[LT_2022]

I just saw that a not-so-local-rat rescue has a pair of adult female rats being fostered in my town I'm considering putting an adoption application in. According to the rats' info page, they have the same birth date of November 2021. Possible sisters? One is a gray dumbo and the other is a blue standard. Both are making progress at being comfortable with handling. There wasn't much else in the info other than the former owner no longer had time for the rats.

The pair is just a a couple months older than my current rat. Could introductions work out?

What's a good temporary and cheap and not too big cage to house new rats in? I have a cage available that will work in a pinch but it's not ideal and I worry about being asked for a picture of the cage the rats will live in and regular updates with pictures 😶until they get moved into the bottom half of the Critter Nation.

Or can I just house them in the bottom of the CN right away? My current rat won't mind being stuck in the top half.

 

[Ratty_123]

I just saw that a not-so-local-rat rescue has a pair of adult female rats being fostered in my town I'm considering putting an adoption application in. According to the rats' info page, they have the same birth date of November 2021. Possible sisters? One is a gray dumbo and the other is a blue standard. Both are making progress at being comfortable with handling. There wasn't much else in the info other than the former owner no longer had time for the rats.

The pair is just a a couple months older than my current rat. Could introductions work out?

What's a good temporary and cheap and not too big cage to house new rats in? I have a cage available that will work in a pinch but it's not ideal and I worry about being asked for a picture of the cage the rats will live in and regular updates with pictures 😶until they get moved into the bottom half of the Critter Nation.

Or can I just house them in the bottom of the CN right away? My current rat won't mind being stuck in the top half.

I think you should adopt them! I would get another cage so you can quarantine the rats for 2 weeks and then you can do introductions and put them all in the CN. 💛

 

[LT_2022]

Would any of these two cages be a suitable home until the pair can be moved into the Critter Nation?

https://www.chewy.com/kaytee-my-first-home-multi-level/dp/166724

https://www.chewy.com/prevue-pet-products-deluxe-hamster/dp/359389

https://www.kaytee.com/all-products/small-animal/kaytee-my-first-home-habitat-for-pet-rats

Small Animal Critters Cage Sugar Glider Chinchilla Ferret Rats Mouse Mice Habitat (24" Length x 16" Depth x 24" Height, Black)

Buy Small Animal Critters Cage Sugar Glider Chinchilla Ferret Rats Mouse Mice Habitat (24" Length x 16" Depth x 24" Height, Black) at Amazon. Customer reviews and photos may be available to help you make the right purchase decision!

www.amazon.com

Amazon.com : Large Pet Products Universal 2-Level Small Animals Home Critters Habitat Cage Narrow 3/8-inch Wire Spacing for Wide Variety Exotics Animal Hamster Rat Mice Mouse Gerbil Guinea Pig Chinchillas Ferret : Pet Supplies

Amazon.com : Large Pet Products Universal 2-Level Small Animals Home Critters Habitat Cage Narrow 3/8-inch Wire Spacing for Wide Variety Exotics Animal Hamster Rat Mice Mouse Gerbil Guinea Pig Chinchillas Ferret : Pet Supplies

www.amazon.com

Both have plastic bottoms but as a temporary cage it should be fine. I don't want to spend too much on a cage.

Edit:

I submitted an adoption application There was a section of how you will house the rats. I just said a temporary cage (brand / type TBD) and will permanently move the rats into the double CN once I know everyone gets along.

 

[Ratty_123]

Would any of these two cages be a suitable home until the pair can be moved into the Critter Nation?

https://www.chewy.com/kaytee-my-first-home-multi-level/dp/166724

https://www.chewy.com/prevue-pet-products-deluxe-hamster/dp/359389

https://www.kaytee.com/all-products/small-animal/kaytee-my-first-home-habitat-for-pet-rats

Small Animal Critters Cage Sugar Glider Chinchilla Ferret Rats Mouse Mice Habitat (24" Length x 16" Depth x 24" Height, Black)

Buy Small Animal Critters Cage Sugar Glider Chinchilla Ferret Rats Mouse Mice Habitat (24" Length x 16" Depth x 24" Height, Black) at Amazon. Customer reviews and photos may be available to help you make the right purchase decision!

www.amazon.com

Amazon.com : Large Pet Products Universal 2-Level Small Animals Home Critters Habitat Cage Narrow 3/8-inch Wire Spacing for Wide Variety Exotics Animal Hamster Rat Mice Mouse Gerbil Guinea Pig Chinchillas Ferret : Pet Supplies

Amazon.com : Large Pet Products Universal 2-Level Small Animals Home Critters Habitat Cage Narrow 3/8-inch Wire Spacing for Wide Variety Exotics Animal Hamster Rat Mice Mouse Gerbil Guinea Pig Chinchillas Ferret : Pet Supplies

www.amazon.com

Both have plastic bottoms but as a temporary cage it should be fine. I don't want to spend too much on a cage.

