Help with babies

[Meep379]

I have two, one and a half year old rats. And two, four-week-old rats. My already established rats were set next to the babies and one of the 1 1/2 year olds promptly started "huffing and puffing" at one of the babies. I was wondering if this was out of aggression? And also the babies are too young to be introduced to my established mischief. And I was wondering when the right time to introduce them was?

 

[Fidget]

I'd try them at 6 wks with just one adult at a time, right there ready to grab if necessary. Any sign of aggression from the adult I'd hold off another couple of weeks.. The huffing & puffing is likely saying "I'm boss", so be Very vigilant, hard to say if it's a challenge or just a statement...
That's my opinion, others may disagree..
By the way, if you're new to intros, they are Very attuned to your vibes, if you're stressed they're gonna pick up on that, so be sure you are calm, talk to them in a cheery, laughing voice.. Handing out treats during the process can help.

 

[Meep379]

Thankyou so much! This really helpes put me at ease!

 

[SQ]

Congrats on the babies!
Too bad they are so young because babies need to stay with their mama until 5 weeks old (boys) or at least 6 weeks (girls).
Make sure they have a water dish that can not be upset because the tongues of babies are not strong enough to move the ball bearing in water bottles, although they may look like they are drinking (babies and young rats die because of this). As you likely know, they need at least 2 sources of water in each cage because water dishes can be filled with bedding and water bottles can clog+

Babies need to be at least 8 weeks old before you start physical intros, 10 weeks is safer.
They need to be large enough to protect themselves. Young babies do not smell like rats and can be mistaken for prey.
Make sure that your older rats can not reach them through the cage bars

For info on intros, please see https://www.ratshackforum.com/threa...ps-used-when-putting-new-rats-together.32368/ joinrats.com also has some information

all the best with the intros,
they are scary, no matter how experienced a rat owner is