Introducing Rats
I suggest getting two rats. I think having 2 rats is better than having 3, 4, or 5 rats, and better than having just one. You see, rats need attention, and lots of it. I believe that rats are generally happier and healthier animals when they have a buddy. Even if you have just one rat and aren’t planning on another, you should know how to introduce two rats. For most of us, the time will come eventually. Most of us DON’T know what to do, though. Some of us think you can just put two rats in the same cage and everything will be fine. Some of us think you can stick them in the bathtub a couple of times and THEN put them in the same cage and everything will be fine. Some of us are wrong. It’s actually quite a bit more complicated than you might think, and can sometimes take a long time. Introducing males is more difficult than females (that testosterone can be quite a pain), but females can give you trouble, too. The fact of the matter is, if you don’t know what you’re doing, you could end up with trouble. It’s usually easier to introduce babies to babies rather than adults to adults. Never introduce baby rats under six weeks to an adult male. There is a tendency for males to kill babies. Read on to find out the best way to introduce your two little ones.
Step 1–Supplies & Preparation
This entire process takes quite a long time. I’m not talking hours, here, I’m talking weeks. Over the entire process, you’re going to need:
- Two cages, one for the old rat, one for the new one, preferably wire
- Towels
- Spray bottles
- A place where you play with both of them (at different times, of course).
Also, before advancing to step 2, make sure you
quarantine the new rat just in case it develops any symptoms of disease. Have the new rat as far away from the current rats as possible, and between handling the rats, wash your hands and change your clothes. Many diseases, including Myco, are transmitted not only through the air, but also from hands and clothing.
Step 2–Love at first sight?
The first step is to place the cages close together, so that the rats can smell each other but not touch. This way they can identify that each other are present, but the worry of fights or other problems is not there. You should keep them next to each other for about a week, so they can get used to the idea that they’re not the “only” rats anymore. After this amount of time, move onto step number three.
Step 3–The Great Exchange
By far, this is one of the most interesting things to watch. Put the current rat in the new rats cage and the new rat in the current rats cage, so neither is in the right cage. Whatever you do, don’t put the new rat in the current rat’s cage while the current rat is still in there, or vice versa! This is a death wish. You may see the fur on the rats puff up, and there could be a lot of marking. Let the rats explore their new friend’s cage for a while. Do this several times over the next couple of days.
Step 4–The First Introduction
The first introduction should take place on neutral territory, so that neither rat feels the need to defend his or her territory. If neither rat has been to this place before, neither considers it “his place”. The best place to do this is in the bathtub. It is a good idea to have a towel and a spray bottle nearby. This is where the first examinations are done. If you’re lucky, the two may just start grooming each other, but there may be some squeaking, pouncing, hair raising, and fighting. If there’s any squeaking or hair raising, let them alone, but if you (or they, for that matter) start to feel uncomfortable, give them a quick squirt with the spray bottle. Any fighting should be stopped. Don’t put your hand between the rats. You could get hurt. Use the towel to separate them, then replace them in their cages. It helps to give them treats together. According to Debbie Ducommun (the Rat Fan Club), eating together helps rats bond. Never leave these rats unattended!! Do this every day for a week, then move on to step 5.
Step 5–The Scary Second Introduction
Next, put the rats together in their playspace. They should have never met here before, and they should have had this be where playtime is conducted. This introduction is where some fighting is likely to break out, since you are introducing these rats on territory that each considers their own. As always when introducing two rats, have the towel and spray bottle close on hand. Do this for about a week, feeding them treats together daily.
Step 6–The Big Leap of Faith
The cage you want to have both of your rats living in mayor may not
be the cage the resident rat lives in. If the resident rat does, in fact, live in this cage, you need to thoroughly clean the cage with soap or Lysol and rinse it cleanly to remove all odor. Rearrange the “furniture”, so the cage looks and smells different to the current rat as well as the new one. Before putting them in the cage together, it’s a good idea to clip their nails (to minimize large wounds in a fight), and dab each rat with perfume or vanilla extract or bath spray. Make sure not to get it in their eyes. This makes the rats smell alike. The best time to introduce rats is when they’re sleepy, which is usually in the morning.