Edit:

I submitted an adoption application There was a section of how you will house the rats. I just said a temporary cage (brand / type TBD) and will permanently move the rats into the double CN once I know everyone gets along.

The first cage was the same one I used to have. That cage can house up to 2 rats. The second one is too small.

 

[CorbinDallasMyMan]

I'd go with the Pet Products Universal cage.

 

[Fofo]

Or can I just house them in the bottom of the CN right away? My current rat won't mind being stuck in the top half.

Just an idea, with a couple modifications you can actually split the DCN into two separate cages. That way you don't have to buy an extra cage. This is what I did when I got a new pair and wanted to quarantine them before intros. If this might work for you let me know and I'm happy to post details of how I split the cage.
Good luck on your adoption application! 😊

 

[LT_2022]

Just an idea, with a couple modifications you can actually split the DCN into two separate cages. That way you don't have to buy an extra cage.

I can actually split the CN the way it is now. The ramp that leads to the bottom half can be locked in the upright position, essentially creating two separate cages. It locks in place really tightly. I have difficulty with it when moving my rat around to clean out the cage 😅. I think I'll just split the cage instead of buying a whole separate cage.

I haven't heard about the application but it's only been a day. The generic email I got says if I don't hear back in 10 days to contact them.

 

[LT_2022]

Unfortunately the pair has been adopted ☹ The web site got updated and I received an email. That was fast. The pair was only put on the web site a few days ago. The email asked if I was interested in spaying my female so I could adopt some boys. Um, no.

Oh well. I'll keep looking for another pair. My rat seems happy enough so I'm in no rush to get her some friends.

 

[Fofo]

I can actually split the CN the way it is now. The ramp that leads to the bottom half can be locked in the upright position, essentially creating two separate cages. It locks in place really tightly. I have difficulty with it when moving my rat around to clean out the cage 😅.

Haha yeah I know what you mean! Sure takes a bit of force to get that S hook around the ramp.
I meant that you can also completely take the top half off the bottom though, so that the new rats could be properly quarantined away from your existing rat.

 

[LT_2022]

Small update - the rescue finally got my application approved. A volunteer adoption counselor is supposed to be contacting me to get more info on my current rat set up, etc. I was sent a bunch of info sheets ranging from best cages to use (out of date because they recommend Martin's cages which is no longer in business) to food to local exotic vets. I looked at their current list of available rats and none are local to me New rat(s) may have to wait a bit anyways. I might be rat sitting next month when my friend goes on vacation. Her rat is the mom of my rat. I plan to split my double CN in half.

 

[LT_2022]

3 month old females available as of yesterday😁 They were an oops litter. The rescue doesn't have any info if the mom was a pet store rat or not, just that they were given the babies. There are 4 girls, two black / white ones and two agoutis. In the posted pictures, the same colored pairs look identical 😐 I think I'll get one black / white and one agouti so I can easily tell them apart. If all 4 girls had different coat patterns or colors, I'd take all of them.

 

[Tinytoes]

Congratulations!!! Your patience has paid off 😊

 

[LT_2022]

The rescue picked two of the girls for me Ideally they would like to keep the girls under quarantine at the foster home for 3 weeks. They've only had the girls for 11 days. They're willing to let me take the girls sooner, though. Thoughts on that? It definitely wouldn't be as soon as this weekend. I don't have an extra bottle so I need to get that.

 

[Tinytoes]

Trust the rescue. Quarantine is more about observation, making sure they are healthy and don't have any parasites. A good rescue doesn't want to adopt out rats without a clean bill of health. 😊

 

[LT_2022]

The rescue will let me know when the rats are ready The other two girls in the litter are also now reserved.

 

[LT_2022]

Rats can be picked up next weekend 😁I have to work out a ride first and will let the foster know which day I will pick up the rats.

 

[LT_2022]

The info sheet the rescue gave me on how to do introductions suggests taking my rat along when I go get the new rats and putting vanilla extract or pudding on all of the rats so they lick it off each other on the way home and get used to each others scent. Good idea or not?

 

[Tinytoes]

I have never heard of that. When I bring new rats home (I belong to a rescue), they are kept separate until I'm ready to do introductions. Rats get upset easily, and going from home to home is stressful, they kinda need a few days to settle into your home and routine.

When we do adoptions, we ask the new owner to come with their carrier, but never with their own rats

 

[LT_2022]

I'm not going to bring my rat along then. She doesn't like to be bothered during the day anyways.