I have 2 older female rats 2 + yrs old, I want to get another female rat but it's young and I was wondering if they will get along? One of the rats is always nice the other is a little territorial towards people. What do you guys think?
I dont want to get a new rat and not be able to put it in the cage, you know? That would suck.
It might be best to get 2 babies, since your older ones are at the end of their life span (or they may live another year, you never know), but if they pass away then you will have to go thru the whole procedure over again so your youngest won't be left alone. Putting younger rats with older ones is usually easier because the dominance of the older rats is pretty much guaranteed. Don't forget to quarantine the new rat (s) to make sure they don't bring in anything that could harm your older girls. Then the introduction should be gradual, place the new girls cage next to the older ones cage but not so they can touch, but just smell each other, then after a couple days of this you put the older ones in the new cage and the younger ones in the other cage so they can smell the new rats and make their own mark in the new territories. After you have done this a few times, give them baths, put some vanilla extract on them all and put them in the bathtub or some other neutral territory where you can easily control what is going on. As long as there isn't any blood shed they should be fine, scuffles are going to happen though. Do this a few times and then wash the main cage, rearrange things so it looks different, put some vanilla extract in the cage and on the rats and put them in. Hopefully all goes well, if not, try from the beginning again.
I have had over 20 rats and as many as 12 at any given point and have only ever had one problem intro in all that time. Introductions are rarely difficult in my experience. The younger they are the easier it is. I usually clean out the cage and throughly disinfect it. Using a scented cleaner or deodorizing spray help return the cage to neutral ground. I wipe all the rats down with a baby wipe and smear a little yogurt/peanut butter behind their ears. I the rats back to the refreshed cage and let them meet each other. They are all miffed that they have been 'cleaned' and that there is goop behind their ears. Too difficult to reach but good tasting they are usually fast friends as they work to clean each other off and discover what appears to be a brand new cage together. I suspect your girls will have few problems accepting a baby.
This guy has been asking what we think of his rats, and they are great btw .... He had 2 older pet shop rats and he has just introduced them to 4, 4 week old rats and they got on perfect .. .
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
See for urself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trbGjKEqH ...
just make sure the rat isnt so small that if they did not like eachother, your other rat might eat it, or over power it. other wise, it wud b fine