This meeting might frighten you a bit. I know it scared me!! The resident rat will probably flip the newcomer onto his or her back, causing the new rat to squeak. Keep in mind, just because a rat is squeaking, doesn’t mean it’s getting hurt. If the current rat is showing signs of big-time aggression, you should remove the new rat. It’s normal for the resident rat to beat up the newcomer. He or she needs to establish dominance. As long as no one is getting seriously hurt, you should let them do their thing. It’s also normal for the “beating up stage” to last a few days. In most cases, the “tiffs” will be over quickly. The first fight is usually the worst, then the rats become friends after a week or so.
Every so often, there are rats that “just don’t like each other”. If the rats fight all the time, or just don’t seem to care about each other, you might consider getting different cage mates for each rats, or just keeping them alone. Aggression in males can also be solved by neutering. Good luck!!
on March 17th, 2006 at 9:14 pm
I have 2 adult male rats and they live together in a enclousure in my room. My sister just got a babie male guinnea pig. We thought they would be friends but when we tryed to introduce them we put the guinnia pig on my bed and one of the rats (the less dominate one) and in about less than 1 second the rat was on top of the guinnea pig and bitting down hard causing the guinnea pig to bleed and to have a nasty bite. The guinnea pig diddnt even try to run away. I grabbed the rat but he wouldnt let go i had to squeze his top jaw and pry it off the guinniea pig.
Why did the rat do that? and why did the guinnea pig not run away or fight back or even move? and why was the rat attack so vicious and brutal?
p.s. the guinnea pig is fine
on March 18th, 2006 at 5:27 pm
i have 2 female rats one thats about 8 months and the other is about 1 month.there names are suzy and zoey
on March 18th, 2006 at 6:03 pm
i have a friend toni and she has 2 female rats also.that are bothe 8 months and there names are sunshine and paris
on March 19th, 2006 at 1:14 pm
Well,
Let me tell you that rats can be territorial when it comes to another animal. If the rat is used to that particular person, s/he will become aggressive!!! My rat loves my sister’s hamster, but the hamster doesnt seem to like her at all!!! It just depends on the animal.
on April 8th, 2006 at 7:05 pm
I had one rat, Torri, and desided to get her a friend, Lilli. On accident the first time i put them both in the same cage. Torri (about 1 year) puffed up and Lilli ( 8 weeks old) ran into a tube. Then Torri started like attacking the tube but didn’t attack the baby. I finally seperated them by calling Torri and the baby was fine. Then I brought up another cage and put the baby in it. The two are currently next to eachother. I started swapping them in eachothers cages and I decided to put Lilli in a exersice ball to insure she didn’t get hurt and put in in Torri’s cage. Torri attacked the ball and it isn’t letting up. What can I do? I have the baby a week but, by next week I need to know wheter or not they can get along so if I have to bring her back(My parents wont let me have 2 rats in 2 seperate cages). And why didn’t Torri go in the tube when she could fit fine and attack Lilli? Why did she just attack the tube?
on August 19th, 2006 at 8:00 am
i have two adult males at around 1 3/4 years old and i want to get two baby male rats (6 weeks old), i want the baby to live in with the current adult. would this be ok?
on September 2nd, 2006 at 8:10 pm
i have 2 female rats, and im thinking about getting 2 more females because i have this giant cage and i absolutly love rats!
but i was wondering if i still stick to the same process as i would if i was just introducing 2 rats together instead of 4
and what would be the chances of them all getting along together?
on September 9th, 2006 at 11:59 am
hello, i have 2 adult male rats. my first one Bartleby i have had for about 3 months, and i got him from petsmart, which is a big pet store. my hubby and i had wanted to get another rat so Bartleby would have a friend. so we drove by a smaller privately owned pet store and saw that the owner had 2 male adult rats, who are brothers and had been together their whole lives. we only took 1 of them and named him Loki. on the way home he was crying and squeaking, so we want to go back and get his brother,it’s been 2 days and i have bartleby and loki in seperate cages but next to each other so they can see and smell each other, but not touch. if all goes well and they get along, how do i introduce a 3rd one? will azrael get along better with bartleby cuz his brother is already friends with him? if anyone has been thru something like this and can offer suggestions or share their experience, i would greatly appreciate it…thanks wendy
on September 21st, 2006 at 12:41 pm
i have two rats. both girls. one is a bout 3 months ht eother is about 4 weeks. i just got the younger one and put her directly in the cage with the older one. nothing happened. they played and then cuddled up next to eachother for sleep.
