[LT_2022]

My new rats arrived today 😁 Pictures here. Previous thread here.

My resident rat is currently blocked off in the top half of the CN. I put cardboard over the closed off ramp opening to keep her from seeing the new rats but she managed to chew a hole in it anyways 😝 She seems very intrigued about her new neighbors. She basically just sits over the closed off ramp and watches and smells what's happening below. Is it too soon to let them all meet? The new rats are super skittish but that's expected for the first day.

 

[Fofo]

Aw so cute! I bet she's dying to meet them. I personally would wait a couple days to introduce to let the new arrivals settle in without extra stressors.

 

[Enya and Sheba]

When i got my rats our cats would just sit on the floor in front of the cage and look at them. i leave the door open to the room were the cage is and all the cats do is look at them never made an attempt to jump on the cage.

 

[LT_2022]

My cats know that there are 2 new rats but they're ignoring them. In hindsight I should have put my resident rat in the bottom of the CN and the new ones in the top 😐

Howie the resident rat has met Jennie, the more confident of the two. Sort of. Jennie had climbed up the bars and was sniffing the closed off ramp where Howie was sitting on the other side of. I took Howie out and let her "meet" Jennie through the cage bars. They sniffed at each other and touched noses but didn't really seem interested in the other. No aggression which is good. I'll try a "play date" in the bathtub this weekend.

Rose has taken to hiding behind the dig box. Jennie hangs out on the shelf behind the fleece cube. Neither want to be handled but that's ok. The rescue said that they're slow to warm up but are friendly and treats help.

 

[LT_2022]

I have a potential dilemma. Or maybe I'm just overthinking. I clean out the CN weekly. Before I would just move my one rat to whichever half of the cage I was cleaning and then move her to the clean half so I can clean out the rest of the cage. I now have both halves of the CN occupied with rats. Would it be ok to put all 3 rats into the carrier temporarily and they can also get to know each other?

I didn't see Jennie at all yesterday. She was happy hiding under the fleece liner. Rose mostly stayed behind the dig box but she sniffed at the treats I offered her. Howie jumped into the bottom half of the cage while I had her out and the bottom door open😮 She walked over Jennie hiding under the liner before I was able to get her out. I don't know what Jennie thought of that. She may have thought it was just (a much heavier) Rose😆

 

[Enya and Sheba]

Can you put your new rats in a cage in another room and quarantine them there for two weeks. That’s what I’m doing. Then on Wednesday I’m gonna put the cages next to each other in the rat room until Saturday and introduce them in the bath tub. I would have introduced them on Wednesday but my grandson is out of town till Friday night and I need his help introducing 5 rats in case there’s a problem. I just don’t know if I should introduce one rat at a time to the baby rats or just put the 3 rats in the tub with the baby rats at one time. One rat is 8 months, then two are 6 months and the baby rats are 3 months

I have a potential dilemma. Or maybe I'm just overthinking. I clean out the CN weekly. Before I would just move my one rat to whichever half of the cage I was cleaning and then move her to the clean half so I can clean out the rest of the cage. I now have both halves of the CN occupied with rats. Would it be ok to put all 3 rats into the carrier temporarily and they can also get to know each other?

I didn't see Jennie at all yesterday. She was happy hiding under the fleece liner. Rose mostly stayed behind the dig box but she sniffed at the treats I offered her. Howie jumped into the bottom half of the cage while I had her out and the bottom door open😮 She walked over Jennie hiding under the liner before I was able to get her out. I don't know what Jennie thought of that. She may have thought it was just (a much heavier) Rose😆

I wouldn’t cause you need to be watching them closely in case they start fighting and you might need to separate them quickly. Can you put the rats from the top half of the cage in the carrier, clean that part of the cage, put them back in the cage and then put the rat in the bottom half in the carrier so you can clean it. I’m confused though, aren’t you suppose to quarantine them for two weeks in separate cages in different rooms before you introduce them and then put them in the same cage

 

[LT_2022]

All the rats have been introduced and are living together Yes, ideally one should wait two weeks to introduce new rats to the current rats and all that.

I first put everyone in a large box to explore. My older rat was definitely happy to see the new rats and kept grooming them and sniffing their butts. The new rats weren't quite sure about a new bigger friend. There was no squabbling or squeaking. I let them get acquainted for awhile until my older rat got cranky and kept climbing out of the box. I did the box intro a few times before I gave them full access to the CN. It's been a few days since and everyone is getting along just fine

The new rats are still too skittish for handling but they will approach my hand and sniff and take treats. Jennie is more confident than Rose. She saw Howie climb onto my arm last night and decided to give it a try, too Rose peeked around the cage door to watch.

Howie mostly leaves the new rats alone unless she wants to groom them or do more butt sniffing 🙄 She seems to be buddies with Jennie. Picture of them "spelunking" under the fleece liner.

 

[LT_2022]

I'd say introductions has been a success 😁

Say "Cheese!"

 

[Enya and Sheba]

That’s great! Guess we both lucked out. It’s funny to watch the babies play with the bigger rats. Your rats sound so much like mine

 

[LT_2022]

Thanks! I was worried that my older rat wouldn't accept friends. Rose is slowly coming out of her shell. I can actually see her roaming around the cage and not hidden in a corner behind the dig box.

 

[Enya and Sheba]

Jupiter is acting like a mom to the babies. She acted like this when we introduced Enya and Sheba. Now there’s Olive and Pickles and she’s probably thinking “what the heck”. Tomorrow is picture day with all 5
I’ll say one thing, these babies sure eat a lot.
How’s the litter box training going for you

 

[LT_2022]

There's a 7 month difference between Howie and the new rats 😮 I'm not sure if Howie feels like an adoptive mom or if the new rats are simply friends.

Litter training is hit or miss. There's some poop in the litter boxes but I have no idea who's pooping in them. There's still lots of poop outside of the litter boxes and under the chewed up fleece liners.