My boy Winston has been alone since his brother Stew died in June. 2 weeks after Stew's passing I got 2 young boys from a breeder to introduce to him.
Since then I've been trying to get them accustomed to eachother via various introduction methods, but none of them have worked. My boy Winston, while being a very passive rat before w/ his brother, is acting very agressive and territorial. There's always hissing and puffed up fur during the introductions, and I have to be really careful for him to not end up in a big fight with one of the babies. Blood has also been drawn before twice.
I recently tried moving them onto neutral territory again after implementing the cage swap intro method for 2 weeks, but once again they ended up in a rat ball and the little ones were TERRIFIED. I'm not sure if I should or even dare to continue in fear of one of the babies getting injured again. I don't know what to do. I don't want my older boy to be alone for the rest of his life. He's 1 year and 9 months old, for all I know he could live to be 3 years old. Not having a companion for that long wouldn't be good for him. He really needs a friend; when he isn't with me he lies in his hammock pretty much the entire time. I try to keep him stimulated but sometimes he isn't even interested in free roam time and goes back into the cage the moment I take him out.
I don't know what to do to make things go more smoothly, or if it's even possible. Getting him neutered isn't an option - I've spoken to my vet who specializes in rodents/small animals. She advices against a neuter since he's old and could have underlying health problems that could complicate things during surgery. Which is really unfortunate cause a neuter seems like the only solution so far. Please give me advice on what else I can try, and thank you for reading.
Since then I've been trying to get them accustomed to eachother via various introduction methods, but none of them have worked. My boy Winston, while being a very passive rat before w/ his brother, is acting very agressive and territorial. There's always hissing and puffed up fur during the introductions, and I have to be really careful for him to not end up in a big fight with one of the babies. Blood has also been drawn before twice.
I recently tried moving them onto neutral territory again after implementing the cage swap intro method for 2 weeks, but once again they ended up in a rat ball and the little ones were TERRIFIED. I'm not sure if I should or even dare to continue in fear of one of the babies getting injured again. I don't know what to do. I don't want my older boy to be alone for the rest of his life. He's 1 year and 9 months old, for all I know he could live to be 3 years old. Not having a companion for that long wouldn't be good for him. He really needs a friend; when he isn't with me he lies in his hammock pretty much the entire time. I try to keep him stimulated but sometimes he isn't even interested in free roam time and goes back into the cage the moment I take him out.
I don't know what to do to make things go more smoothly, or if it's even possible. Getting him neutered isn't an option - I've spoken to my vet who specializes in rodents/small animals. She advices against a neuter since he's old and could have underlying health problems that could complicate things during surgery. Which is really unfortunate cause a neuter seems like the only solution so far. Please give me advice on what else I can try, and thank you for reading.