Would it be okay if I bought another rat say tomorrow or within this week? I got my rat on Sunday and she looks awfully lonely in her cage. I play with her a lot but she still looks very lonely. She shared a cage with 2 other rats when I bought her. Should I wait a little for her to get used to things still or would it be fine to get the other rat?
2nd Rat
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some people here do and others don't. it really depends on the situation you're in. ideally you should quarantine of at least 2 weeks though 3 is better. but if you just bought one rat from a store only a few days before then go get another from the same store there isn't much sense in a QT they would both have been exposed to the same things around the same time anyway.
if i'm able i'll do a QT but generally my QT's aren't all that great. i don't have a different air space available to me to due a proper one and i know i'm not all that great at washing up everything before and after handling one set of rats (that many showers is just hard to do in one day). also i have a child that loves his rats too and its twice as hard to give him multiple showers a day. i try to keep him from the new babies though as much as i can. but i also know what risks i'm taking and am prepared for them. i have a can of money stashed away just in case. i also am careful when choosing new rats if i get them from a store. even if their face is dear and i REALLY REALLY want to take that one home i won't if it looks, sounds or acts sick. but that's just me. it would be a heck of a lot safer for all concerned if i was able to do better QTs.
if i'm able i'll do a QT but generally my QT's aren't all that great. i don't have a different air space available to me to due a proper one and i know i'm not all that great at washing up everything before and after handling one set of rats (that many showers is just hard to do in one day). also i have a child that loves his rats too and its twice as hard to give him multiple showers a day. i try to keep him from the new babies though as much as i can. but i also know what risks i'm taking and am prepared for them. i have a can of money stashed away just in case. i also am careful when choosing new rats if i get them from a store. even if their face is dear and i REALLY REALLY want to take that one home i won't if it looks, sounds or acts sick. but that's just me. it would be a heck of a lot safer for all concerned if i was able to do better QTs.
Like others have said, if you get it from the same place within a few days, it would be ok... you don't even know if the first one is totally healthy yet.
I would still do proper introductions, though. When you first put them together, do it somewhere other than the cage to see how they get along. If they get along fine, then you should be able to put them together. I would also still clean the cage and rearrange it a little before you put them in there together - but that's just me, I'm a worry wort! Better to be safe than sorry.
I would still do proper introductions, though. When you first put them together, do it somewhere other than the cage to see how they get along. If they get along fine, then you should be able to put them together. I would also still clean the cage and rearrange it a little before you put them in there together - but that's just me, I'm a worry wort! Better to be safe than sorry.
i'm terrible with quarantine. like twitch, i dont have a separate airspace in which to do that, and changing clothes and showering a million times a day is a pain in the butt, but i will try to keep them apart for at least a week before trying to introduce the new ratties to the existing ratties.
ginger & loco came from the same store at the same time so that wasnt a problem. soot & ash came from the same store but 4 days apart so i just put ash in with soot as i know they were cagemates in the store. i kept both cages at opposite sides of my apartment for about a week and a half, then put the cages closer together so that they could all see each other. much huffing and puffing later, i put them all onto my bed and they just played with each other like they had been friends all their lives.
when i got meggsy, i put soot & ash in her cage without worrying about quarantine as meggsy had been a solitary rattie all her little life and her previous person had scrubbed her cage before giving them to me. a little sniffing and they are already best friends. all five of them love running around on my bed or freeranging in my living room.
ginger & loco came from the same store at the same time so that wasnt a problem. soot & ash came from the same store but 4 days apart so i just put ash in with soot as i know they were cagemates in the store. i kept both cages at opposite sides of my apartment for about a week and a half, then put the cages closer together so that they could all see each other. much huffing and puffing later, i put them all onto my bed and they just played with each other like they had been friends all their lives.
when i got meggsy, i put soot & ash in her cage without worrying about quarantine as meggsy had been a solitary rattie all her little life and her previous person had scrubbed her cage before giving them to me. a little sniffing and they are already best friends. all five of them love running around on my bed or freeranging in my living room.
I'd go right now..run to the store and just get the other cagemates that are left! When I got my 2 girls I felt so bad cause I left one sister behind. I went like 3 days later and she was still there by herself so I grabbed her up to so they could stay together.
They should definatly have a friend and if you get one soon they'll have a friend to explore with and get comfortable in the place with from the start
They should definatly have a friend and if you get one soon they'll have a friend to explore with and get comfortable in the place with from the start
I did not know much about the quarantine thing when I got my girls. I got two sisters one day and about 2 weeks later I got another female baby. I only kept the baby in a separate cage for a few days as I was worried about fighting. I knew NOTHING about the quarantining them.
I am thinking they will all be fine. Its been about 3 weeks since I brought the baby in and everyone looks and seems ok. Gosh I HOPE SO!!
I am thinking they will all be fine. Its been about 3 weeks since I brought the baby in and everyone looks and seems ok. Gosh I HOPE SO!!
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