[rkarcheologist]

So I am not sure if this is the right forum to post this in!

So recently I got my third rat. He is a little champagne boy 7 weeks old and precious but very skittish. At first we thought it was just because he was young and in a new environment. However after some handling and basic trust training exercises we have learn that he is also very blind. We discovered this after the flash light test!

My question is should I proceed with introductions to my colony(2 other boys) as planned, or do I need to take it slower? When introducing a blind rat to a colony are there any other steps that need to be taken or omitted; such as swapping cages?

My current plan was another week of him bonding with just me. A week of their cages next to each other, mixed with a few hours here and there of cage swapping. Around the third week individual bath tub introductions 30 minutes at a time followed by group meetings. Finishing with the 4th week being cage tests and having him moved in.

 

[Tao.and.Laughter]

I've never had a blind rat, but I have had a blind sugar glider, and was able to introduce her to the group I was homing the same way your plan is set - Definitely keep updating! I'd love to know how it goes

 

[rkarcheologist]

So after the first week I final got him to take a treat from my hand. All I had to do was tap the area where my hand was and he went right to it. I have since moved him next to the resident rats and none seem really all the interested in each other. Some sniffing but other then that nothing else.