Getting New baby! How to reduce stress?

[horselo285]

Hi!

So, I am finally getting the new baby. I have been on the waiting list since before she was born and I am so excited! I was hoping to get two so I could quarantine them together, but that didn't work out. :-(

I had talked to some people on here before who felt that since the babies have not been around any new rats since birth, it would be safe to put one straight in with my girls so that she is not alone. Since I was unable to get a second one (not alot of girls- they were all reserved. I am lucky I got her) this is what I am planning on doing.

I do have an extra cage in case there are any issues, but I don't want her to be alone. Any tips to make introductions go smoothly would be appreciated! My older girls are about 5 months old. This baby will be 6 weeks old when I get her.

I have introduced rats in the past, but never so young. I would greatly appreciate any tips.

Also, any tips on how to reduce stress for my new baby girl? Should I handle her more/less? Any other ideas?

Thanks so much!

 

[trihkal]

Congrats on your new girl you must be so excited!

I see where you're coming from but honestly it seems that putting a new baby girl in with your older girls right away doesn't seem like the best idea. In my opinion it is still taking a risk by not quarantining her. Also I've read some horror stories from people who tried to rush the intros. It doesn't seem like a safe option for the girls you already have and for the new girl.

 

[jorats]

Not only is quarantine a good idea, but placing such a young rat with adults can cause the older ones to attack if they don't get the proper intros. We always recommend doing intros with babies at 8 weeks. We've seen numerous times where adults attack and kill babies. They are after all an intruder.
So, quarantine your baby for 2 weeks in a separate room, then start intros on neutral ground with the residents.

 

[SQ]

too bad you couldn't get at least two babies ....

 

[horselo285]

Ugh- I don't have a way to quarantine her in a separate air space. I do have my double level critter nation split up, so I had figured if there was an issue, I would put her in there.

I had figured this was okay as the baby has never been around any new rats.

I e-mailed the breeder to let her know that if any of the other female buyers fall through, that I will take another. They are all spoken for as of now and I barely got this one (there was someone ahead of me for her, but they fell through).

What can I do to make this situation work? Advice would definitely be appreciated!

Should I start introductions slowly and see what happens? Should I just wait? I thought I had this all figured out...but apparentely I didnt. :-(

Go me...I can plan something for weeks and still screw it up...great :-(

 

[SQ]

You need to wait before starting physical intros until she is at least 8 weeks old, 10 weeks would be better.
Ortherwise, there is a good chance the baby will be killed.
You could try to get a baby or two (3 months or younger) from a rescue or an accidental/pet store surprise litter, if you are sure that there is no risk of SDA or any of the other airborn, often terminal, diseases.
Does Mainley Rat Rescue adopt out in your area?

 

[horselo285]

I have a question. Wouldn't 5 months still be considered babies? I talked to a couple of rat people in my area and both said that introductions should be fine as my females are non aggressive and young and that there are not many of them in the cage.

I was told that if it was a more established cage of many older females, that it would be a different story and that introductions would have to wait until at least 8 weeks, maybe more.

I was also told to do initial intros in a nuetral spot, such as the bathtub. Rub the baby with dirt bedding from the adult rat cage and carfully put them together in the neutral territory. I was told that normally this goes very smoothly and that my other rats will most likely accept her easily and may even be motherly to her.

 

[SQ]

3 months and younger are babies.
Your girls are teens.
Babies girls stay with mom until at least 6 weeks old .... so if your breeder kept her with her mama and sisters long enough, you only need to wait 2 weeks before you start neutral area intros ... like in a bathtub.
While you are waiting (once your quarintine is over), you can get them used to one anothers smell by exchanging cloths, etc

 

[trihkal]

What if your new baby stays at the breeders until she's 6-8 weeks old allowing her to be with playmates then do your two weeks of quarantine before introducing her to the colony?

 

[jorats]

I have a question. Wouldn't 5 months still be considered babies? I talked to a couple of rat people in my area and both said that introductions should be fine as my females are non aggressive and young and that there are not many of them in the cage.

I was told that if it was a more established cage of many older females, that it would be a different story and that introductions would have to wait until at least 8 weeks, maybe more.

I was also told to do initial intros in a nuetral spot, such as the bathtub. Rub the baby with dirt bedding from the adult rat cage and carfully put them together in the neutral territory. I was told that normally this goes very smoothly and that my other rats will most likely accept her easily and may even be motherly to her.

This is usually the case but there is the off chance that things can go bad.
5 months is the prime age for hormonal aggression in males and in females. 6 to 7 months is adult. So your girls are not babies and I would definitely hold off on intros until the lone baby is older. Many of us can't do a full quarantine so we use another room in the home to keep the new rat.

 

[horselo285]

What if your new baby stays at the breeders until she's 6-8 weeks old allowing her to be with playmates then do your two weeks of quarantine before introducing her to the colony?

Thanks for the reply! She is 6 weeks now. All her siblings are going to their new homes in the next couple of days, so she would be alone. :-( I am actually supposed to get her today. Not sure what I am gonna do with her though. :-/

This is usually the case but there is the off chance that things can go bad.
5 months is the prime age for hormonal aggression in males and in females. 6 to 7 months is adult. So your girls are not babies and I would definitely hold off on intros until the lone baby is older. Many of us can't do a full quarantine so we use another room in the home to keep the new rat.

