Introducing an aggressive rat

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Dallis

Active Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2020
Messages
31
Location
Maryland
My boy Pudgy is a little under 2 years old. His previous owner threw him outside and my brother found him so I took him in. I had 2 girls at the time and after he got neutered I introduced them and he got along with them really well. They barely had any scuffles and they were cuddling and sleeping together in no time.
I got baby boys in October. I was waiting until they were old enough to get neutered before introducing them to my other rats because my females weren’t fixed. One girl passed away in December and the other in February. So Pudgy has been alone for about a month now. I put the baby cage next to the other cage before my second girl passed away and pudgy is still puffing up and hissing at them. I’ve been trying to introduce them in the bathtub and it hasn’t gone terribly but pudgy is puffing up and acting aggressive. He bit one of the babies’ tails and tried to pull it while in the bathtub and I had to separate them before he hurt him.
I’m not sure where to go from here. I’ve put them in the bathtub 3 times now for around 30 minutes to an hour at a time and pudgy doesn’t seem any less aggressive. The babies are submitting to him and he’s still chasing them and pinning them down and hissing at them. I’m getting more babies soon so should I try to introduce him to girls instead? Or should I keep trying with the boys I have now? He’s always so sad in his cage. He just lays there and stares because he wants out so I have him out for like 6+ hours a day. As soon as I put him back he lays at the bars and stares because he doesn’t want to be there. I just want him to be with other rats again because he’s so sad.
 
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