How to intro new rat
HappyStitcher
is adorable, and we love her to pieces. She has so much personality,
and is so smart it's scary! We did a lot of research and after
reading everything about having at least "2" rats, we got another one.
We are trying to introduce them. The 2nd rat is a bit bigger, and she
seems to be a biter. Whenever you put your hand hear her, she chomps,
and not a little "love bite" either. Is this something that she will
stop soon? First I don't want bitten, and I don't want her to bite
our daughter whose fingers are much smaller! second, I'm afraid to
put her in a cage with the other rat as I'm concerned about her biting
Fancy Pants as well.
Right now I have them in cages set about 6 inches apart. They can
smell each other, but can't touch! I read to do this, and then put
something from the other's ones cage into their cage for the smell as
well. But I'm really concerned with the biting, so want to see what
we can do about that first. They are both about 8 weeks old
(according to the Pet Store). THanks!
Andrea
news:e3uf8411t6oq9b2k8...@4ax.com...
> We just joined the world of "rat owners" recently. Our "fancy pants"
> is adorable, and we love her to pieces. She has so much personality,
> and is so smart it's scary! We did a lot of research and after
> reading everything about having at least "2" rats, we got another one.
> We are trying to introduce them. The 2nd rat is a bit bigger, and she
> seems to be a biter. Whenever you put your hand hear her, she chomps,
> and not a little "love bite" either. Is this something that she will
> stop soon?
Hi, I can't advice on the biting as I haven't had a biter. Have you made any
progress?
When I introduced a new friend to my older two, I kept them in seperate
cages, as you have, but let them play together out of the cages (on the
sofa) while supervising. After about a week of playing together every day, I
let the new one go in the elders cage and visa versa (all supervised) for
visits until I felt confident enough (through watching how they interacted)
to leave them together overnight. Short squeaks while playing are normal and
not to be worried about.( she says nonchalantly, as if they never had *her*
jumping up to save the baby) :)
If you heard a blood-curdling prolonged squeal, jump in quickly to seperate.
Good luck!
Andrea
HappyStitcher
I still have them in separate cages next to each other. The #2 rat
(the one we bought as a companion), whose name is Peanut Butter, still
seems to want to bite, but not quite as much. She is rather hyper
(not that they aren't both), and wants to zoom away from us, while
Fancy Pants (first rat we got) will stray somewhat and then run back
towards a person. I'm going to let them out together in the tub I
think and see what happens, I'm just so scared that Peanut butter, who
is bigger, will hurt her. Will keep progress posted, and certainly
would appreciate any long-time rat owners advice! Thanks. Jamie
The Rat Lord
i think you're taking the right approach: slow and easy, but always pushing
it a bit further.