HELP! NEW RAT PROBLEMS (PETS UNLIMITED)

[brandonmd]

I recently got a pet rat from a friend as a present, and I already had a pet rat, they are both male, and I took my time introducing them, now they're in the cage together and sometimes fights break out, and the new rat SQUEAKS loudly whenever i try to pick him up. Also my old rat has been attacking the new one, he actually bit the new one and broke skin, so i seperated them for a while, now they are back together, it's is much more calmer, do you think with time my rat will get use to the new one? what should i do, i don't want either to get hurt!?

 

[mamarat]

Did you do proper intros before putting them together?

 

[YamiNightwing]

Try putting a tiny dab of vanilla extract on them and put them in a neutral territory such as a bathtub, that's what I did for my girlies.

 

[victoria]

Jorats has written a lot about intros on the Intro thread in the behaviour section of the forum and on her blog (the Rat Room), as well as posting videos on Youtube. I would try doing a proper intro and if that doesn't work, one of them will need to be neutered.

 

[Moon]

Yeah, it sounds like you might need to take a step back with introductions, but if things are good now, that's.. well.. good.

As for him squeaking when you pick him up, he needs more 1 on 1 socializing with you. We usually tell people to do the "down the shirt" trick. Put a t shirt on under a long sleeved sure and stuff him in between. He needs to associate your scent with being a comfortable thing. Also, you might need to change how you are picking him up. Many rats don't like being grabbed from above, so you need to "scoop" him from underneath.

 

[jorats]

How old are the rats and how big is the cage?