need help w rats not getting along

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Renee

Member
Joined
Oct 5, 2019
Messages
5
Location
Texas
I have two bonded rats, Daya and Janny, that I introduced to a new rat named Ruby. They all 3 get along but have lots of random fights with Ruby.

I went out and got another rat, a sweet and young dumbo that I named Marlene. My goal was to get her bonded with Ruby so I wouldn't have to keep Ruby in a different cage alone.

Ruby refuses to get along with Marlene. Their first introduction was by scent for about two weeks. The second introduction was in a bathtub with treats and vanilla extract. They got along okay and didn't bite.

However ,everytime after that, Ruby has been attacking Marlene through cage bars with a heavy sniffing noise and puffed up fur.

As for my other two rats, Marlene and Janny get along well and don't mind eachother, but Marlene won't stop mounting Daya. Daya doesn't attack her she just lets it happen so all the other these get along.

I hope this wasn't too jumbled. To sum it up:
Daya: Bonded with Janny, Gets attacked by Ruby, gets mounted by Marlene
Janny: Bonded with Daya, gets attacked by Ruby, doesn't mind Marlene
Ruby: Attacks all 3 rats but the main issue is Marlene
Marlene: Won't attack any other rats, but mounts Daya.

I'm looking to get a big critter nation cage for all 4 to share but I can't accomplish this until they get along. Help?
 
You mentioned you introduced them. What type of setting was it? If its outside of eithers cage/home/territory or personal rat space, it would be best. Versus placing a new rat right into the cage.

If the bath time is an okay time for them to interact, try doing that again and often to help break the tension.
 
You mentioned you introduced them. What type of setting was it? If its outside of eithers cage/home/territory or personal rat space, it would be best. Versus placing a new rat right into the cage.

If the bath time is an okay time for them to interact, try doing that again and often to help break the tension.
thank you and yes I always use a neutral territory
 
Rat behaviour through bars is not a good indication of how they will be once living together. My dog will bark at other dogs through a fence but if there was no fence, they would play. Fences, cages, habitats, leashes are all barriers that can cause heightened arousal.
If your cage is big enough, I would introduce all four together for about a week and then move them all in together. Mounting is quite normal when a rat is in heat.
 
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