on September 22nd, 2006 at 12:20 am
Chris,
We had two older rats (female) and we wanted to replace the two that had died. My sister and I went out to Petco and bought a baby rat and a rat the same size as the two older ones. We put them in the cage with the first two. All seemed well but 20 minutes later the littlest rat was eaten alive by the oldest rat. It was very depressing and hard to go through. I highly UN-RECOMMEND getting babies and putting them with the older rats.
on October 26th, 2006 at 11:06 am
I have 2 rats, one female, one male, both in seperate cages. My female is old and has cancer so she won’t be with us much longer, and my male is young, only a couple of months old. I just upgraded his cage to one that is much bigger, and he seems lost! He just lays there all day now, I think he is overwhelmed by the room in his cage. I am wondering whether or not I should get him a playmate, or just get him toys and stuff to occupy him. There are 2 males at the pet store I work at, who are around the same age as the one I have now, maybe a bit younger but not much, and I was thinking about buying one as a friend for him. The only problem is I don’t have a cage for the other one in for the slow introduction process and will not pay the prices they are asking for another cage. I just paid $200 for the cage I bought the male I have now. He is also not a rat you can give much attention to, because for some reason he bites. I got him from work, and he was fine there, but as soon as I brought him home, he started biting. He was never dropped or improperly handled or anything, so I am not sure why he developed this habit, but I don’t like it. I wanted a rat I could hold often and with him that isn’t possible.
Any suggestions on anything I have written?
on November 24th, 2006 at 6:49 pm
Thanks for all the info on introductions. I have recently succesfully introduced a 6 week old female to a 1 year old female who had lost her friend just 6 weeks earlier . Thanks!
on November 29th, 2006 at 3:29 pm
I had two Rats, Bob and Cyril. Recently Bob died and we are worried about Cyril. We were wondering whether it would be possible to introduce a friend to Cyril as a seems very sulky. It’s only been a day and a bit (on the writing of this email) since Bob died is it too soon? When bob was here he was the dominant Rat, Cyril is a wind up merchant and was the runt of a litter so he is quite small, He use to chase Bobby round the cage and annoy him, but Bob would let him do it.
We don’t want Cyril to get lonely and become ill, he has already had a stroke and this might push him over the edge.
Help me.
on January 28th, 2007 at 6:36 pm
Okay, to all of you, you need to do research on any animal before aquiring one.
Rats are PREDATORS. They’re not herbivores! They each whatever they can find, and attacking another animals is instinct. Rats should NEVER be permitted to play or come into contact with any other species.
A minimum of 2 weeks is necessary when you get a new rat. Many rats, especially Pet Store rats have Upper Respiratory Infections or mites which can both spread, costing you $200 for one treatment each rat. If you’re not willing to take your sick rats to the vet, will you just let them die?
You should definately have 2 or more rats.
You CANNOT, I repeat CANNOT place a new baby in with a grown rat! Due to obvious size differce, and the fact that you’re putting another rat in another ones cage; that smells like them, is lived in by them, and is theirs. I know alot of you don’t quarenteen, and still won’t, but introductions are a MUST! I find it even better if you wait until a baby gets a bit bigger before doing so with a larger rat. That way, you have a quarenteen period.
