[MangoTango]

Hi all,
I'm (finally) getting a gently used critter nation (two story) cage tomorrow - I'm very excited! I also am getting a pair of new girls this weekend (I have a pair of sisters already). I purchased a few new toys and extra water/food dishes in anticipation for the addition of two new girls. But here's my question - when I set up my new cage tomorrow, should I give my existing rat pair access only to the bottom level, and reserve the top level for the new pair while they're still being introduced? I've read what I could about intros and it seems like they might need time to be friendly enough to live together - I'm not sure how long this usually takes as I've never intro'd rats before. So, any suggestions on how I can use the new cage setup to promote healthy and easy intros would be great, as would any extra info on how to make intros easy in general.
Thanks so much!

 

[mimsy]

I would keep the new cage rat free till introductions. That way it doesn't belong to anyone and there is less likely to be any cage possessive behavior. There are a couple stickies in the rat behavior section that explains introductions.

Congrats on the new cage and fur kids!

 

[MangoTango]

That's a great idea - I'll definitely do it that way. Just set up the critter nation (in LOVE with it) and fur babies will be coming home with me this weekend. Hopefully intros go well!