We are still having trouble with intros to Obie. I can't even remember how long he's been living with us, it's been maybe 2 months now? (seems much longer) His cage has been beside the other 3 boys' cages since Christmas. Prior to X-mas we had taken a bit of break from intros because it was stressing Maz out (he's the friendliest, thought he'd be a good go-to guy for a first intro.) We're back at it now, using the bathroom as neutral ground. We've done about 7 sessions, ranging from 20 minutes to 40. I wipes down everything afterwards in an effort to preserve the neutrality of the area - seems to work, as upon entering every day Maz and Obie both run around bubbling with excitement and curiosity, exploring this "new" place.
There are no hiding places. I put out yogurt for them to share. Basically they will run around willy nilly sniffing all over the place and be just fine, it's only when their paths cross that it gets ugly. So far no blood has been drawn yet. For the most part Obie is being the agressive one (he is intact, Maz is neutered.) They won't share food together; one of them always has to push the other away. There's lots of scratching and batting at one anothers' faces to the point where I seperate them in fear of an eye injury.
My neutered boys were both open and accepting of Max, intact, when he arrived. Max was not at all aggressive, just shy and timid. Obie is the opposite. Very much the "leave me the heck alone" attitude, no matter what territory he is in. Both of the sweet, neutered, unaggressive little boys are obviously sensing his hormones, and that's the only time I ever see them act so agitated and aggressive. Obviously the next thought would be to neuter Obie. I have no idea how old he is, and despite his perky energy I feel he is older, and wouldn't know if it is safe to neuter him or not. I'm not sure I trust my vet to make the right decision about it either. What sort of criteria do we look at to determine if a rat is in good shape to have this done?
