Tips on introducing rats?

Question

i have a female rat who is around 1yrs and i want to get her a cage buddy. can i introduce her to a young rat? or will she attack it? will it work if i introduce them slowly?

please help. it worked with my male rats (introducing them slowely) one was 2 1/2 and the other was a few months old and they got along. im not sure if females are different?

Answer 1

Well, first of all, you need to create neutral ground. In other words, ground that neither of them claim as "their" territory. Or else, this will cause fights. It also needs to be contained so that neither of them can flee if they feel there is danger. I reccommend buying a shallow kiddie pool at your local WalMart (they're really cheap). Fill the bottom with bedding, like you would with a cage. Place all of the rats in the pool and let them check things out. Only do this for about 5-10 minutes. Repeat this procedure everyday. Then, every 5-7 days, add 5 or 10 minutes to their "play" time. Feel free to add toys after a couple of visits. They should get along just fine then. If any violent acts take place, shorten the visits again. If these continue to occur, it may just be that they aren't ready yet, or they'll never be ready. You really can't force them to be friends, you can only try. Hope this helps!

Answer 2

If anything females are /easier/ to introduce!

I'd recommend getting another rat from a reputable breeder or rescue as pet store rats are often ill or, in the case of females, pregnant. Plus, you don't want to support pet stores and their mills or backyard breeders:

http://www.petinfopackets.com/rats/ratin...

http://www.petinfopackets.com/rats/ratin...

Always make sure to quarantine a new rat:

http://www.petinfopackets.com/rats/rathe...

Before doing introductions slowly and on neutral ground:

http://ratguide.com/care/behavior/introd...

http://www.ratfanclub.org/newrat.html

http://www.ratpalace.com/rat-articles/ra...

Answer 3

Introducing rats is a tricky thing. First you need to quarunteen her for at least a couple of weeks. She could have lice, mites or any type of respitory infection. After you quarunteen her a great place to introduce rats is in a bathtub. Its nuetral so neither rat is fighing for there space. Most of the times female rats wont fight. Alot of older females will try to baby the smaller ones. Clean them and the like. You can put them in the bathtub and see how they each act. After a few times of doing this if there isnt any fights you should be ok. The only time I have ever seen rats go at it is a fight for dominace or space issues. If your rat isnt unusually aggresive you should be ok putting them together.  Oh and to answer your other question I know from experience I have raised both males and females and it seems to me that its easier introducing females than males. Good luck.

Answer 4

Hi,

Get the rat u have at the moment and take them out the cage introduce the new rat but have them both on ur lap and let them sniff each other and see how it goes. Becoz ur there u can stop them from fightin. Try that but if possible have another cage for the new one.

Hope i helped :S

Answer 5

it's fine to introduce it to another rat. just when you do it, do it slow. put them somewhere where neither of them have ever been, let them be there for about 20 minutes. watch over them the whole time. alittle rough housing is alrite as long as neiter squeaks or looks like one's getting hurt. if ones getting hurt take it away for a few hours or a day then try again. if one squeaks while they're together and isn't even being hurt just means it's cranky, so seperate them for a few hours then try again. do that 3 times a day, a few hours apart. make sure to watch the whole time. after 3-5 days of getting along, without hurting eacother, completly clean the cage, with NO soap, just water and a rag. clean the food and water dish/bottle and clean any toys if they can be cleaned. then put in fresh food, water, and fresh bedding. put them both in the cage at the same time, and watch them for about an hour. again, rough housing is fine. just as long as one's not getting hurt. and just watch over them fo a few days, and if nothing happens your good

Answer 6

It should work if you introduce them slowly. let them see each other and see how they get along without being in the same cage. continue doing this and when you think they are ready try placing them together. Watch them very carefully and be ready to separate them in case anything did happen. Also make sure that there is nothing for them to argue about, like cage size (make sure it's a good size) and also that they have enough food.

Hope this helps.