k-wal
Well-Known Member
Hi everyone, I haven't introduced myself yet because I haven't got my little ratties yet and I want to put up some pictures for you all. But the short and short of it is that my name is Krissi and I live in Ontario.
I'm not sure if this topic belongs here or in habitat, as it has to do a bit with this. Here is the story (it's pretty long):
The two rats that I am getting are from a person in Toronto who is allergic to them and they will be my first rats. She(?) took them in from her friend who got them on an impulse in a pet shop where they were about to be fed to a snake. His girlfriend didn't like rats so he gave them to the current owner who can't pick them up without breaking into hives. They are about six or seven months old and it doesn't sound to me like they have been taken care of properly because they currently live in a Tupperware container (a tote I think) and are being fed hamster mix.
I have already bought the biggest cage I could find (it is 77x40x70 cm I believe) and things to put inside of it (hammock, igloo, chewing toys, etc). What I need help with is how to go about introducing my girls to their new home. They will be arriving to my house pretty late at night this Tuesday so I don't have any plans to remove them from their Tupperware (that doesn't sound good at all!) until the next evening.
Does anyone have any suggestions of the best way to do this? I have read that when a cage is cleaned out you might sprinkle a little bit of the old bedding in to make it smell like the rats, but I don't know if that is good advice as I've never read it anywhere else. Should I just leave the door of the cage open and let them explore in their own time but let them sleep in their Tupperware for a few days? Or should I lay off the cage for a few days and just let them get comfortable with me before trying to get them to move? How do you guys introduce your rats to a completely new habitat?
Thanks for reading this whole thing, I know it's long but I want to make sure my rats have a good transition!
I'm not sure if this topic belongs here or in habitat, as it has to do a bit with this. Here is the story (it's pretty long):
The two rats that I am getting are from a person in Toronto who is allergic to them and they will be my first rats. She(?) took them in from her friend who got them on an impulse in a pet shop where they were about to be fed to a snake. His girlfriend didn't like rats so he gave them to the current owner who can't pick them up without breaking into hives. They are about six or seven months old and it doesn't sound to me like they have been taken care of properly because they currently live in a Tupperware container (a tote I think) and are being fed hamster mix.
I have already bought the biggest cage I could find (it is 77x40x70 cm I believe) and things to put inside of it (hammock, igloo, chewing toys, etc). What I need help with is how to go about introducing my girls to their new home. They will be arriving to my house pretty late at night this Tuesday so I don't have any plans to remove them from their Tupperware (that doesn't sound good at all!) until the next evening.
Does anyone have any suggestions of the best way to do this? I have read that when a cage is cleaned out you might sprinkle a little bit of the old bedding in to make it smell like the rats, but I don't know if that is good advice as I've never read it anywhere else. Should I just leave the door of the cage open and let them explore in their own time but let them sleep in their Tupperware for a few days? Or should I lay off the cage for a few days and just let them get comfortable with me before trying to get them to move? How do you guys introduce your rats to a completely new habitat?
Thanks for reading this whole thing, I know it's long but I want to make sure my rats have a good transition!
