More Advice for Introducing (young to adult)

[evantide]

So for my second rat, I adopted a seven week old male self cream (or possibly beige would be the correct term, I'm new to these rat colors). I know he is all one color. He is currently asleep on my shoulder (I am wrapped in a fleece blanket). I have been sitting here pondering this whole introduction thing. I've done some research, but I still don't feel very confident in the introduction part. I read that is was easier to introduce to an older male (Eli is an older male, I am guessing he is around 6 months old but I will find out at the vet appointment I still have scheduled). However, what behaviors should I look out for? These are my first rats and I don't really know what aggressive behavior would look like (I guess if he lunges at the little rat, it would be pretty obvious...). I guess if something like that were to happen, I would be afraid that the younger rat would get hurt badly. How would I stop an aggressive act? Would a squirt bottle work?

I am going to wait until the new addition is 8-9 weeks old before introducing him to Eli, even though I read that it is better to introduce a young male to an older male as soon as possible since the older male won't feel threatened by a baby (I want to wait until AFTER the vet appointment to make sure the boys are in good health, which will be on the April 12 (next Tuesday)).

I guess, really, I am just looking for some more tips, maybe stories from other people's past experiences. I'm just not really sure what to expect when I first begin the introduction. Aggression was not really something I had thought of when I took in Eli. He is such a sweet guy, and I had thought I would adopt someone more around his age (which seemed easy enough to introduce), but this one is so small in comparison, I am worried the little guy might get hurt! Ever since Eli got comfortable in his new home, he is always on the go.

 

[Roo]

It's good to wait until they're a bit older as you're planning so unintentional injuries are less likely to occur. So you're good there!

I have never had problems doing intros (I suppose I'm lucky!) but when I do, I always have a towel with me so if a brawl breaks out I can toss it on them and hopefully confuse them enough to get them away from each other. It makes me feel safer, at least. :giggle:

 

[jorats]

It is easier to intro young rats to older males, but you have till about 3 months to do that so waiting until 8 weeks is fine.
You'll want to be in a neutral area, a place where your boy has never been. Having a towel on hand is good advice.

 

[evantide]

Okay great, the towel idea never occurred to me! That's the main thing I am worried about - not being able to, or quick enough to stop a fight if Eli decides he doesn't like the baby! For how long should I keep introducing them that way? If Eli seems to take to him, can they be housed together after that? Or should I keep introducing them over a period of time before it is safe to leave them alone together?

Thank you guys so much for your advice!

 

[evantide]

If it were either of you, how long would you wait to introduce them? As said, I think Eli is about 6 months or more, and the newbie is only 7 weeks. Could I wait until he's a month or two before introducing them? Maybe I could house them side by side after the newbie is quarantined until he gets a little older, and then we can go to a neutral area and introduce them?

 

[temblabamomo]

Housing them near each other after quarantine would be a good first step (but not so close they can reach each other through the cage bars.) This thread -> viewtopic.php?f=22&t=406 has a lot of stories and really good advice on intros.

I've known incredibly sweet, laid back rats who wouldn't hurt a fly to turn extremely aggressive when intro'd to a newbie. And I've known mean, crotchety, aggressive rats that readily accepted a newcomer. You never know how a rat is going to react to an unfamiliar rat. I am not sure when it would be most appropriate to intro the youngster (hopefully someone else will pipe up about that soon), but when you do get to the point of their first face to face, I'm sure everyone on the forum will be happy to walk you through things and help interpret behaviors and decide when to move on to the next step in intros, etc. etc.

 

[Moon]

Usually it's safe to start introing babies at 8-10 weeks..

Having cages near eachother is a good way to start, and then swapping items between the cages so they get used to having the other rat's scent in their own space. After a few weeks of doing those things, it's neutral intro time. Yay!

 

[jorats]

The duration of intros all depends on how well they go but generally a week. To two weeks.