Henry's_mum/Lyndsy's babes...

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Dahlas said:
How old are they? I think I would try them in a neutral area...such as the bathtub and see what happens......
Click to expand...

Henry is SUPPOSED to be only 9 weeks, and Murdoch the same... Now either Henry's just a HUGE rat, or he's ALOT older than I was told... 'cause Murdoch's smaller

But they're both supposed to be 9 wks old. Murdoch I know is FOR SURE. He was born, and raised solely at the Durham Region Humane Society.
Henry however was a pet store guy, and was with another family BEFROE he came to be with us. So I know he's young, 'cause he's still got a pointy little face, but he's BIG!!!

:heart:
 
I personaly would try sooner then later........Henry will help Murdoch become more outgoing and not be so afraid. I would think at 9 weeks into will go very smooth and very fast......

But lilspaz has done way more intros then I have so whatever she thinks would be perfect.....
 
I had the impression that Henry was much older than 9 weeks on average (now 10 :)) and we went back and forth trying to figure it out...possibly a huge 9 weeker. But now that you have Murdoch to compare to I bet Henry is more like 12 weeks. I would try it this weekend, but you can do neutrals for as long as you want, as long as there is no aggression. Then you can try less-neutral territory and see how that goes. After that is the cage scrub down and put both boys in there...I always do this on weekends and stay close by for at least the first day :)
 
alright, i'll start the process this weekend, we've got no thanksgiving plans, so i'll be free for intros ALL weekend!

I'll start like you said in the bath tub with a towel, and some baby rice cereal??? with a couple of tubes...

Is it anything like doing bunny intros???
I just got 2 of my rescues together, and it took about a month to get them together...
male humping females head... LOVELY!!!!and yes I had them ALL nuetered, and spayed.... :nod:
 
Yes, it's similar to bunny intros but usually takes about a week if all goes well. There may be some flipping and butt rubbing on each other. If you see lunging, you need to get a towel and throw it on them and remove the lunging rat, it could result in a bite but if both rats are under 3 months, then I don't think there's anything to worry about.
 
:happydance: :joy: :bunnydance: :happydance: :joy: :bunnydance: :happydance: :joy: :bunnydance:

We had our first sucessful intro today!!!!
We went the first few minutes without even noticing eachother, and then there was
ALOT of mutual leg lifting, and butt sniffing, and Henry tackled Murdoch down, and started grooming quite nicely at first, then he had some fur in his hair, Murdoch sqeeked, and then I seperated them.... :oops: I'm new, and I wasn't completly sure if this was ok or not, but like my bunns, I let it go for a minute, so they could determine dominence, and then before things got too nasty, I interveined?!?!?!?

I hope that' what I was supposed to do?!?!?!?

anyway, they can both jump right out of my bath tub, so at one point I was chasing 2 CRAZY boys around my bathroom... :gaah:

needless to say, I think things went ok, and i'll try it again tomorrow...













What's your take???
:heart:
 
:( not sure how "bad" this is but tonite's little intro, not so well... (i think?)

We had ALOT of boxing on hind legs, that turned into a tightly woven ball of rat!
Henry was hopping ALL over, (little Monkey is ALWAYS in a good mood) popcorning I think it is?!?!?!
Murdoch just looked for an exit, I think Henry wanted to play, and Murdoch was on the deffence the whole time. Always trying to get out of the bath tub.
Alot of chasing took place. And Murdoch wouldn't eat unless Henry was away from the food.
Henry FORCED Murdoch down for a grooming, in which Murdoch submitted with a little sqeek, and took it, not happily, but took it. :?
I think i'll try tomorrow in cole's room, that's where they have their free run time at night.

What do you take from this intro????? Is it as bad as I think? Or am I not letting them go long enough to figure this out for themselves???? Should I be seperating them in situations like this or let them go...

HELP PLEASE!!!!
:panic:
 
Now THAT sounds much more like a typical intro. :giggle:

The only thing that concerned me is the fighting ratball...was it really scary and there was shrieking and when they separated was there chattering teeth, poufed fur and possibly blood?

If not, then Henry told Murdoch, I am the King here...
All of this sounds like typical dominance behaviours, you saw your first pin and powergroom, with the groomee eeping pitifully.

It sounds like things are moving normally...

You could try Cole's bed but if things get seriously aggressive then you might want to go back to the bathtub. I sometimes find that the tub makes rats nervous and even more tense than they should be and moving them to another neutral or semi-neutral place works better.

I knew Henry was going to be Alpha!!! :wink2:
 
No shrieking or teeth grinding, no puffed fur, or blood after the rat ball, just a rat ball that had to be seperated...
:?
So then it wasn't so bad, and i'm just my usual paranoid self????? :panic:

Henry FOR SURE is the KING (LOL!) but little Murdoch isn't taking it lying down, that's for sure...
Maybe i'll stick to the bath tub then. Is it normal to have one rat to not really want to be social (murdoch) and one to be ALL about socializing?(henry and his popcorns :wink: ) Or is it purely a comfort thing, being as how Henry's bigger, been here longer, and Murdoch smaller, and new?

So MUCH to learn... :nod:

ALSO!!!!!
We've got a HUGE parrot cage, that's just sitting in our shed... I'm thinking i'll add some smaller spaced wire, so they can't escape, and turn it into a GINORMOUS LITTLE MAN FORT!!!!

I picked up some ladders, and fun things today, and Peter, my hubby will get my "chicken wire" ( I know there's another name for what I mean but I can't remember it right now...)
I'll get some more fleece from the dollar store, and toys/other FUN dollar store finds...

HERE'S my question... What should I use for shelving???
This cage is HUGE!!!

:happydance:
Now i'll i've gotta do is get these 2 meatheads to live together... :wallbang:
 
I just went on and did a cage calculator, and I put the pre-set at 2 1/2 cubic ft per rat, and put in my measurements and it says my new cage could house up to 4 rats, at 2 cubic ft per rat it said 5...

:happydance:

I'm starting to build tomorrow! I'll take pics for yah'!!!

Also lilspaz---- I got a cage at my cousins trailor today for Murdoch. It's much bigger than a hammie cage, so i'll be cleaning that tomorrow as well and setting it up and getting him in it ASAP!!!
But thank for the offer on a cage, it truely was an awesome gesture of kindness. I just couldn't take it from you knowing you or someone else you know would/could NEED it...
:hugs:
 
So today, and tonites intros went SUPER!!!

They've actually been in thier new cage together for 3 hrs now...
:happydance:
We've had a few squabbles, peeps, and minor fights, but all in all, a GREAT day!

Also Cole and I worked all afternoon, and finished to a degree thier new cage!
What do yah' think????

















 

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