Is my rat being too aggressive?

Question

I got a rat about three weeks ago, and I thought she could use a friend, she not aggressive or anything so I got another female for her to get to know, they have two sperate cages that are attached by a tube. Anyway I just got the second rat today and she is really shy and maybe nervous, and when my second rat just stays in her house and doesn't do anything my first rat, pushes her, jumps on her, and my second rat makes little but occasional light squeaks, is my first rat hurting her? Should I just let them work it out? My first rat goes into the seconds cage but wont let the second one do the same is that noraml? There hasn't been any blood but still should I keep them apart and just let them have occasional meetings until they get to know eachother better?

Answer 1

You should put the two cages next to each other, without the tube, for a week or so, so they can get used to each other being there. Then, you should let them meet each other somewhere other than their cages like in a small enclosed area. Finally, after they have gotten used to each other, you could put the tube back, connecting the two cages and they should be fine.

Answer 2

she sounds a little aggressive. and she sounds like she is trying to establish the dominance issue. making sure that her point of being boss gets across. i would keep them separate over night and let them meet when u are watching. if fights occur way to often in awhile or ur first rat continues this behavior  i would keep the separate permanently.

Answer 3

This is a hard question. I would just seperate them, but at the same time, let them be able to get warmed up to eachother.

Answer 4

Well first of all, if you ever get another rat you should know that you're supposed to quarantine them in another air space (such as at a friends house) for three weeks. Rats have some very serious viruses they can pass to each other.

You can't just put two new rats together, you need to introduce them slowly. You should read the two links below for details on how to introduce them properly.

http://ratfanclub.org/newrat.html

http://fatratcentral.com/interacting-wit...

Also, what kind of cage are you using? Most cages that have tubes connected to them are hamster cages which are WAY too small for rats.

Cage calculator so you know if the cage is big enough.

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

And yes, you should keep them apart until you introduce them properly.