2 rats, 2 cages intro help needed

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Mimmom

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 13, 2012
Messages
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Location
United States
I've had two rats in two cages since another of our rats died. We'd adopted another rat before BB died but it wasn't ever possible to do the introductions and get them all in the same cage. We worked on it but BB got very sick and Carmin is very anxious and it wasn't working. Carmin obsessively follows our newbie Deku and sniffs and grooms Deku, especially her butt. They can be together for quite a while but never calm down and eventually Deku gets aggressive. Carmin has had some minor injuries that may be from these times. I have a video of one of these incidents. I never could find a wound from that one but it was a scary thing anyway. Everything was fine and suddenly Deku jumped on Carmin and there was a loud squeak and then puffing and sidling. I watched in slow motion and it looks like Deku nipped at Carmin's back. I want to intro them very slowly but I really do want them in the same cage! AGG. They seem fine together and the aggression doesn't happen for about 30 minutes. If I don't let them go that long or if I block Carmin from being such a pest the aggression doesn't happen. I've had a couple of suggestions. One was intro slowly and never let it get to aggression. The other was to let them work things out on their own. I was trying to let them work it out when I got the video. So I'm thinking more opinions. I can try to post a video or a link but it may take me a bit to figure out how to do that.
 
I was told by several people on here and some of my non-forum friends that I should avoid putting my aggressor with anyone new and may just have to deal with 2 cages. I'm not sure if your case is bad enough for that though. Someone should come along soon with more helpful advice than mine. :)
 
How long have you been doing intros? And how old are they? There's no true aggression there. Both want to be the alpha rat but neither will submit.
How big will be their home cage?
Another option you could try is put the, both in the carrier and walk around the house with it. Keep them in there for about an hour with treats but no toys or boxes to hide in.
 
Sushi died back in about March and Deku needed a new home. She's super friendly with people but hadn't been with other rats since she left her mama. She and BB and Carmin had some times out of the cage with each other and were doing pretty well. Then BB got really sick and we were focused on her and really couldn't do much intro stuff with BB though we did try to work with Deku and Carmin. Then BB died and Carmin was alone and freaked out. We waited a bit and then tried to intro Carmin and Deku again. Mostly, if people are with them they don't get into too many squabbles. They are definitely trying to determine who is dominant but they can run around just fine for at least 30 minutes maybe more. Carmin has ended up with some minor scratches on her back that I guess could have been caused by teeth but nothing that even bled at all. I don't think either rat is truly aggressive. Just hyper and confused. I think Deku is about 14 months and Carmin is about 16 months now. They're fairly close in age. Carmin barbers other rats as well as barbering herself.
 
How long have you been doing intros now? If you keep them up pretty consistent and if the main cage is big enough, you could try moving them in together but watch them closely to see how they do.
 
We haven't been consistent because every time I think we're doing well something happens and I get scared and when I posted the video one place there were people really freaking about it so I didn't know what to do. I still don't know what to do.
 
We have a Critter Nation single. So a pretty good size for two females. Carmin is TEENY and Deku is kind of big for a girl rat. She eats like crazy.
 
If no blood was drawn, I would continue and I would make it consistent, even twice a day if possible. I would have them on a smaller area so they are forced to be closer together. Make your intros sessions longer so they feel the need to nap and hopefully cuddles.
 
Okay, so we're working on intros. Carmin still flips her tail and puffs up. They still fight. Still no blood unless you cound a small thing on Carmin's back that didn't actually bleed, but is definitely a cut. Just a really shallow one, I guess. This is always what happens. Carmin flips her tail and pesters Deku again and again and again and then there's a big screaming, flipping thing that happens and carmin has this little tiny boo boo and is now much more hesitant to bother Deku but still does it a bit, just not as much. So would this cut be considered "blood drawn" or not a big deal? The fighting is much like what you saw in the video.
 
I've successfully carried them back and forth to the vet together in the same carrier. I think they did snuggle up a bit by the end of that and I don't remember any fighting.

Do you think it's safe to just ignore the squeaking and not bother about separating?
 
Mimmom said:
I wonder if maybe, by me standing over them and worrying that they are reacting to my anxiety sometimes.
Click to expand...


yes that could be, animals pick up on how we feel.
there's a saying among cat lovers, calm 'owner'= calm cat

I think it's true for rats as well.


I think your girls will work things out. I'd be happy to help after the 28th, I get my second surgery on the 26th and should be able to see well about 48 hrs after (there's too much swelling right after)
 
Thanks! Love the screen name, Petunia BTW. Rae's nickname is Petunia. One of many nicknames.

I think I'll just sit in the same room near the playpet and let them run and ignore the squeaking and flipping around. I doubt any of the squeaking they've done has come close to what went on when we had our neutered boy a couple of years ago. That cage was always busy.
 
I would scrub down the cage, completely change it up so it's unrecognizable and move them in and watch them all day to see how they react living with each other. Sometimes they just need that extra step to finally accept and bond with each other.
 

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