Boys Introduction Was a Sucess!!! Last Update 1/8/10

[Slapdash]

Okay so I have been in the process of introducing two three-4month old male rats, neutered a week ago to my other boy also neutered a couple of months ago and he is nearing 6 months. We have been at it for about two weeks minus about 4 days after their surgery and I think it's going okay but since its my first time I am not so sure. We started in the bathroom for a few days, that was a neutral location for everyone and when there were virtually no fights or anything we went to the couch and they fought on and off but less and less each day. After a couple of days there we brought in some of their toys and hide aways about two or three days ago and Ralphie is showing some terretorial aggression with his favorite wooden house. So I took some pics and video so that hopefully I can get some feedback on if it is going well or not and what the next step is...Thanks

Here are the videos...as you can see when the wood house is around it causes more trouble but when I took it away things improved a lot so this worries me about how terretorial he is going to be when I try to move them in together?

http://img526.imageshack.us/i/122509086n.mp4/

http://img27.imageshack.us/i/122509084.mp4/

http://img14.imageshack.us/i/122509085.mp4/

http://img696.imageshack.us/i/122509090.mp4/

http://img27.imageshack.us/i/122509094.mp4/

Ralphie and Rufus

Enjoying Some Yogurt

 

[KaraY]

They're very cute. Glad to hear that it feels like you're making progress and that the fighting is decreasing with each interaction.

 

[jorats]

I love Ralphie! There is no aggression at all on his part. He's a happy boy... a little bullying with the house but not much.
The two younger ones are unsure of him but it looks like Ralphie won't be a problem.

 

[Slapdash]

I love Ralphie! There is no aggression at all on his part. He's a happy boy... a little bullying with the house but not much.
The two younger ones are unsure of him but it looks like Ralphie won't be a problem.

Aw thanks, I love him too lol he is my heart rat,we had him from when he was only 4 weeks old (thats him in my avatar a few days after we got him with some photoshopped eyes of course lol) and hes such a love bug :heart: I am so glad you don't think there will be any problems :joy: Like I said I have never done this before so I wanted to make sure a few little fights or boxing here and there was normal. When/how long until you think its safe to try letting them play in the cage together and start the move in? I don't want Rufus and Rupert to feel stressed trying to live with Ralphie since they seem to be a little nervous around him? thanks for your help!

Amanda

 

[Slapdash]

Oh and I also wanted toask, he didn't do it last night but the prior two nights they were out Rufus was mounting and humping Ralphie? Is this a dominance thing like with dogs? Or is he just a little confused/maybe his hormones were out of whack from the neuter lol? :laugh4: Thanks

 

[jorats]

I'd give it a week of intros, then do a full wash down of the cage and move them in.
The mounting is probably just part of playing and learning how to be social. Rufus and his brother are still quite young before they start to dominate.

 

[Slapdash]

Well last night we made real progress... Ralphie let both younger boys in his wooden house with him and they all relaxed in there together. Tonight I created a bigger play space with our marshall playpen, a big box to block the view of our big rabbit lol cause she freaks Ralphie out, and some ladders. I wired together to extra FN ladders I had from our chinchilla cage so they could go out of the playpen and on to the couch if wanted. It's the best I can do in our little one bedroom apartment. :cheeky:

Tonight I feel like we back tracked a little, this is as bad as their fights have ever been and I wanted to know if this is serious or not? Is Ralphie being aggressive here? I was going to take apart and rearrange their cage on Friday to try and move them in together but now I'm not sure they are ready? What do you think? Well here are the new videos from tonight... Thanks!

http://img519.imageshack.us/i/123009046.mp4/

http://img403.imageshack.us/i/123009044.mp4/

 

[Maple]

Doesn't look bad to me. I still deal with the pushing thing and mine have been living together for over 5 months now. No blood and no rat balls are a good sign that things are going in the right direction. Keep going.

 

[pscychopomp]

rat balls lol, I'd like to see a slow-mo video of one, just to see what exactly they're doing.

 

[jorats]

Ralphie is trying to flip the young boys, that is how he's going to hold his alpha status.
That wasn't a bad thing and it will continue until the boys will flip for him. That shouldn't take too long.
You could have stepped in there and stopped Ralphie after a few minutes of chasing so that Ralphie can come back to a calmer energy.
If you do want to stop Ralphie from the chasing (I would) then place your hand over his head and press toward the floor. This is how you dominate the rat. He might pout after this but it won't last. It will tell Ralphie that he's not the boss after all.

