Rat introductions

[Zouave]

Any precautions or advice on introducing rats to one another, especially babies or juveniles introduced to older rats?

[Padfoot]

I just LOVE this site: http://www.curiosityrats.com

I think they are mostly like mice, pretty easy to intro to each other, as long as you do so on a neutral enviroment, and clean throughly the cage and toys before putting them there together, but, unlike mice, males are social too... I think older males might be a bit more territorial than females, but, if done correctly, it can be done. Check out the site, it has tons of cool info. 8) Are you planning of getting rats?

[Southpaw]

Males are a tad trickier than females...particularly if they are around 6 months (when most males go through a stage of aggression)...my guys are about 7 months old, they can hardly tolerate each other, I couldn't imagine introducing them to another one lol.

A neutral area is always good...and a drop of vanilla on all the rats being introduced works nicely, too. And always remember: no blood, no foul. Let them wrestle all they want, unless anyone starts to bleed. Introducing a young rat to an older one is one of the easiest 'pairings', too.

Here's a prety good article on intros~
http://www.ratfanclub.org/newrat.html

[Zouave]

Not planning on getting rats. Someone asked this question on another forum: http://kanez.proboards22.com/index.cgi?board=rats

I have pasted your comments there; hope you don't mind. You can go there yourself and comment further if you wish.

(So busy these days - sigh).

[damsel911]

FYI:Bathtubs are a good easy neutral area