Finding a New Friend

Vera is all alone now. She’s unspayed and about 15 months old.

I know someone has recently posted with a similar question, although I believe her lone surviving rat is a boy. Would you recommend getting two babies for her as well? If so, male or female? Spayed, neutered or not?

Is it too late to get Vera spayed? She hasn’t had any mammary tumors so far (knock on wood!)

I’m not sure how to get started with finding her a friend or two. I’m still mourning our loss of Nora but don’t want Vera to be lonely. I appreciate any suggestions anyone has.

I'm so sorry for your loss and I'm sure Vera is grieving too.
If you can afford to get her spayed, it's beneficial at any age. But if you get her two baby girl friends, that might make her feel much better.

First of all I'm so sorry for your loss. Secondly I agree with Jo. She's not too old to be spayed and it offers great health benefits.

Baby girls would work out just fine and make a huge difference for her. As you know rats don't do too well alone. I would make sure they are over 7 to 9 weeks depending on size then introduce them in a neutral area. Have some food such as yogurt or baby food that they have to eat beside each other (as opposed to picking it up). Most of the time this has been all I have needed to do and the girls all accept each other. If there is some boxing etc. please write about it in the behavior part of the forum. Many people have done tricky but successful intros and will be able to help. The girls could be spayed later. If you get boys then obviously one gender would need to be altered beforehand.

Thank you so much for your responses, Jorats and Trihkal. I finally found a vet in my area who has lots of experience spaying rats. Vera has an appointment for an exam with this doctor this coming Saturday.

Now I'm wondering if it would be better to get her some friends first? I'm leaning toward baby boys, though, so I guess spaying will need to come first.

Thanks again for your ideas and suggestions!

If you want boys I would definitely hold off until she has been spayed. It would probably be best to give her some time to recuperate too. That's great news you found a good vet. They can make such a difference.

Thanks, Trihkal. I will definitely give her some time to recuperate before bringing on the boys. I'm thankful I can bring her to work for now until she gets new friends. I can definitely tell she's getting lonely.

Thanks Again!

Spaying is a great idea. That gives you the option of bringing in any rat. Is there a rescue in your area that may need a forever home? Even if you have your heart set on babies, they may have a rescue litter...

Hi Joanne,

Yes, there are many rescued rats available near where I live. I'm hoping to get Vera spayed this week. Her vet said I should wait about two weeks post spay before introducing her to new friends. I'm so ready to do it but am being patient so I can allow Vera to heal from her surgery.

Thanks for all of your help!

She won't need 2 weeks, probably just 1 before she's nicely healed up.

You could get the new rat(s) any time. They will still need some time to get used to each other's smell, so even if there is no interaction or face-to-face meeting, the smell and sounds will be the beginning of intros. Just a thought if you're feeling antsy...

I wonder if just smelling new rats would stress Vera out too much? She's still acting like she's in mourning. To add the smell of new rats and then on top of that the surgery.....I'm worried it would make things more difficult for her.

Thanks for the ideas, though!

I think it would help pull her out of mourning. It would pique her interest.

Not sure about the stress + surgery though...

I like that alternative view, Joanne. I have Vera's spay appointment made now for Tuesday. I've had boys for the past 15 years or so. I've had them neutered if they became aggressive. Never have had a female rat spayed, though, and I have to say it's a little scary since it's more of a major surgery than neutering.

Good luck! I hope everything goes smoothly. I would be a little worried as well but if you have a good vet it should go just fine.