question about intros(updated)

[lilangel]

well i have had Fancy beside the other girls cage for about a week now(milkshake and lunas cage) wondering if it should be time for them to meet soon? or should a switch items around for a week now?

at first the two girls that were together went to the side of the cage and made grinding sounds but now they do not seem to do it much anymore. now when i go talk to Fancy they just come to that side of the cage and see what im doing.

so to be sure about intros first cages side by side, then switch stuff,then met in a place they have never really been, then try caging? is that in the right way? given a week for each thing?

thanks again for any help.

 

[user 78]

That's about right. You can start swapping hammocks and any other fabrics from the cages. After a few days of that, you'll want to do cage swaps. Same idea as the fabric swap, just with rats. Then you can try them out in a neutral area. I personally like using the bathtub with a towel put down so they don't slide all over the place.

 

[lilangel]

well today they switched cages :joy: a lot of smelling now hehe. after that the tub deal (in two days or so) i so hope everything goes well. poor Fancy all alone makes me sad, i try and spend a lot of time with her since shes alone she seems happy when i do her teeth go like crazy chip,chip im just thinking is she happy or mad lol since the chipping sounds they do can be happy or mad signs. so when doing the intros in the tub how long should that be? 15mins? also how many days should it for the tub deal? thanks again for any help :heart: .

 

[user 78]

The rule of thumb is to end neutral meetings on a good note. So how long you do it for the first time depends on them and their reactions to each other. Aim for 10-15min, and if they're doing really well together you can keep them together longer. If everyone agitated and it's not going well, end it before a scuffle breaks out and try again the next day.

You want to do the neutral territory bit until everyone is calm with each other. No one should be really aggressive about pinning the newb, no poofed fur, etc.. Then you can move on to not neutral territory play time.

 

[lilangel]

well the cage switch did not work at all milkshake and luna started fighting together while in fancy's cage. it was pretty bad too puffing hair and hair pulling and all. i took them out and put them back in their own cage after cleaning the both cages out so no new smells for them. i think for them its not going to work when i switched the items they did do a little fighting but nothing major but once if the other cage oh my. i guess what i will have to do is be sure to spend time with fancy as much as i can.


with maggie and skye would not work nether as skye is like a big boss of that cage lol shes not good with intros nether so i do not try with them.

 

[jorats]

This is definitely not an indication that it won't work. It's normal for both luna and milkshake to get defensive while in a new rat's cage.
Just don't do cage swaps, it's to stressful on the two girls. I'd continue with intros though... once luna and milkshake actually meet Fancy, it will help them get over the "who's here" fear.

 

[lilangel]

yeah i tried the tub deal worked a bit but near the end they scruffed a little but no blood so i guess thats an ok sign.

once done they got a nice fun boxed treats hehe they worked a little for their treat hehe.