Introducing Remy Rat

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brooklyn

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 13, 2012
Messages
118
Location
Guelph, ON
So about two weeks ago I went to the Guelph Humane Society to see if my friends cat that had been missing for 4 months was there (he was there by the way and was alive and in decent health even after 4 months as a stray) and I made the mistake of entering the adoption room. And as I was checking out a pair of degus that had been surrendered, I see a little pointy whiskered face poke his head out of his wooden house in the cage beside the degus. I read the card and there it was, Remy, rat, male, adult. I took the cage down and opened it, and he came out to see me, I held him even though he was skittish and then saw that he was small and maybe only two and a half to three months old and his big dumbo ears decided right then that I wanted him. So after being in quarantine for a week and a bit at a friends he came home yesterday and we have begun intros. My two boys who I've had since they were a month old are both very docile, I cant really tell which one is alpha since theyre both so laid back, yesterday we tried bath tub intros but all three rats just spent the whole time trying to get out of the bath tub then socializing, so we tried couch intros, which went well. All three rats were out for about forty minutes together before Kiedis got upset that Remy also got a piece of nectarine and tried to steal it from him which resulted in a little scrap some squeaks and the end of intros for the day. Today we tried again, this time on my bed, and there were a few small squeaks and some flank rubbing, but no injuries and in fact I think my older boys are a little bit afraid of this little baby rat... who is half their size mind you. This thread will be used to chronicle the introduction process and Remys growth. But my one question is how long do intros typically take before Remy can be integrated into the big boy cage? That is if things continue to go smoothly?
 
Oh and if anybody is wondering how Remy ended up at the shelter, he escaped his owner and ran into an old mans house. The old man recognized him as being a pet and not wild and caught him and brought him to the shelter. This is one lucky little rat. If that man thought he was wild he could have been flat as a pancake.
 
OMG... that story... that name... I've got the shivers, it's almost the story of RatLover2013's Remy... :shock: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=28031&hilit=remy&start=0

What a LUCKY little man he is! We need pictures!

Regarding how long an intro usually lasts, it really depends on the rats. When they get relaxed together, you can add toys, and if there still ain't issues, you give the cage and its content a big scrub - I also change wooden toys to new ones to keep the grounds neutral - and try them in for a couple of days. That's how I know they were ready! :giggle:
 
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He still isnt liking the being held thing, but he's a real sweety.
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Those big dumbo ears!
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Sniffing me, making sure I'm up to par.
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Memphis after cleaning the new guy. :p

Wow! That's really crazy the similarities between my Remy and Ratlover2013's Remy, but funny because her rat looks a lot like my other rat Kiedis :p And, Remy came with his name from the shelter and it just seemed to really fit, though in order to make his name fit in with Memphis and Kiedis', his full name is Remus.
 
CongRATS! He was really meant to be. What a lucky little guy and now he'll have friends too.
Intros can take as long as a month to as short as a day. So it all depends on your group. But so far, it sounds like it's going great. A few more intros on familiar ground and you should be ready for the big cage scrub down and adding them all in and observe.
 
Who would have ever thought that a lost kitty would bring a new face into your house, eh?
What a lucky little boy Remy is! I hope the intros go well.
 
So were on day three of intros, and I just found Remy and Memphis curled up under my blanket together. Kiedis still isnt fond of the idea of Remy and runs back to his cage whenever he sees that Remy is on the bed. But I'd much rather have Kiedis run back to his cage than to be aggressive with the little guy so that part is good. Memphis and Remy havent had any issues, not even a little squeak, in fact it seems as if Remy just follows Memphis' lead and does whatever Memphis does. Hopefully in the next few days Kiedis stops being a grumpy, scaredy rat and accepts that Remy is here to stay so I can integrate him
 
Update, I went to the washroom because I didnt think Remy knew how to jump the gap between the dresser and bed yet and when I came back he was in memphis and kiedis' cage checking things out and kiedis wasnt doing anything, just staring at him making sure he didnt take the lab block kiedis was eating.
 
I had a mini heart attack when I saw his wee face poking out of their cage. XD Man, am I ever thankful that Memphis and Kiedis are well behaved. I was so worried about intros after reading some of the horror stories on here of bite wounds and rats who just dont go together, I'm so happy my rats are so laid back. Kiedis and Remy did get into a small spat later on out of the cage, and Remy tried so hard to hold his own with Kiedis but just ended up pinned to the bed with a paw on his face being profusely groomed.
 
Okay, so day four and I think Kiedis is finally ready to accept that Remy's staying with us. The three played on the bed today with no real issues, and I think I'm gonna do the big cage scrubdown on Wednesday after school and try them in together, then I think for about a week Remy will just stay in his temp cage for the three hours of the day I'm at school.
 
I have never taken them out part time after they have been together in the one cage. It might cause more problems than solutions with having to continually re-establish the pecking order each time he came back. I would leave him in once you've committed.
 
Usually, once they move in and it's good for the whole evening and overnight, I wouldn't worry about anything happening. Sounds like your intros are going really good.
 
Well theres been a set back last night Remy and Kiedis got into a fight and I broke it up but Kiedis has a small scratch on his paw that was bleeding a tiny bit. I cleaned it and it looks fine today and very minor
 
So now it sounds like they are setting boundaries which is really good. A cut on a paw is meaningless, what I mean is that definitely not a sign of bullying or aggression. I would let them work it out. How old is Remy again?
 
Remy looks to be about three months old maybe a bit older, but hes still small and his fur is still soft like girl rat fur. Memphis and him were boxing today and Remy kept bruxing at Memphis but like angry bruxing, it even sounded angry. But were gonna try again today. Tomorrow will be Memphis and Kiedis' first birthday so hopefully if we have no major problems Remy will join in the festivities.
 
Mmm, that's not good that Remy is worried like that. Keep doing intros and if that happens again, then you might need to take a step back.
 
I'm glad to hear you found a new friend for your boys :) Hopefully Remy gets over his nervousness and they can move in together shortly.

Is it possible Remy's older? It's hard to judge from size alone since there's so much variation, there's a lot of guesswork with strays. My foster girls are significantly bigger than the girls from a litter two months older we have at the shelter.
 

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