PLEASE, PLEASE do further research on rats, and any other animals you have and are looking into getting. While rats are very rewarding pets, they have weak immune systems and an illness will progress quickly, commonly resulting in death. Plus the way to bring out the best in your rats, and experience them to the fullest is to know as much as possible about them. Don’t settle for the basics. If you want an easy, cheap, pet, get a Pet Rock.
on February 13th, 2007 at 12:22 pm
so i recently decided to pursue my life long dream and invest in a rat plus supplies, im excited, but i was wondering, if you buy 2 rats at once, for friends(i read that rats need company) how do you introduce the 2. or do you have to?
please help me.
on February 19th, 2007 at 4:31 pm
If you want to buy two rats at once, buy litter mates (rats born in the same litter), they should get along fine without having to be introduced.
on March 6th, 2007 at 8:14 pm
ye, I have 2 rats and 1 of them always hurts the other one, and the one that is getting biten Sutie Pie, makes a cry! and I try to get blueberry to stop but she keeps on biting her!
help!
Paige
on March 6th, 2007 at 10:15 pm
I ment Cutie Pie
on March 6th, 2007 at 10:27 pm
Cassandera,
How to introduce the 2 rats is to just let them see eachother and let them sniff each other and they will like each other!
Hey u guys the fighing is getting wores, I picked up Cutie Pie today and she has liitle bits of fur gone! I’m scared! What should I do?
Jamie,
Get him another friend, he will like to have company and that will be good. It is like a punishment if they don’t have a buddy.
Wendy,
Just let them look at eachother and smell eachother and put them all in 1 special place that they all like and see if they like eachother
M and Georgia,
Why the rat did that was because it was very territorial and it was afrid of your new guinea pig. So it attacked, that is what most animals do. So, I don’t think t is a good Idea to do that. That is just what I say. tried introducing my rat to my dog and the rat just stood there letting the dog snifff her it was pretty funny!
Hope I helped
Paige
on March 15th, 2007 at 9:58 pm
I have a male rat and i would like to get another one (male of course) but i am afraid that the rat i have currently will get nervous and attack the other rat, my rat (his name is Slush) has never bit anyone in my family, or any of my friends, and has never showed sighns of aggression, please help me decide what i should do!!!
on March 17th, 2007 at 11:51 pm
I have 2 female rats (Trouble and Opal) I got Trouble first then a week later I got Opal after reading about how they should have a friend. I took Trouble in the pet store with me and let her pick out her own friend and now 2 years later my girls are both very happy. But I am sad to say that my poor Opal has a tumor. How should I help Trouble get through it when Opal is gone?
on April 8th, 2007 at 8:03 pm
HI
i have two female rats called Apple and Ginger
I try to introduce them in the bath tub and failed. Apple would jump on gingers back and try and bite her on the neck. Ginger would chase Apple and sniff Apple where the sun dont shine (if u know what i mean) Apple would get annoyed by this and attack Ginger. I saw no “puffing up” But Ginger squeaked alot. Is this normal and apple is trying to be alpha rat ? Or just plain mean?/?
on April 9th, 2007 at 6:08 pm
I have had a rat for about 8 months, i just got a new one, both female, and i let them meet on my coffe table,and had no problems at all, i then that same hour, put them in the same cage. they ignored eachother for a bit, but then began grooming eachother and then ate a little bit. then currled up in a cardboard tissue box and have been sleeping for a few hours, they seem very loving of eachother. i guess it just depends on the rat.
on July 26th, 2007 at 9:59 pm
I have two female rats that I’m trying to introduce. One is 8 months and the other is about 2 or 3. They fight a lot so I keep them seperate but now the new one seems to be sick….She breaths really hard and makes a constant clicking noise…. I don’t know what is wrong with her….
on August 18th, 2007 at 9:43 am
Well, I’m heading out in about 5 minutes to buy a second rat, and this guide is going to be seriously helpful ;).
on August 19th, 2007 at 7:17 pm
We have 2 new rats. Got them both at the same time. One is definitley donimant in the cage, to the point that the other one just hangs out in the wheel all the time now. Not sure what to do. They are female blue rats.
Thanks for any help/advice.
on August 30th, 2007 at 9:28 am
i have a month old rat, and i want another one, would they get along
on September 3rd, 2007 at 6:34 am
I am thinking of getting 2 fully grown female rats who need a home and have lived together since they were babies. But i really want to get 2 baby female rats…….i’m really stuck and dont know whether i should not look after the older ones and just go ahead with new female babies or try introducing them. After reading this webpage it seems to be males which are the problem in introducing. Is there any advice you can give me?
