Introduction help, please!

[Crow-talk]

So one of my boys died last week and I just got two new babies so his cage mate could have some new friends. I introduced them for the first time today and it went okay overall. He did get a little overexcited and scared one of them. The baby squeaked pretty loudly, but I don't think he was hurt. I didn't have anything to mask their sent just yet, so I decided to just introduce them on my lap while I kept my hand on Xanadu (the big rat).

I'm gonna try again once I get some vanilla oil or something, but I have a couple questions.

I'm really worried to introduce them without holding onto Xanadu. I know it's good to let them get some sniffs of each other and stuff, but I know that just one good bite from him could be fatal to the babies. I'm really nervous about him hurting them. And then again, I'm worried me holding onto him constantly is just stressing him out more and making him more likely to attack. I'm wondering if I should keep taking the extra precautions to play it safe, or maybe give them a little bit more room to get to know each other. Like I said, there were no signs of him being too aggressive, other than the baby getting spooked and squeaking when Xanadu (I'm assuming) started trying to groom him.

Also, I have both their cages in my room and when I let Xanadu out, he runs over their cage and they smell each other and follow each other through the bars. There have been no signs of them getting aggravated by one another, they seem purely curious. I'm just wondering if this is a good idea? I figure it would help them get used to each other's smell without any real danger of hurting each other.

Do you think I'm going about this the right way? Xanadu and Tsubaki were my first rats and they were from the same litter, so I don't have much introduction experience.

 

[jorats]

How old are the babies? I would not start intros until the babies are at least two months old.
At 2 months the babies are stronger and faster.
Have the two cages next to each other that will help.
Also, I would not use anything to scent them. They can meet just fine.
When you're ready for a proper meeting, you can't be holding the older rat, that could make him extremely stressed out. Find a neutral spot and observe them, be ready with a towel, to throw on them if they start to scuffle.

 

[Crow-talk]

Ugh, Xanadu bit one of the babies through the cage. It wasn't bad, just his toe through the bars. But now I'm infinitely more nervous that he'll seriously hurt them.

 

[jorats]

Anything that happens through bars doesn't mean how intros will go. Animals in general are always more aggressive and dominant when separated by something either a leash or bars, they are protecting/defending first then asking questions later so don't worry about that. The little guy will heal fast enough from the wound.

 

[SQ]

Give them some time to get used to each other by putting the cages near one another but far enough apart so they can not reach one another. You can also exchange used clothes between the cages.

How old are the babies? It is recommended not to start physical intros with rats over 3 months ogf age until babies are at least 8 to 10 weeks old.

Is your older rat neutered or intact?

As Jorats said, when you start doing intros, you will be doing them in a neutral area. Many people put the plug into the tub, add a fleece blacket (dollar store) and put in a plate of something yummy that can not be carried away, such as yogurt.

 

[mamarat]

Make sure your big boy doesn't have access to the babies' cage when he's out and they're still inside their cage. Like Jo said it will make them more aggressive with bars between them.

 

[Moon]

Yeah, letting them at each others' cage right now isn't a good idea. They should be close enough so that when in the cages they can smell each other, but don't give them access.

 

[sands]

I just did my first intro with two young rats and my older rat (females).

I was anxious at the beginning too.

As mentioned, pick a neutral area to start (we used the bed with a blanket on it), add some food treats, and keep a small blanket handy if needed during a fight. You could also try a brief cage swap before this. I did this a few times during neutral intros.

Squeaking, pinning, aggressive grooming, etc will happen. We also had some puffy rat behaviour and some rat boxing. At the beginning, I wondered if the intro would be successful as one of the younger rats was fighting for dominance. One of the young rats was spooked during one neutral introduction, running and hiding under the blanket and sneezing, and my older rat refused to come out of her cage for an evening. I left the cages close by, skipped a day of intros, and then tried again. Two weeks later, after neutral and then non neutral play time, I have three rats sleeping together in their hammock. :dance:

Before moving all three rats into my cage, I put my older rat into the younger rats cage (the temporary cage) for a day. Worked well.

Good luck and have patience!

 

[hopefloats]

Depending on how close he was with his cage mate, he may be grieving still. one of my boys had problems for a while after he lost his brother. He fought any rat that came near him for a few weeks.