Introducing a young Rat to 3 older ones

[turkeyspit]

My wife and I adopted 3 Rats about a month ago. All 3 are about 1 year old (we are celebrating their B-Day on Monday :happydance: ), 2 of which are Litter mates while the 3rd was from the same breeder, different Mom. They have all adapted very well to our home, and are probably getting spoiled by all the attention our 2 children (12 and 10yrs) afford them.

But sadly, with 3 Rats and 4 members of the family, someone was left Rat-less..which was 'yours truly'. So against my better judgement, while browsing in a local pet store, we decided to add a 4th Rat to our home (plenty of room in the cage). The new guy is about 8 weeks old, and very very excited to be around the larger (dare I say 'Giant') Rats. The big boys are very excited at the new addition...but maybe too excited?

One thing that has me concerned is that while all 3 of the older Rats go into spasm-excitement mode around the new guy, one of them in particular seems to be almost harrassing the youngling. He is constantly sniffing his butt, which as I understand it, is a perferctly normal way for them to get to know each other. The problem though is the little guy is constantly 'squeaking' at the older Rat, leaving me to wonder if he isn't getting hurt by this behaviour.

We have a smaller cage for the new guy, but we would like to introduce him into the main cage with his 3 Rat Brothers. We have a small shelter for him (into which on he can fit) so he would have a 'hidey hole' if needed, but should I be concerned that the other Rats might unintensionally harm him in their excitement? Or is this just normal behaviour and I shouldn't fuss?

 

[Moon]

Little guy might still be just a touch too young to safely integrate, as rats don't start to develop their "rat smell" until about 10 weeks.

But, if the worst that you are seeing when doing introductions is persistent sniffing, it sounds like things are going amazingly!!! Don't let squeaks bother you, as some rats are just more vocal than others. Screaming is an entirely different noise and if the baby is being hurt you will hear the difference. Also, how long are you letting them intro for? If you are not leaving them together long enough, they might never get time to settle in. What other behaviors are you seeing? Any puffing up, boxing or pinning? These aren't even really big problems but if you are seeing them happen you want to take a little extra time.

When you do get the little one in the cage, you may want to offer him areas that the big guys can't get in to, but their size shouldn't be any particular danger to him as long as intros are done correctly.

Have you read our threads about doing introductions? Here's our basics thread: viewtopic.php?f=22&t=406

For the time being, make sure you are
a) putting the rats cages near each other so they can see/smell one another.
b) only introducing on neutral ground for the time being
c) not over-reacting! If you are stressed during intros, they will feel it.

Edited to add: Good luck! Intros can be scary but like I said, if all you are seeing is some pushy sniffing, things are off to a good start.

 

[jorats]

Like Moon has mentioned, it sounds like it's going great.
I'd continue to do intros with all three for another week or two... just to be sure all is well.