i've had my rat, marley, for about 6 months. since i feel bad for always being gone and not playing with her so much, i was considering getting a new one to keep her company. is it ok to put them in the same cage?
2007-02-17 13:08:42 · 8 answers · asked by Chloe~ 1 in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
Your older girl will eventually accept a young friend of 12 weeks of age, as females are more accepting of new friends then males, but introductions have to be slow and steady.
Do not put the young one in with Marley, yet. Are you confident in the baby's health from whomever you are getting her from? If not the baby needs to be quarantined away from Marley, out of your house if possible, for at least 3 weeks. This will assess the baby's health. You are watching for mites, mycoplasmosis, SDA, or Sendai. If the baby remains healthy, and yes, there is stress from settling into a new home, you can start the intros. Best not to throw either one of them into intros too soon. Marley's had you all to herself for 6 months now, and now you will be splitting your attention between the two of them. Think of dogs or cats when they are introduced to new friends and it's the same for rats.
Start by housing the baby in another cage. A hamster cage will do because she will still be small and it's only temporary. Place the cages far apart and each day bring the cages closer together. Keep an eye on Marley's behavior. Mild curiosity, staring in the new girl's direction, and sniffing the air are all acceptable behaviors. Bristled hair and angrily scratching at the bars as if she is saying, "let me at her, let me moidelize the little runt", is not.
There's a lot more to intros. It needs to be taken in steps to be successful. In the end there could still be roughness as Marley shows the youngster who's the boss. But if we keep in touch I can help you every step of the way.
More on introducing your rats:
http://search.yahoo.com/search?search=Introducing+rats&ei=UTF-8&fr=ks-ans&ico-yahoo-search-value=http%3A%2F%2Frds.yahoo.com%2F_ylt%3DAscYqL80.x8jy71l3_Mj6BgazKIX%2FSIG%3D111gjvvgj%2F*-http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.yahoo.com%2Fsearch&ico-wikipedia-search-value=http%3A%2F%2Frds.yahoo.com%2F_ylt%3DAsuRZXHyX3jz_HHQlFel4xgazKIX%2FSIG%3D11ia1qo58%2F**http%253a%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FSpecial%253aSearch&p=Introducing+rats
Hey, "elena l", what's wrong with having 47 rats? :D I have around 80 at any given time and we're just one big happy rat family. LOL!
Sandra Beasley and the Spaz Rats
(Rattery, Rescue, and Rat-care Expert)
http://spazrats.tripod.com
"My life has gone to the rats"
2007-02-17 20:54:44 · answer #1 · answered by spazrats 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
that is a yes and no answer.a rat needs to be with another rat, but always remember rats are very territorial. if you buy a new rat let them meet slowly, buy a lil cage and put it beside the other cage for at least one week so that way they can get to know each other. after that put them together they might fight a bit but that is normal. please remember to always buy the same sex animal when it comes to critters!!! trust me i have 47 rats and you don't want that. good luck
2007-02-17 22:07:25 · answer #2 · answered by elena l 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your rat is a female? If this new one is a female also it may be possible. With males, definitely not. Try and get as young of a rat as you can and not an older one and it could work. Just keep your eye on them. Watch for bites/scabs on the tails. You may need to separate them. Good luck.
2007-02-17 22:15:48 · answer #3 · answered by pobrecita 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Usually if you put a new rat with one that always lived alone, the old one will kill the new one. I have seen this first hand.
2007-02-17 21:12:39 · answer #4 · answered by Triplndy 2 · 0⤊ 3⤋
NOOOOO!!!! do not put them in the same cage
rats are very territorial
u should have bought both rats at the same time
2007-02-17 21:17:00 · answer #5 · answered by SassyGirlyGirl 2 · 0⤊ 3⤋
you'll have to quarentine the new one for a while so you will need a space for that. you'll have to introduce them in a neitral space after that and if they don't fight then it's ok.
2007-02-18 14:59:37 · answer #6 · answered by MommyCaleb 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it depends. make sure they are the same kind. make sure they are the same gender too. there is a small chance they will kill each other.
2007-02-17 21:12:37 · answer #7 · answered by leigh 2 · 0⤊ 3⤋
yeah i think so. but if you see them fighting and biting each other immediately seperate them or it could turn pretty nasty
2007-02-17 21:11:52 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