New rat introduced trying to be the alpha

[nightmarevamp]

Hello to all this is my first posting

I have two boys around 4-5 months old it's hard to tell, and recently adopted a new little guy in need of a home "see Gems of Toronto". After 3 males one stays and he is Hermes, beauiful and sweet, and seems very submissive with me anyways.

They have all been introduced and have slept in the same cage today with no incident. So now it's out of cage time, and they are all out to play, and then it's ALPHA time!

Hermes pushes against Thief and Basil (my two boys Basil is a small black rat and Thief is a hooded fancy with a black head close to in size of Hermes but still smaller.

So now Hermes is pushing them around and they get into a tustle and both my guys run off. But basil comes back and tries to play again, then it gets a little heated and basil runs.

So now both my boys who were always happy with their play fighting are now hiding in the apartment from the new guy Hermes.

Should I be worried about this, will this make my boys scared or nervous now? Any tips on helping this process, should I be worried about bedtime for them all?

Thank you to all that can help

Jeff

 

[jorats]

Hi Jeff and welcome to the Rat Shack.

Have you followed all the intro steps before moving the boys in together? A week to two weeks is usually required with intact males?

There will always be a period of unsettled stress but that will pass after a while.

 

[nightmarevamp]

Hi there, I've read and heard lots of ways to introduce them all, first in cages to aquaint the smell and to put them all in a neutral place like the bathtub and remove scents.

They are all in a neutral cage now and it's the first time they are all out playing together. It hasn't been weeks it's actually been very fast due to a limitation on a cage, (i had to take one male back for aggression and had them all in the cage together).

They seem to all be playing well and seeing who is dominant. I just would like some tips or suggestions. Because it's 3 males I don't want to separate just one alone in a cage, it seems kinda mean.

But it also may to soon with them all in one place together. I wish i knew of the right thing to do. I love my toy boys and this new guy is a sweetheart so when I see my boys scared I feel for them.

Should they be in the same cage tonight or should one be separate the new one??

 

[jorats]

Ok so they are living together. Are they ok in the cage?

 

[nightmarevamp]

They all seemed great in the cage, but it's only been two visits, both times they were all sleepy. So that might have had something to do with it.

This would be the first full night when they are most active. So bad fights scare me if I can't get up to stop them.

But isn't keeping one solitary not help the situation?

 

[jorats]

Jeff I was hoping to catch you in chat, can you go back in?