# First intros...but why all the hype???!?!?!?!



## RattyJessica (Aug 22, 2008)

So..I've read over and over how serious Intro's can be, and I was honestly quite worried, but now...I don't understand why everyone is so panicked!

So Ofelia got her cagemate, Olive (I guess I like names that start with O), and I just put Ofelia in the bathtub, and then Olive, and they just fort of looked eachother, ran over eachother a couple times, then went on trying to get out of the tub.

I put them both in the cage, took out all the toys, and let them associate, and they were fine, not a single problem. I put the toys in, and Ofelia did get touchy with her log house, but that was it.

They are fine, and I just don't understand why everyone is so worried with intro's? was I jsut lucky?


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## Shadowboxer (Aug 6, 2008)

Well, some rats get along better than others...I know my older rat did not accept the baby I brought home, so we eventually had to separate them and get a new friend for the baby. Nietzsche is just a loner rat who loves me but not other rats so much....

*BUT you just got rid of Lyra a very short time ago...did you QT the new rat?? You're supposed to QT them for about 3 weeks....*


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## lovinmyworm (Feb 18, 2008)

You just got lucky, but honestly if they haven't squabbled at all yet they will soon to establish who is the head rat. I've had lots of introductions and they go about 50/50. Some are super easy and they get into one little squabble and that seems to be the end of it and other times there is blood! Basically it really depends on what your introducing. 

spayed female+ spayed female= easiest introduction, they almost ignore eachother
spayed female+ female= easy
Spayed + neutered= easy a scuffle here and there
spayed either sex+ unaltered other sex= usually ok
unaltered females= usually easy going, but I have seen some problems
unaltered males+unaltered male= hardest introduction especially if they are both older males


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## RattyJessica (Aug 22, 2008)

Shadowboxer said:


> Well, some rats get along better than others...I know my older rat did not accept the baby I brought home, so we eventually had to separate them and get a new friend for the baby. Nietzsche is just a loner rat who loves me but not other rats so much....
> 
> *BUT you just got rid of Lyra a very short time ago...did you QT the new rat?? You're supposed to QT them for about 3 weeks....*


Oh goodness, the bold has me scared, what does QT mean?!?!?!


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## Shadowboxer (Aug 6, 2008)

Haha...not meaning to scare you, lol...QT means quarentine...you should always try and keep the new rat separate from the others for about 3 weeks to make sure they are healthy and don't have something that they can pass on to your other baby. But, you've already introduced them to each other and there's no going back to re-do that so just keep your eyes out and have fun with your kiddos. Congrats on an easy transition.


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## RattyJessica (Aug 22, 2008)

Shadowboxer said:


> Haha...not meaning to scare you, lol...QT means quarentine...you should always try and keep the new rat separate from the others for about 3 weeks to make sure they are healthy and don't have something that they can pass on to your other baby. But, you've already introduced them to each other and there's no going back to re-do that so just keep your eyes out and have fun with your kiddos. Congrats on an easy transition.


I had no idea....I didn't even think of that D:

So no QT? I cannot believe I didn't think of that...oh jeeze...and it is too late to QT Olive?


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## KayRatz (Apr 5, 2007)

Yeah, it's too late... I made the same mistake  Don't worry about it, my ratties were okay...


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## sorraia (Nov 10, 2007)

RattyJessica said:


> They are fine, and I just don't understand why everyone is so worried with intro's? was I jsut lucky?


I wouldn't call it luck, just your experience. You had an easy intro, and that's great!

BUT not all intros go so well. Many years ago I was introing a couple males. All had gone well, up until the in cage intro. The new guy got in a fuss with one of the residents, and in a matter of seconds has his side sliced open. Fortunately it was not serious, just a skin wound. I had to keep it clean, and fortunately it healed well without any infection.

I have heard stories FAR worse than that. I have also heard horrible stories involving babies which resulted in the death of the baby at the hands of an over-zealous older rat. It happens. And far better to play it safe and take it slow, than to take a chance with the health and lives of our beloved critters.


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## chevalrose (Aug 13, 2008)

Right now I'm trying to introduce my younger males to my older males (all intact). They are all fine outside of the cage, but in the cage...they're tension. Im going to try again this weekend to put them togheter. MAJOR washing of the cage, dousing all in vanilla...the whole sha-bang.


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## Forensic (Apr 12, 2007)

Once you try introducing them and have blood everywhere in moment you'll understand...


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## A1APassion (Jul 29, 2007)

RattyJessica said:


> So..I've read over and over how serious Intro's can be, and I was honestly quite worried, but now...I don't understand why everyone is so panicked!
> 
> So Ofelia got her cagemate, Olive (I guess I like names that start with O), and I just put Ofelia in the bathtub, and then Olive, and they just fort of looked eachother, ran over eachother a couple times, then went on trying to get out of the tub.
> 
> ...




consider yourself fortunate

I've had to literally glue rats back together after intros that have gone bad. There are people who have written stories about intros that resulted in a fatally wounded rat.