Thanks
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on October 2nd, 2007 at 2:57 pm
i have two girl rats called peso and messeties there about 10 monthsthey got along so well untill about a month ago they started fighting i thought it was normal so i let them but they kept me up a lot with there fight so i bang on the cage and spray water at them it works but not for long it was only when i notticed messeties had bean biten when i went out to get a new cage now they live in seprate ones they only see each othere during freerange but they still fight why they never use to ?i think rats are like humans we dont get along with every one so why should they i just want them to get along again 1 play with them and give them treats but they still do
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on October 27th, 2007 at 6:21 am
hey everyone,
i have been looking at getting pet rats for quite a while now, they sound great! Do you think they are good pets? and is there any differences between keeping males or females?
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on November 14th, 2007 at 4:43 am
Hay I want to thank you for the helpful information. I got my rat Oedipus a few months ago and he was becoming lethargic and slow. I took him to the vet and she found no problems and suggested a roommate. Well the next day I went and picked up Hermes and following your advice introduced them with out a hitch. Oedipus still sometimes gets territorial when it comes to me but nothing too extreme. They are adorable when they play and both are amazingly sweet tempered and groom me like one of their own.
Thanks again for the amazing advice.
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on December 13th, 2007 at 11:50 am
Firstly rats are preditors and you should never place an animal of another species in with a rat. They will attempt and possibly succeed at killing it. As a rule of thumb never place your rat in a situation you wouldn’t trust a ferret in.
When buying rats purchase litter mates- Make sure the cage and area is clean and check the health of the animal before you leave with it. Check for smudges under the tail, (diareah) Rough coat (poor health) A blood like discharge from eyes and nose. (not blood but porphyrin-in short rat snot!) and be sure to check the skin for lesions or sores. (parasites) Make sure you have found a veterinarian willing to treat rats before you purchase your pets as you never know when an emergency could come up.
Lastly good luck,
Teej.
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on December 21st, 2007 at 12:15 pm
me and my partner have had a male rat for about 4 months so hes about 7 months old we brought a new rat about 2 weeks ago which is about 3 - 4 months old and my older rat archie keeps on bitting the younger rat what to suggusted i do or do u think that my older rat just doesn’t want a friend. i tried the perfume idea neutral ground idea and now we just puttin thier cages next together please could help. many thanks if read this x
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on January 21st, 2008 at 10:50 am
Hiya i just got two girl rats about 1 week ago and im finding it hard to handle them, they wont come in my hands but they are very playful together and love going through tubes they are very scared of me but i am trying my best with them help!!
on January 26th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Hi!
I have 2 female rats. I was thinking of getting a male and breeding him with one of the females. Would I have to introduce the male and female?
Please help!
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on July 13th, 2008 at 11:09 am
Hey guys! I’ve had my two beautiful female rats for about three months now. We got them both at the same time, and they’ve always gotten along just fine. Lately, the more outgoing rat has started picking on the more shy girl! I hear her squeaking all morning. She will nip her tail, or grab her over to the corner to groom her roughly! They’ve never done this before. Also, they pushed every bit of bedding out of the cage! I have no idea why this sudden change of behavior…? It makes me sad to see my girls acting this way!
on August 12th, 2008 at 9:43 pm
I need help. I had my frist rat for about 4 days she start geting lonely. so i got her a another friend and i put her in the same cage they started smelling each then they start bitting each so i got the new one out of the cage and put her in the bath tub for about 10 mins. then i put her back in the cage. my old one went to sleep then she got up and started jumping all over her… was she play or figthing. Please HELP
Email me at kassandrabunch@yahoo.com thank you
on August 14th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
I have an 8 month old albino rat I’ve had since March and I introduced her to my pet Hedgehog, it’s very funny because my rat loves my Hedgehogs and likes to play with him, but the Hedgehog does not like her at all
on September 9th, 2008 at 3:45 am
i love rats they are my favourite ever giver me more info