I have one heck of a rattie conundrum!!!

[Mrs. Fancy]

I am in desperate need of rat guidance!!!

I had two female rats, Margaret and Cleo, and unfortunately Cleo passed away this October very suddenly. Now my friend knew I was looking for a new rat to keep her company and surprised me with one that was being given away on kajiji, the only problem is he is a boy! Now I love Fat Randall dearly but I am left with quite a problem! I don't know how old Fat Randall is so I'm afraid if I get him neutered he might pass away before I can even introduce him to Margaret and that will be a large lump of money gone down the toilet.

If i get them each 1 friend then eventually I will end up in the same situation when the older of the two passes away, and if I get them each 2 young playmates then i'll have 6 rats and I don't have the time to care for all of them properly.

What can I do? I can't just keep one alone and there are so many ratties who need good homes, I wouldn't want to add to that by trying to give one away.

Rat gurus, HELP ME!

 

[smilez_n_hugs]

Could you post some pics of him and how he stands/walks? There are quite a few experienced members on here that can help you to estimate an age and then you could go from there.

 

[Dazzle87]

How old is your girl and what is her health like? If she is in good health spaying her may be an option too.

 

[Kimber]

If you didn't want to look at neutering/spaying your older two then you could always get two younger friends (boy and girl - one for each) and have them both done. This way when one of the older rats passes, the remaining friend could easily be put in with the other two. Ta-da!!! And two more rats saved.

 

[SQ]

If your rattie is in good health and does not have breathing issues, then surgery with a good vet experienced with rats should be fine.

 

[lilspaz68]

Also, where in Canada are you?

 

[abazoo]

If you didn't want to look at neutering/spaying your older two then you could always get two younger friends (boy and girl - one for each) and have them both done. This way when one of the older rats passes, the remaining friend could easily be put in with the other two. Ta-da!!! And two more rats saved.

That's what I wanted to say.
Get them each a same-sex friend and save up your money so that when one of your older one passes, you can spay/neuter the younger friend to join the other pair!

 

[Mrs. Fancy]

Haha, I can't believe I never thought of that!

Any tips on introductions? I've done some reading on it but I'm still quite scared! I don't know Fat Randall's history, so I guess I should just see how he reacts to the smell of the new friend first before moving forward? (after a couple weeks of quarantine of course)

 

[jorats]

Honestly, I'd go with a spay or neuter before bringing in new rats. You will have both sexes in the home and that's a recipe for accidents.