on just how old & slowed-down your older rat is. Give it a try but intro the whole group rather than just one because if you have someone adopt you don't have to fuss about who stays & who goes & how has to stay to keep the old guy company. 

I have kept rats for many many years & I try to keep my same sex colonies as large as possible because of the fact that rats age out at a quick rate. When you have several housed together you don't risk that one guy outliving the one cage mate. If I can't intro a rat into an established community then I just start a new one & keep working at it. Eventually I find a happy medium. 

Good luck

Go with the side by side thing, see how it goes & even if he stays on his own, he has neighbors close by. I do this with my own solo boys who don't like other rats. We've tried intros with DD for over a year & he viciously attacks any male he sees. Briefly I had a spayed female that I attempted intros with but she kicked his butt & I could tell he was not happy about her being in his well organized bachelor pad. He is my clean boy who keeps food in his bowl, sleeps in his hammock, stashes strips of paper in his hidey house that he goes to in the afternoons & only goes potty in one corner. When the older girl was in there is messed up his whole routine & it was the first time I ever saw him pee in his hammock or potty on the upper shelves. We took her out & he went right back to his clean ways. 

Why do I tell you this.... just to let you know, sometimes it is ok to keep them on their own if they appear to be happier being on their own.


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## RockstarRats (Jul 11, 2008)

Yes, my official rescue title is relatively new. I've had rats in the past but no more than 4 at a time, 2 boys 2 girls, or 4 of the same sex, and I always adopted them out together informally to friends and/or family. I've only had to do one intro with girls of the same age, both around 7 months, and that went fine. That is one of the main reasons why I thought it could be ok if it was a docile older boy. 
My older boy is pretty mellow...I've had him and his cage mate for a while. The only boys left at the rescue have only been here for about a month. Two of them already got adopted out and the two that are left are the ones I currently have next to the older boy. The younger ones are definitely more intrigued than the older one. I read that as a suggestion on a few different sites that placing them in each other's cage is a good idea so they could get used to each other's scent. I might try that in about a week if the side by side goes well. 
Has it ever happened that the younger boys gang up on an older one? They are both over 4 months now and have already started trying to establish dominance over each other. My older boy, like I said, is really mellow, but I don't know. The two young ones are very sweet, but rambunctious, so maybe the big boy will bring out the big guns if need be. 
Anyway, thank you both for all of the advice. I hope I don't have too many questions for you, but if you don't mind I'll keep em comin!


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## A1APassion (Jul 29, 2007)

there is no such thing as too many questions so fire away

you will learn as you go but it is always best to seek out information from otrhers based on their personal experience.

as for introductions, there is no guarentee whjich way they will go or what is the best case scenario. What works for one situation may not work for another & so on & so on

All you can do is attempt it by follow all the suggestions you can read about here on various threads or even the sticky that was put up about intros procedures. At that point the success falls on you & your ability as well as patience to see it through. 

I have one older male that loves every younger boy I have ever placed with him. I have two younger males that accepted a baby male at 6 months with no problems at all. Heck, we didn't even clean the cage. It wasn't planned to go down that day, it just worked out that way. I had the new boy on my shoulder while doing feeding duty & he darted right down my arm when I opened the cage of the boys I planned to place him with. I paused to see what would happen. Nothing, they just kind of sniffed & went back to eating. I watched for a solid hour & after eating they all crawled up into the hammock & took a nap together. Easy intro I have ever done hands down. However, I have a male who is now over a 1 1/2 old & I've had him since just before he turned 6 months. He rejects any attempt to have a male added to his domain. He brutally attacked the sweet guy that has accepted every baby I have ever placed with him. I recently took in a rescue boy that is also about 5 to 6 months old & he has tried to attack the boys I tried to intro him too. 

I have not had any other males come in lately so I have not been able to test the trio that my sweet old guy resides with. His two room mates don't seem to be all that accepting of new arrivals. That is the reason I have the other male community set up with the younger males. I really didn't have need to introduce them because neither cage could really accommodate 6 or more rats so I kept it at an even split with plenty of room since the cages would easily fit 4 huge squishy boys (or 6 average sized girls). I have learned to never max out a male cage because most of my males get rather large & if you cramp them up in minimum space it creates a greater chance of aggression & dominance issues.


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