 

[Slapdash]

Thanks, that was going to be my next question, when to break it up. And thanks for explaining how to do so, I wanted to film it so I knew exactly what to do and what it means because I would hate to to do the wrong thing and make things worse. So, considering this, I should probably not try for tomorrow as a move in date correct? My other question was about Rupert the hairless guy... he seems so afraid of Ralphie and avoids him a lot and when they have out time he really only wants to sit in my lap, is this going to hinder their progress in bonding as a group? Should I walk away or not sit on the couch so he can't sit on me? Of course I love the bond it is creating for us because none of the other rats sit with me for so long but I want to do whats best for them? Thanks again!

 

[jorats]

Ralphie is very aware of Rupert but since Rupert is scared, he doesn't need to deal with him. They will probably come to an understanding once they've move in together. And also, don't be surprised once the boys reach 6 months old they aren't the ones to take over alpha status. But that's all normal and healthy in a rat colony.
I would hold off on move in date... a couple of days.

 

[Slapdash]

Well I have a long weekend ahead of me so I am going to shoot for Sunday or Monday as "move in day" depending on how things go in the next couple of days. Thanks again for everyones help, I can't wait to see them all snuggled up together :heart:

 

[Slapdash]

Had the day off today and decided to try to move all four in together today... it was a HUGE sucess :happydance: Last night they had 2+ hours out together without one fight or sign of aggression and they all fell asleep together inside the same wood house Ralphie was gaurding no more than a week ago :thumbup: That'swhen I knew it would be ok to try for today.They've been together since this afternoon with only one little boxing match... I am so excited! Assuming everything continues to go smoothly for the rest of the night they should be fine to leave together overnight right? Thanks for everyones support ecspecially Jo! :hugs: Without the advice it might not have been such a smoothe introduction. Here are some pics and video from a little while ago... the video is kind of boring but hey thats what we want! :giggle: Thanks again everyone! Oh and I got the idea for the tote hideaway from Stacis cage in the FN pictures thread so thank you as you can see my guys LOVE it :cheeky:

http://img44.imageshack.us/i/1509.mp4/

 

[Moon]

YAY!

 

[Godmother]

Wow, that was a great success!! Good for you, because intros can be a real trial.

 

[Slapdash]

Just when I was saying to my fiancee that I think they will be totally fine overnight this happened...

http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/8964/1509015.mp4

That was as bad as it got, Ralphie seems to be gaurding the new tote but only a few hours ago him and Rupert(the one in the video) were snuggled in there sleeping together? They are fine now both doing their own thing but should I seperate the two pairs tonight just to be sure or is this normal behavior for two males living together? They have been together for about 7 hours and this is the first incident. Oh and please ignore my fiancee playing computer games in the background :roll: Also, do you think it's possile that Rupert the hairless could eventually take over the alpha position? He is the smallest and most vulnerable but about an hour ago he had Ralphie pinned on his side and Ralph was licking him and grooming him looking so helpless :cheeky: One other thing, should I always expect a few little boxing matches and things here and there with three adult males living together? On the other hand Rosie, the only girl has found a new snuggle buddy,Rufus, now that they're all together.I love watching Rosie, Rufus, and Rupert together because they are all less than a month apart and almost exactly the same size :heart:

 

[jorats]

It's nice to see your little nakie guy no longer running away from Ralphie but going near him and confronting him, this means Ralphie is no threat.
Your rats are just fine... that is normal and may continue to occur throughout their lives.

 

[Slapdash]

It's nice to see your little nakie guy no longer running away from Ralphie but going near him and confronting him, this means Ralphie is no threat.
Your rats are just fine... that is normal and may continue to occur throughout their lives.

:joy: Yay! Glad to hear that! I'm so proud of little Rupert, he's become quite the tough guy and he's the smallest one in their even smaller than Rosie, my only girl lol Thanks!

 

[Slapdash]

Well things are awesome it was such a sucess! The only boys who still had some tension between them were Rupert, the hairless and Ralphie the alpha and biggest guy.Well as you can see they have resolved their issues :hugs: Everyone is getting along great I'm so proud of my little group :giggle: Thanks everyone for your help with intros, couldn't have done it without you guys! :thumbup: