I have a pet rat.......?

Question

I have only 1 rat, is it ok to buy another one? It's going to be younger and the same gender. So do I have to separate them at first and then put the rat in the same cage?

Answer 1

It can be done in time.  If you put them in together right away they will mostly like kill each other.  I've posted a link for you to read.

Answer 2

Yes it is ok to buy another rat and probably better. Rats are very smart and extremely social animals. So even though you might spend loads of time with them they need the socialization of another of there kind. Thats why you should always buy them in pairs. You definatly need to quarunteen the new one that you get. There are a couple of illnesses that your new rat could bring home. So you need to quarunteen it for no less than a week before you even think of putting them together. You need to quarunteen them in different rooms of the house so that they arnt breathing each others air. One of these illnesses are:

Sialodacryoadenitis, pronounced si-al-o-dac-re-o-ad-e-ni-tis, (SDA Virus) is a naturally occurring pathogen in rats. It is a coronavirus antigenically related to the mouse hepatitis virus (MHV), rat coronavirus (RCV), and the human coronavirus OC38.

Clinical disease caused by this agent alone is self-limiting and is highly infectious, causing most or all of the colony to show signs of disease with very few deaths resulting. But, if it is exacerbated by any other virus or bacterial infection, which, unfortunately in our pet population, most often is, the mortality rate changes significantly. Although most veterinary books say it is primarily seen in young rats, older rats, with or without previous mycoplasmal infections, seem to be the hardest hit and can die within a very short period of time. You cannot treat for this disease, but immediate treatment for any secondary bacterial infection is the only hope for some affected animals.

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TRANSMISSION

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SDA is passed very quickly through the air, or by direct contact, when one rat comes in contact with another’s respiratory secretions. It can also be passed via fomites, meaning that you can handle an infected animal and then handle another, thereby passing it to the uninfected rat. These animals may not always be showing symptoms of SDA while able to transmit the disease, so it is very important that you do not handle rats in pet shops, at friends’ houses, or at shows without washing your hands with a disinfectant, and even changing your clothes before handling your own rats again.

It is always recommended to quarantine any new rats, or rats you have taken to a show for at least two weeks prior to introducing them back into your colony. Although this may be successful, it is still possible for your quarantined colony to be infected unless you can quarantine the new animals in another building. Rooms sharing the same air in the house are not adequate for quarantining when disease is spread through the air.

Infected animals carry and secrete the virus for about a week. The disease can occur frequently in a particular population, but the organism does not exist in a latent, carrier state.

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POSSIBLE SYMPTOMS

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I have purposely called this section "Possible Symptoms" because many people think they couldn’t possibly have had SDA run through their rats because they didn’t see all the so-called “signs” of SDA. I strongly recommend that, no matter what virus or bacterial infection you have run through your colony, you make it a point NOT to breed for a specified period of time and NOT to bring in any new blood. Unless you can afford to have your animals tested and know exactly what has infected them, don’t take any chances. Make sure you protect your rats and those of friends and aquaintances around you. Don’t sell any of your rats until all symptoms are gone and be sure to let the buyer know that you have just had an illness run though your colony. Be honest and up front about everything. Be responsible. Remember, lives of innocent animals are at stake and only you can prevent the spread of disease from your rattery.

Having said all of that, the following are symptoms that are possible signs of SDA. All symptoms need not be present for SDA to be the cause of illness in your rattery. Remember, the clinical signs (symptoms) vary widely in severity from colony to colony, and from one infection to another at different times.

Sneezing.

Porphyrin-pigmented nasal and ocular (eye) discharge.

Swelling under the neck (caused by cervical edema, enlarged cervical lymph nodes, and necrotic inflamed salivary glands).

Squinting, blinking, and eye rubbing.

Swelling or infection of the eyes or surrounding eye tissues.

Ulcers of the cornea.

Bleeding into the chamber of the eye that lies in front of the lens.

These are symptoms of SDA and may be seen for several weeks in your colony, but each individual rat will only show them for a week. (You are likely to see many other symptoms during an outbreak which are caused by secondary infection.) Self-mutilation may occur as a result of scratching affected eyes, and damage can be permanent. Some young rats may even remove the eyeball altogether. Most other eye lesions usually resolve, but occasionally may progress to chronic inflammation of the cornea, and abnormal enlargement of the eyeball itself.

During the infection rats usually remain active and eating, although acutely infected rats will lose their appetite and some females may not go into season. During the pneumonic phase of the disease, rats may be at a much higher risk of dying while under general anesthesia.

Now after the quarunteen period is over and the other one shows no signs of sickness then the best place to introduce new rats to each other is in a bathtub. Neither owns that territory so neither rat is liable to fight over it. After you have introduced your rats 3 or 4 times like this and have had no fights you should be fine putting them together in the same cage. Hope I have helped some and good luck.

Answer 3

definitely get another rat.  rats that are kept alone will get lonely and depressed without a companion to play with -- not to mention another rat to help groom them, etc.  rats are super smart, and need something to do all day when you can't spend time with them, so another rat is a great way to keep them from getting too bored and unhappy.

Answer 4

It's great to get another. Rats who are alone aren't nearly as happy as those with company.

Prodigy is absolutely right. Quarantining is very important. While I got lucky and did not bring a rat with the Sendai virus (a big concern; so sorry for your losses prodigy) into my home, I did bring in a rat who had mites. This was before I knew much about rats and quarantining, and it ended up costing me quite a bit in vet bills to get rid of them. Make sure to keep them in separate areas of the house (better to have them in different houses, if you can, but it's not always possible). Separate floors is best. Always wash your hands after handling one and going to another, change your clothes as well.

After a minimum of 3 weeks of quarantine, you can introduce them. Take it slow. Put their cages next to one another so they can see & smell each other for a while. Then you can switch their cages for a few minutes, just so they can get the scent of the other. After you've done this, introduce them somewhere neutral. The bathtub is usually the place people recommend, or the bathroom in general. Do this a few times for at least 20 minutes at a time, and observe their behavior. If they seem to get along (a bit of wrestling is normal) you can move on to introducing them somewhere that your older rat plays. Your bed, your room, wherever you bring him when he's out of the cage. Again, observe them, keep them out a while, do this a few times. If they get along here, you're ready to introduce them in the cage. Clean it thoroughly, and clean all of the toys and everything in it to get rid of the other rat's scent. Watch them very closely during this time, and if things get rough and someone draws blood go back a step or two and go more slowly. It's a process and you have to have patience, but rats usually love company once they are used to the newcomer!

Answer 5

when i had a rat i only had one but it is best to have 2, same gender. i do not think it matters about age, and i think they will be fine. just watch them together for the first 10 minutes to see how they are getting along. Best of luck, rats are lovely pets!

Answer 6

of course you can buy another  rat as long as he isnt too much younger. you will need 2 of every thing food dishes, water bottles, toys, ect... you will need quite a big cage for such small creatures like these ones.: http://www.dapper.com.au/grotto.htm                http://www.dapper.com.au/cages.htm  you can build them out of wood or cabinets (here is the site on how to build them! http://www.dapper.com.au/cagebuild.htm) and the rats should have plenty of toys and hammocks!  this is a really fun page for rat toys...:http://www.dapper.com.au/toys.htm rats are cute smart and fun!!

here are just some helpful hints for you! females tend to get tumors so you should have some "emergency" money set aside for vet bills!  females get periods when they are about 6 weeks but it will stop after about a year or earlier! (sometimes they will even "hump" the cagemates but nothing will happen if they are both females!) never get a tank for the cage because there is not enough ventilation! always get carefresh bedding and never pine or cedar or any shavings!' here are some of my favorite links about rats! http://ratguide.com/ http://www.petrat.info/ http://www.ratfanclub.org/helpinfo.html                                                            best of luck!                                                                             gymnast88

EDIT: quarintine the rat when you first get it home for about two to three days to make sure it is not sick! here is how to  introduce new rats,... : http://www.fancy-rats.co.uk/information/...

Answer 7

it's possible but it will take time.  Start out by purchasing another cage for your new one.  You should allow for some quarantine time, to observe the new rat in case he/she has an illness so it doesn't spread to the resident rat. check for red fluid coming from the eyes, which is the sign of a respiratory infection

The quarantine time also gives your new rat some time to mellow out and be more receptive to a new friend.

they should not be in the same room at this time.

set the cages beside on another, close enough so they can smell and see one another but far enough, in case their tails come out of their cages, to not be reached by the other.  leave them like that for a week

after that week, swap the rats to the others cage so they get accustomed to the smell of each other.  Leave them like that for another week.

when that week is up. use a neutral territory for an introduction, such as a bathtub, or large cardboard box.  See how it goes, but have thick gloves handy just in case you have to break up a fight.  If the introduction goes well, clean the cage they will be housed in very thoroughly, removing all scent.  Rearrange their toys, food dish, so it doesn't look like home to the resident rat. Some mild fighting may still take place to establish the pecking order.

if a fight breaks out, replace them in their seperate cages, and give them another week

this method has not failed me, it works for all rodents that like cage mates.  It could take as little as two weeks to as much as a month.

Answer 8

depends on what gender male more dominate female maybe

Answer 9

Your going to want to quarantine the new rat for at least a month. It can take a month for certain illnesses to show up. I learned the hard way that quarantine is essential, when a new rat I bought had Sendai virus and killed off all but one of my 13, and since I was not quarantining I was brining in new rats that were also becoming ill and dieing.

After quarantine is over, you should slowly introduce them on neutral ground(ex-bathtub,etc). Give it a few days of meeting together for an hour or so and then introduce in one of the cages. Be sure to clean out the cage well and get rid of the "territory" of the old rat.

of all the rats I have had, I only had trouble with two or three intros. I found males were a lot more difficult to introduce than females. The females usually only took a few hours together before they were ready to be introduced into the cage.

When you get them together watch for fighting. Normal squabbling is normal and necessary for pack order. If they are not drawing blood than it is usually fine, but use your discretion. If it gets too bad then separate and try again another day.

Answer 10

i have 10 rats and two cages they are great together and alone make sure you keep the female seperated if you get another one i learned that the hard way.