Getting another rat?

Question

I think my cage may be a little more wider than that cage. I really wish I still had the box. I got it a Petsmart but they dont have it online. sorry

Answer 1

It would be a fantastic idea =)

Rats are social animals. To any social animal, other animals area -necessity-! Having her some companions is as important as having a proper cage, or a good diet. By having a single rat, you are giving her only substantial care, which there is no excuse for. But I am glad you are deciding to improve her life! Rats can be introduced at any age at all.

Your cage is alright. For rats, you should generally pick out taller cages, since rats get much better exercise by being able to climb a lot. But the size if your cage is fine.According to this little tool, it can hold 3-4 rats.

http://www.rattycorner.com/odds/calc.sht...

At this point, may I make some recommendations to improve your cage set up. As I said, climbing is important for rats to exercise. This means as many levels and hammocks as possible. There is a lot of space, and if you don't make good use of it, just the base of the cage alone might not be large enough for 2 rats. Go into a pet store, and get several hammocks made for ferrets. You can also look up how to make them yourself. Rats LOVE them! You can also get attachable levels, such as those made for chinchillas. And with 2 rats, you will need a LOT more than just one hiding igloo thing. You don't need to buy igloos necessarily though. If you have some empty cardboard boxes lying around, you can put them in the cage. Rats will chew at tehm, whic is fun for them, and safe. Just replace them when they get too dirty.

Onto the new rat, a new friend will be wonderfully perfect. Age does not matter one bit. However, you cannot just stick them together.

First there is a 'quarantine' period, which should last no less than 2 full weeks. This is a time where the new rat is brought into your home, but kept as far away from your current one as possible. In this time you must moniter the new for health, and treat anything she might have. Once they are taken away from their pet store environment, and brought into new air, illnesses that they may be carrying with no signs might "appear" and infect your other rat. After 2 weeks or more, any carried illnesses die on their own, and it is safe to introduce them.

Then there is the actual introduction period, which usually lsts one week or more. Here, they still live in different cages, but are near eachother. You also need to take them out several times every day out to meet eachother on a neutral surface, like bathtub. Usually after a week they can be trusted in one cage without fighting.

After this, scrub out the cage you want them to live in as much has possible so it smells new to them. Females are realyl lenient towards eachother, and rarely fight. But some fighting will happen.

Either way, you need a second temporary cage. It doesn't have to be fancy, or big though.

Some info... Read all you can find regarding quarantine and introductions please :)

http://www.curiosityrats.com/ (got to Info and then New Rat)

http://www.petratscanada.com/ratcare.htm

http://www.ratz.co.uk/

http://ratguide.com/

EDIT: Oh, I forgot to add, you need to find an adult female. Females can sometimes bully little, helpless rats to the point of even preventing them from accessing food and water, and completely stressing them out. Find a female that is the same size/age as Honey so that she can stand up for herself if ever picked on. And please consider adoptign a rat from a shelter. They need homes too :)

Answer 2

You should get some more toys & things to entertain your rat. They're quite smart and love to explore, they'll get very bored and depressed without a lot to do. That goes double if your ratty is alone.

It's NEVER too late to get another rat. Rats are very social animals, and a companion is essential. Females are generally easier to introduce than males. You should quarantine the new rat for at LEAST 2 weeks, preferably 3, to make sure she has no diseases she can transfer to Honey. (This is a frustrating step, I know, but BELIEVE ME.. it's worth it. I skipped this when I was new to rats and had a $130 vet bill to show for it).

After the quarantine, you can let the rats see & smell each other. Put their cages next to each other. Make sure they can see & smell each other but not get to each other. Do this for a few hours to a day. After that step, switch cages. Put Honey in the new rat's cage and vice versa. You don't have to leave them long. Maybe 10-20 minutes, just so they get the smell.

Next, you can introduce them. Make sure this is somewhere NEUTRAL. Somewhere Honey never plays. The bathtub is a widely recommended place for introductions. Put them together and observe. There may be scuffles, and there may not. This step should be repeated for a few days, a few times a day if you want. They need to get used to each other. Once they seem comfortable playing together in a neutral zone, you can try putting them together somewhere that Honey DOES play. Your room, your bed, wherever Honey plays when you take her out. Repeat, repeat until they are comfy & playing.

Then you can do the big introduction. Clean out the cage they'll be living in THOROUGHLY. Wipe down everything. Houses, toys, everything. This will get rid of Honey's scent so the place seems less like her territory. It also helps to rearrange everything in the cage. You can also dab each rat with vanilla or peppermint to make them smell the same. There will likely be scuffles, and it might sound bad. The general rule is "no blood, no foul." They need to fight to establish a hierarchy. It shouldn't be too bad if you've done the previous steps thoroughly. If things don't work out, separate them and go back a step. :]

Hope this helped!

P.S. The cage you have is a bit small, you should consider upgrading to a taller & wider cage with levels, as rats love to climb. :)

Answer 3

Well, because they don't know each other, they probably will fight, but I've only had experience with hamsters. I wouldn't try anything right away. Maybe do a little research on the subject and the decide using logical information gathered.

Answer 4

i say if the rat doesnt feel comfortable around u and other people then dont get another one but if she is  then i think it will be okay

Answer 5

well,when you first get the rat put them on the floor in like,a pen or some thing.leave then for ten minutes but watch them do that ever day ading 5 minutes for a week.have some thing to seperate them with.at the end of the week,put them in the same cage over nite and if they dont hurt each other put them in another nite.

Answer 6

I have 12 rats currently, and take it from me rats need a friend, if not they will get bored, make sure to introduce them outside the cage, where there is no scent of the current rat, and make sure to clean out the cage to erase the scent too, Remember a rats life span is 1-3 yrs,  as for the cage i have a black one too thats a rabbit cage with an igloo and i house two boys in there, but just in case this is a rat cage calculator

http://kristinewickstrom.homestead.com/f... i have owned many rats if you need anything else just email me