Sometimes it is love at first sight but there are times when a first meeting results in serious injury or even death... both happen & so does everything in between.

May all your intros go this smoothly but don't become over-confident that each will because you may not be so fortunate the next time around.


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## phaidraft (Apr 9, 2008)

I wouldn't leave them alone in the same cage for a bit, either. After QT, our intros went pretty well, but I was still uneasy about the whole thing.


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## SamAnthrax (Jan 5, 2008)

I've had two good intros, one bad one.

I was intro'ing a dumbo to my biggest boy, Tommy. They didn't mind eachother in the tub, on my bed Tommy ignored Dumbo but the Dumbo kept trying to start stuff, after the 10th time of Tommy pinning him The dumbo gave up, they were OK. But when they went into the cage together Tommy remembered everything and gave the Dumbo ****. The dumbo was in the corner for about 10 minutes letting Tommy punch and slap him 1,000 times. 

I just faced the facts they weren't getting along. The dumbo was so stiff when i took him out I just found him a better home.


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## chevalrose (Aug 13, 2008)

SamAnthrax said:


> The dumbo was in the corner for about 10 minutes letting Tommy punch and slap him 1,000 times.


I'm sorry if this sounds insensitive...but I find it pretty funny imagining rats "punching and slapping"...just not words usually used with rats fighting.


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## kenRakuu (Mar 29, 2008)

chevalrose said:


> SamAnthrax said:
> 
> 
> > The dumbo was in the corner for about 10 minutes letting Tommy punch and slap him 1,000 times.
> ...


Well, when boys fight they stand on their back legs and make little fists with their Paw/hands and will pummel each other with punches. When Pilot has had enough of the babies Jumping on him, he stands up and pushes them with his hands, and then settles back down.

To answer you Jessica, some intro's can go very badly, I've been lucky here too and after QT intros where smooth, and after about four days they lived together.


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## Klairwho (Sep 1, 2008)

Are relatively young rats easy to introduce to each other? 
I'm about to introduce two babies to each other, and it seems to me that it'd go easier than two adults, or a baby and an adult.


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## zoe9 (Oct 3, 2007)

Babies to babies are usually the easiest.

I'd suggest you read the introduction "sticky". It's on the General Rat Topics forum and is entitled 'Adding a new rat to your mischief? Read this first.'

I also found this particular site helpful:

http://www.dapper.com.au/articles.htm#intro

Don't forget the quarantine period.


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## lovinmyworm (Feb 18, 2008)

Babies to babies depends on their age and sex! I've only had one iffy intro with 2 babies and they did squabble a bit, at least there was no blood but they continued for about 2 days with the fighting off and on. They worked it out and it was fine. Ditto about reading the introduction sticky! I still think a spayed female and spayed female are the easiest to intro together. I've never had a problem there!


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## Klairwho (Sep 1, 2008)

They're both around 5 weeks, females. I've read about 20 introduction posts already


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## BoyzRcrazy (Feb 18, 2008)

I am a first-time rat owner, and took in two rescues who became very aggressive toward each other. Their aggression eventually extended to me as well. (Long story, but related to scent issues.)

Long story short, I was bitten so badly that I ended up in Urgent Care. So while I am really happy that your introduction went as well as it did, please listen to what the veterans have told you. It could save you from tendon damage, and you could save your future rats from each other.

I hope it all continues to go smoothly for you with your girls.


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## lovinmyworm (Feb 18, 2008)

ditto, you can NEVER EVER read too much about introductions because every single one goes so different!


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## OnlyOno (Apr 4, 2007)

when i introduced mozart to picasso, things seemed to be going really well until i fed them for the first time together. picasso had a piece of food and little butthead mozart thought it would be okay to try to steal that piece right out of picasso's mouth. there was an enormous scuffle and mozart had puncture wounds from picasso's teeth that went clean thru one cheek, and split her lower eyelid in half. after the bleeding stopped, the wounds were actually pretty clean so we neosporined them and all was well in a week or so. but it would have been so easy for mozart to have lost an eye that day. you were fortunate, but def be careful, because you'll never know until it happens.


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## Klairwho (Sep 1, 2008)

I think my intros went very smooth, after I switched their cages for a while, I had them both play together in my bathtub. they spent like 15 minutes trying to figure out where they were before they actually acknowledged each other. There was a lot very intense grooming between the two of them, they basically just seemed fine with each other. After a while I moved them in together to a totally rearranged cage, carefresh replaced with cloth and so on, scents masked with a bit of vanilla. There was a little bit of squeaky squabbling through the night, but nothing serious. 
Overall, I think it went great! I'll continue to keep an eye on them both but I think they're gonna get along greatly.


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