Sam
Well-Known Member
Hi, I recently bought 2 very large bird cages and attached them to my existing cage where I've been keeping 2 females. Using the rat cage calculator that doesn't use height but takes into account shelf space instead, I found that my Frankencage can hold 4 rats, 5 maximum.
About a week ago, I adopted a girl and they've all been getting along soooo well. They are all around a year old. I have them all in one cage and didn't quarantine the new girl because the SPCA assured me that the rat had been living alone with no other rats in the building for 4 months and I had taken her to the vet for a checkup before taking her home.
My situation is: I now have to option to adopt a 19 month old boy from a friend who cannot kept him. He is neutered. One thing that kinda scares me about him is that he is fed treats through the bars of his cage, so he bites fingers when they go near his cage. I put my hand up against the cage for him to sniff it and he leaped and ATTACKED it, biting me really hard, drawing LOTS of blood. He seems to be a very nervous (maybe even aggressive?) rat but I think that's because he lives alone.
My questions are: What are some things that I need to consider before adopting a fourth rat? Is there much of a difference between caring for 3 and caring for 4 rats? Also, he is quite a bit bigger than my girls, will he pick on them? Or will they eventually get along after some work with intros and such? (He is neutered.) The thing I am most concerned about is not being able to make them all get along. How big of a chance is there of three unspayed girls not getting along with a neutered male who seems a little aggressive? I don't want to take the rat if I'm not able to give it a better life.
I also wanted to point out that I have read a lot about the differences between boys and girls and have tried to do as much research on my own as possible. I just want to make sure I know what I'm getting myself into.
Thank you :bow:
Update
Hey,
So I've adopted the male rat and have introduced him to my girls. They all seem... scared of him. He doesn't really show any aggression towards them. He backs his bum into them sometimes though. He goes up and sniffs the girls but they just run off or go all stiff. One of my girls screams and screams when he goes near her. The girls seem to be the nervous ones, the boy seems perfectly comfortable... what's up with that??
About a week ago, I adopted a girl and they've all been getting along soooo well. They are all around a year old. I have them all in one cage and didn't quarantine the new girl because the SPCA assured me that the rat had been living alone with no other rats in the building for 4 months and I had taken her to the vet for a checkup before taking her home.
My situation is: I now have to option to adopt a 19 month old boy from a friend who cannot kept him. He is neutered. One thing that kinda scares me about him is that he is fed treats through the bars of his cage, so he bites fingers when they go near his cage. I put my hand up against the cage for him to sniff it and he leaped and ATTACKED it, biting me really hard, drawing LOTS of blood. He seems to be a very nervous (maybe even aggressive?) rat but I think that's because he lives alone.
My questions are: What are some things that I need to consider before adopting a fourth rat? Is there much of a difference between caring for 3 and caring for 4 rats? Also, he is quite a bit bigger than my girls, will he pick on them? Or will they eventually get along after some work with intros and such? (He is neutered.) The thing I am most concerned about is not being able to make them all get along. How big of a chance is there of three unspayed girls not getting along with a neutered male who seems a little aggressive? I don't want to take the rat if I'm not able to give it a better life.
I also wanted to point out that I have read a lot about the differences between boys and girls and have tried to do as much research on my own as possible. I just want to make sure I know what I'm getting myself into.
Thank you :bow:
Update
Hey,
So I've adopted the male rat and have introduced him to my girls. They all seem... scared of him. He doesn't really show any aggression towards them. He backs his bum into them sometimes though. He goes up and sniffs the girls but they just run off or go all stiff. One of my girls screams and screams when he goes near her. The girls seem to be the nervous ones, the boy seems perfectly comfortable... what's up with that??
Although we never got him intro'd into our group before he passed, he did eventually gain his trust and showed him he didnt have to attack everything in the cage. Took quite a few grabs, a few cuts that looked like they needed stitched but he eventually turned into the most friendliest cuddle bug. I used to load his cage up with food (Id have to toss it in) and just put my hand on the floor of the cage and play with the bedding while he ate. Moved things around and showed him my hand didnt mean food. Shai was severely food agressive after being starved for a week. It took about a month and a half but boy was he worth it. Good luck, I say go get the guy. Its so rewarding when you try for so long to help these rats be rats, and then they do.
