# please help?



## mazluvzmilly (May 16, 2007)

As I've mentioned before, I used to have four male rats, all lived in seperate cages to provent fighting, and they were all happy.

Now I have a female rat, who lives on her own. I've read that as long as I spend alot of time with her, she will not be that bothered about haveing no rat friends.
However, I got her from a pet shop, and am having trouble taming her. I've had her about a week and a half, and apart from the first 24 hours, I have spent time with her every day. She has no problem with me being around, she'll come up and sniff me, and she'll take food from my hand. However as soon as I try to fuss her, she's gone!

I've also read that, those with red eyes (as she has) will be harder to tame as they cant see very well. Another website said that if you buy 2 rats, they will gain confidence from eachother, and compete for attention...?

So, should I just stick with this girl, or buy another black eyed girl to go with her? The thing is, I dont want to buy another one, if they both decide they dont trust me, and then I have 2 rats i cant get near!? So please help me! Also if I have 2 females, will they fight?

Thank you guys!


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## Forensic (Apr 12, 2007)

Two females may or may not fight. Proper introductions would have to be done, as the rats will want to decide who is the leader of their pack of two. Once that's decided they shouldn't harm each other.

Another option is to get the girl spayed and let her live with boys, if you prefer a male.

I think you're going to have to try forced socialization with the girl to get her to like you, she probably won't come to you on her own, since she's unsocialized.


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## DonnaK (Feb 8, 2007)

We have two girls, a dark eyed 18 month old, and a pink eyed 8 month old. Our pink eyed girl was the same as yours; she would come and check us out, take food from us, but wouldn't take any fuss.

We gave her about a week to settle in, then we started finger wrestling with her in her cage. She took to that very well. After a few days of that, we started picking her up for a few minutes at a time. She was actually braver than our dark eyed rat, when she was a baby. Now, she'll climb all over us... she's a proper handful.

We introduced them about 3 months ago, now. It took a while, as the eldest had been on her own for too long, but we were patient and consistent and it paid off. (You can see them both cuddling in the hammock together, in my signature.)

Our rats have both come on leaps and bounds since they have been together. They are happier, more playful and they have learnt so much from each other. It is also said that happy rats are healthier and live longer.

The chances of you having two unsocialised rats are very slim, if you work with them while they are young and introduce them properly. We can help you with the introductions and socialising.

Rats really shouldn't be kept alone. You really should consider getting her a friend. She needs someone to play with, cuddle with, groom and be groomed. Whilst you spend a lot of time with her, you can't be there through the long nights when she's awake and you're sleeping.


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## Berks (May 15, 2007)

My blossom is a PEW and she is the opposite. She is the love bug out of the group but than again she was the first out of the three and had a whole month by herself of getting spoiled. The only thing i noticed due to her poor eyesight is she snatches food out of my fingers more so than the others. I literally had her with me all the time for the first 2 weeks, whether on my shoulder or in her bonding glove. what i did notice after 3 weeks was that she became a little depressed, so to say. so we got dandy and when they finally met she was better instantly. I think a friend for her would be good and like someone else said some forced socialization should work.


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## mazluvzmilly (May 16, 2007)

Ok, thanx guys. 

So how do I introduce to a new rat? lol!
Is it done over a matter of days or weeks?

Thanx again :wink:


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## OnlyOno (Apr 4, 2007)

depends on the rat! my two were in a cage together one week after they met, but i'm starting to think that that is a rare case. i think donnak spent 3 months getting some of her boys together. i think males take longer, as do older rats, to get used to someone new.

first off, make sure you quarantine the new gal for 2-3 weeks. this gives you time to see if she's sick and get her better before she gets your old girl sick. some people here recommend a separate airspace entirely (like a friend's house, not another room in yours) to reduce the risk of airborne pathogens. this is not entirely feasible for all of us (like me) so in that case you'll just have to be extra careful, wash hands between rats, change clothes, don't set them on the same couch, etc.

when you decide that your new girl is ready, take your two out and let them get to know eachother somewhere neutral. mine ignored each other at first, and this is normal. some people bathe their rats together to erase their individual smells and so that they sorta smell like each other. i made them spend a night or two in each other's cage to get used to each other's smells. and i know that many people stick the two cages together so that the rats can get used to each other's smells as well. when they're ready (and that may be a week or so, for me it was like 2 days, but i spent all day with my rats for those 2 days) you can deep clean the cage that they will be living in to erase smells, and rearrange stuff so that the rat that formerly lived there can't claim any old territory on the new arrangement. and then make sure to WATCH. you can let them fight, but be careful about how hard they fight. squeaking is okay, but not screaming! if they fight too much, start over at the intros on neutral ground, and spend longer at each step!

i dunno, ha ha, i guess that besides the litter i had 8 years ago, i've never really introduced rats to each other, and picasso and mozart got along so well that i suppose i don't know all that can go wrong, lol. either way, when you start introducing them, feel free to post about the progress you're making, and everyone will offer suggestions.  now go! find your ratty a friend!


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## thegrotto (May 11, 2007)

All rats should be in atleast pairs, because you can't be with them all the time. And all rats fight with each other, it comes and goes "No! That's MY piece of cheese!!" or "Get away!!" every once in awhile. But while you're at school/work or out with a friend, they'll need someone to be with.


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## DonnaK (Feb 8, 2007)

OnlyOno said:


> i think donnak spent 3 months getting some of her boys together.


We have two girls :lol:

We started introductions and had to stop to fly to England because my dad had a heart attack. We started again after we got back and I think it took about 2 weeks in the end, if I remember rightly.

After the quarantine, we put the cages side by side for a few days. Once they had gotten used to being next to each other and calmed down, we started taking them up to the bathroom for playtimes. We did this for about a week, I think, before I thoroughly cleaned and disinfected the cages and put them together.


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## OnlyOno (Apr 4, 2007)

darn, i knew if i put a name there it would be the wrong one, lol. but i got tired of saying "someone on these forums", ha ha.  but i KNOW i read 3 months somewhere!  but yeah, sometimes it's pretty easy, and sometimes it can suck some major toe jam.


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## mazluvzmilly (May 16, 2007)

Thank you guys for your help!  

I'll post up my news after I've got another one, and maybe some pics too! :wink:


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## DonnaK (Feb 8, 2007)

OnlyOno said:


> darn, i knew if i put a name there it would be the wrong one, lol.


Usually the way :lol:


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## Poppyseed (Feb 1, 2007)

It might be me, I've spent a couple of months trying to get Bert introed with Odin and Bastian. Bastian took to him quick, but Odin is a grump D: They still aren't properly introed yet and I'm starting to think it's not going to happen...


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## lizzydeztic (Mar 15, 2007)

when i got gitzie she was terribly unsocialized. she's a pink eyed girl as well. she lived for over a year by herself with little interaction with her owner. now that she's with my two black eyed girls she's EXTREMELY social. she's probably even more social with me then they are and the change in her behavior towards humans happened in the same day that she met my other rats. maybe she saw that there are more rats in her new home so she felt safer. she used to not even think of coming out of her igloo if i was in the same room as her cage.

it's amazing what another rat can do for one that lives alone. 

good luck dear!


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