rat help?please?

Question

okay, so i've had my newest rat for about 2 weeks and he is still a baby. i was told that they NEED another rat to live with, so i decided to get him a friend. i fell in love with a baby boy and let them meet at the store, they seemed to get along..when i brought them home i let them play in the tub...the older one (rocky)attacked the new baby at least 3 times.. i put them in the cage and he attacked him again. i now have them separated in their cage and i don't know what to do? i don't want to take the newest one back but i don't want to separate them forever..that would start my whole problem again :( please help me?
and also if you have any name suggestions? he's a boy..
http://i14.tinypic.com/4ygqlnc.jpg

please help me:(
ill give you best answer if your serious and know what your talking about please..

Answer 1

I need to ask you some questions before I can give you a proper answer. As a rat-care specialist I feel that I should have the big picture first.

When you took Rocky to the store he was out of his territory, therefore he had no reason to be aggressive towards a new boy. At home you put the new boy into Rocky's cage. Now there is reason for Rocky to be upset. The intro was too soon, too fast. Some of the other advice that you are receiving here is asking you to put the boys together too soon. Intros take time and patience on your part or they will never be friends.

Now that you have your ratties at your home, please do not take them back to the pet store, even for a visit. At any time the pet store rats can get an illness that can be passed onto your boys should your boys be exposed to them, and visa versa.
http://www.ratsociety.org/quarantine.html

Are you sure they are fighting? Is there blood being drawn? Is there shrieking coming from the cage when they are together? Is the new boy cowering in fear? Are you seeing any of the behaviors, as listed here, in your rats?
http://www.ratbehavior.org/Aggression.htm

How old is your boy that you have had for 2 weeks?
How old is the new baby?
It is very odd for rats under 12 weeks old to be fighting already. It could be that the older boy is telling the younger boy who the boss is with some rough-housing and power-grooming. This does look like fighting if you don't understand rat behavior. This is normal, but it sends new rat-keepers on edge. The following will tell you how rats play together.
http://www.ratbehavior.org/RatPlay.htm

Did both the boys come from the same pet store? If not there needs to be a quarantine period for the health of both boys.
http://www.rmca.org/Articles/quarantine.htm

Were they, at one time, in the same cage together, or are they from the same store but from two separate cages?

Ok, let's start over. For now keep each boy in a separate cage, and put the new boy in another room. Each has to calm down, get use to their surroundings, and get use to you.

E-mail me [e-mail] in 3 days and together we will start the introductions that will bond the boys for life. This can work, it will just take longer then you expected. In this period of 3 days take a handful of bedding from each cage and switch the bedding into the other's cage.

Wait for awhile and the new boy will tell you his name :)
I find naming rats a very personal thing. I've named over 200 rats in the last 11 years.

spazrats
"my life has gone to the rats"

Answer 2

Ok, clean the cage out completely so it doesn't have the scent of the older rat in it. Re introduce them on a neutral turf like your bed or couch. Let them play and sniff each other for a while. Get the old cage all set back up. Make sure to wash everything that went in the cage as well. Put them both in a the same time. Let them play and sniff each other inside the cage. I would leave the baby in there unless he looks like hes in big trouble. You may need to keep them separated for a month or so until the baby gets bigger and can hold his own against the older one. Another suggestion I have is to keep the 2 cages right next to each other so that they can sniff each other throught the cage while the baby is getting bigger.
I don't know what else to tell you, I know it's frustrating, just hang in there

Answer 3

Hey It's No*no
I think you should separate them for a little while. Put their cages next to each other, so they can get used to seeing each other. And when you think the time is right. Bring them back together. And it that doesn't work. You know what you have to do. My cousin had to fishes. A&B. A was very nice and sweet. B was the devil. Every time someone came close to the tank he rammed it. And he kept attacking A. My cousin said that eventually B would like A. But time pasted. And the attacks got more viscious. And one day my cousin woke up, and A was floating at the top of the tank. She was so heart broken. Then she gave B away. But do you see what I'm saying? Don't let the blood of a little rat be on your hands. Make the right decision. For your rats sake. P.S. E-mail me with your results. G.B.

Answer 4

first of all how did he attack? copy an past this link it espains alot about behavior. did the other rat do a belly-up roll? it is probaly a lets get aquanted and a oh yeah I am the Boss. put cages cose togetner so they can get the sent. hold one then the other new rat first to get the sent on you.but most of all give thm a little time after all you dont goand ive with the lady you meet at the store do you? Heres the link. Good luck rats make wonderfull pets!!

http://www.ratbehavior.org/RatPlay.htm

Answer 5

Well of course they were OK at the shop, Rocky wasn't in his territory. But as soon as someone invades his home he'll get defensive. So what you need to do is, put the babies scent, either urine or his bedding into Rocky's cage for about a week. That way he'll get used to the babies scent. Then he should be OK with the baby inside of his cage. Just remember, Rocky is the boss, Its his home. Just give them time and each time Rocky attacks the baby, put him in time out. But don't put them together for about a week or so. Just try what I told you. Good luck.

Answer 6

It is easiest to introduce rats to their companions when they are young (preferably under 10 weeks old). However, even adult rats can be introduced to companions. When introducing adult rats, first clean out the cage thoroughly to remove territorial scents from the resident rat. Dab both rats with perfume or vanilla essence (to disguise their smells) and introduce them on neutral territory, not in a cage which one recognises as its own. There will usually be some fighting for the first few days after they are introduced. This is not usually serious, but to avoid it you may prefer to introduce them gradually, letting them first just sniff each other and then work up to putting them in the same cage over about a week. It is harder to introduce adult male rats to other adult males, and such introductions need to be done over several weeks. It is usually fairly easy to introduce an adult male to a young baby male of 6-10 weeks, although the introduction must be carefully supervised

Answer 7

Start over. Keep them separated for a few days, but where they can see and smell each other. Then, move the older rat into the newer rat's cage, so he is not defending his territory -- and watch them closely. If they still fight, they may never be able to live together, I'm afraid. You could try neutering the older one or even both of them -- it's a good idea to neuter them anyway if you can.

Thank you for taking good care of your ratties. They're great little pets.

Answer 8

i hate to tell you this, but you shouldn't have just dropped them in the cage together and expected them to get along. the oldest rat that you have is just defending HIS territory against the new rat. also, you shouldn't have introduced them right away, you put your first rat's health at risk.
you are suppose to "quarantine" new rats for a minimum of at least 3 weeks. this is to watch your "new" rat and see if he is healthy and not going to give your new rat any type of illnesses. males are harder to introduce because they tend to be more territorial. i'm no expert on boys because i only have females, however i know of someone on here that can help you. her name is Sandra, and she goes by spazrats. i know that she has at LEAST 50 ratties of her own and is extremely devoted to rats and their care.
i will give you her web link along with some others so that you can better familiarize yourself with rat care and the behavior of rats.
also, yahoo has some wonderful groups that you can join and you can talk to other owners of rats.

Answer 9

Wash out the cage with some baking soda and water so that the older one's smell is completely gone from it. Then put in a cleaned out food dish and water bottle. A place for them to hide. It's probably a dominance thing.

Answer 10

You've already got some excellent advice here & I've never introduced boys (our boys are litter-mates).
I just wanted to mention that it took our hairless girl 2 weeks before she stopped huffing @ our hooded girl (when their cages were put side by side) although the hairless immediately became friends with our (much older) siamese girl.