Thank you for the information! I have three options for housing her at this moment (I am suppose to get her tonight). One is to put her in with the other females, which I am not going to do. Two, is to house her in the bottoms level of my double cn cage. She would be by herself, but would have lots of hammocks and I would put a stiffed animal in with her or something (any suggestions?) and I would provide lots of out time. This options means she would be in the same room as my rats, but not in the same actual cage. The third option is to put her in a 10 gallon tank in my room. I know this is not a good idea because of the poor air circulation. :-/ Plus, I wont be abke to put hammocks and other fun stuff.

I have e-mailed a few ppl looking for a temp cage with 1/2 inch bar spacing...so far I have not heard back. :-( If I could find one cheap enough, I could put her in my room in a small cage, at least for the time being.

 

[SQ]

Thanks for the reply! She is 6 weeks now. All her siblings are going to their new homes in the next couple of days, so she would be alone. :-( I am actually supposed to get her today. Not sure what I am gonna do with her though. :-/

Not suggesting that you do that, but wouldn't she be with her mom?

btw I am not impressed with your breeder!!

 

[horselo285]

I blame no one but myself. I honestly thought it would be fine to put her with my rats and made all my plans expecting that to work out.

I have had rats in the past and never had an issue introducing them, so I was figuring this would be the same situation. Granted, I never introduced one as young as me new little baby is, but I honestly did not think it would make a difference.

I honestly don't know if the baby would still be with her mother. I know she was separating sexes and the babies were going to their new homes. All the females are spoken for and leaving in the next couple of days. I am not sure about the males, but since they need to be separated to avoid pregnancy, I figure that doesnt matter? :-/

The breeder and I needed to set up a time that worked for both of us as she is doing a delivery for me and tonight is the night that worked. :-/

She is already on the rode and partway here.

Any thoughts on where I should put her tonight?

Still have not heard back about cages. :-/

 

[Adri]

Hi there,

we have two new baby males that have just arrived at home. for there trip home we needed a smaller cage - we went to walmart and bought a 27$ hamster cage that comes with a water bottle (the other stuff is useless to rat owners) but it would make a nice cozy place for her to stay in a semi-different air space for the time being. You could put a hammock and small hidey house in. hope this helps

 

[horselo285]

Hi there,

we have two new baby males that have just arrived at home. for there trip home we needed a smaller cage - we went to walmart and bought a 27$ hamster cage that comes with a water bottle (the other stuff is useless to rat owners) but it would make a nice cozy place for her to stay in a semi-different air space for the time being. You could put a hammock and small hidey house in. hope this helps

Thats a great idea!!! I am going to go tomorrow and look for a cage for her. But in the meantime, would it be better to put her in my 10 gallon tank or bottom level of cn? She is tiny and beautiful!

 

[SQ]

Personally, since you can not do a seperate air quarantine, I would put her in the bottom section of the CN, as long as you make sure there can be absolutely no physical contact.
I would put the full pan on the top level so baby can not squeeze up through where the ladder is.
I would put cloroplast or something solid over the bottom level of the cage and the put the pan on top so that there is no way she can get out or be harmed.

If you want to have a small cage, I would suggest making one out of a bin.
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2756&p=386570&hilit=bin+cage#p386570
or carrier

If you need to have her in the tank tonight, it will not harm her.
She is going to be one frightened baby .... so young and all alone without her mom or sisters
your so called breeder should know better.

When she is older you will need to follow gradual established intro steps.
They may or may not go easily and fairly quickly.

 

[horselo285]

Personally, since you can not do a seperate air quarantine, I would put her in the bottom section of the CN, as long as you make sure there can be absolutely no physical contact.
I would put the full pan on the top level so baby can not squeeze up through where the ladder is.
I would put cloroplast or something solid over the bottom level of the cage and the put the pan on top so that there is no way she can get out or be harmed.

Thank you for the advice! I got the baby last night. She is a beautiful and super sweet! I kept her in the tank last night, but put her in the cn now. I have a deep base pan on the bottom of it, so I used the full pan (that come with it) to block off the sections. I looked it over and watched her run around it for a while and don't see anywhere she can get out.

Do you by any chance no somewhere I can get an already quarantined baby to put in with her? I put a couple of ads up but have had no responses. :-(

 

[SQ]

You might contact Mainely Rat Rescue and see if they can help
http://mainelyratrescue.org/rattieblog2/

Have you check the shelters in your area?

Babies: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=28539
Check the US rescue section on here.
Also Rats Rule on www.goosemoose.com as it is a US forum

 

[horselo285]

You might contact Mainely Rat Rescue and see if they can help
http://mainelyratrescue.org/rattieblog2/

Have you check the shelters in your area?

Babies: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=28539
Check the US rescue section on here.
Also Rats Rule on http://www.goosemoose.com as it is a US forum

Thank you! I am in the process of trying to find another baby to be with her for now. She is doing well. A bit shy, which is understandable. She is eating and drinking and roaming around the bottom half of my CN.

My older girls definitely know she is there. They were a bit stressed when I first put her in but seem to have relaxed now. A couple of runny poops from someone though. :-/ is that normal from stress?

The baby keeps trying to get up to them...I feel bad. One of my girls (Bella), seems to keep trying to get down to her. She hangs out in whatever corner the baby is in and when I open the cage to play the older girls, Bella tries to make a dash out to see her new cage mate. lol Im hoping this curiosity is a good sign for the future and not a bad one.

The other two rats are less interested in what is below them. lol

 

[horselo285]

Ok, so I know this is probably a terrible idea, but how bad would it be to get a female from pet smart a put her with the baby (assuming she seems healthy)

I know pet store rats often have issues, I've had enough of them over the years to know that first hand... But the pet smart by my house actually had a couple. Of nice, healthy looking 2 monthish females. I'm worried about my new little girl being alone much longer and have not found any other options thus far.

:-(