Reintroduction? Is it safe?

[GhostlyMidnight]

Hello all! A while back a made a post asking for advice because one of my two boys had a tail injury and now I need some more advice! My boys tail is mostly healed up now. It has scarred over for the most part and only a tiny little scab remains, but while he was healing I had separated him from his brother to ensure that his brother didn't reopen the wound or possibly become aggressive from licking any blood. Well now I am trying to put them back in the same cage, is this safe to do? They are from the same litter, grew up together, and lived in the same cage for the entire time I've had them. But putting them back together is making me nervous, because they seem to be fighting? Is this normal? Is it safe to keep them back together? They keep trying to forcibly groom one another and they're both trying to mount the other. They did do this occasionally before they were separated, but now it seems more aggressive. What should I do?

 

[lilspaz68]

How long were they separated? Depending on the boys some can revert to "stranger status" within a week of being separated and you will have to start with neutral intros rather than just tossing them in a cage together right away. Slower intros may be necessary.

 

[GhostlyMidnight]

How long were they separated? Depending on the boys some can revert to "stranger status" within a week of being separated and you will have to start with neutral intros rather than just tossing them in a cage together right away. Slower intros may be necessary.

It had been about a week, but I did leave their changes right next to each other side by side. They were both acting very lethargic while they were separated so I thought maybe they were depressed that they had been, so I hoped putting them back would be easier. They've both calmed down some now but they've also kind of separated themselves on opposite ends of the cage. If I need to reintroduce them slowly, how do you think the best way to do it would be? This is my first pair of rats, so I'm not entirely sure on how to handle this.

 

[lilspaz68]

if you got them in teh same cage with no fighting then just leave and watch for any serious escalations. No blood, no foul is the rule for the most part although small injuries can happen and aren't dire. Serious injuries are bites to the belly or testicles, there are serious and meant to maim or kill possibly. Separate them immediately in this case. if they are ignoring each other and in the same cage that's okay, let them work it out.