how do i go about introducing a smaller rat???

i just got a smaller rat, maybe 6 weeks old. i would like to house him in the cage that my other 3 larger males are in, will the larger rats kill him? i have the smaller rat in a pet carrier inside of the larger enclosure because i read that its a good idea to introduce them without being able to fight and i dont have any other enclosures due to already having close to 30 rats. what is the best way of going about this with my little guy being considerably smaller?

You can introduce them one by one on neutral territory first, like the bath tub or something. Then try putting all the big boys in the bath tub together and let the little guy sit in the cage for awhile by himself so he gets some of their smell on him. :)

yeah, I'd say introduce them one by one in neutral territory, as was said above. You could also try putting some of their bedding in his enclosure for a little while so that when you do introduce them he'll have a bit of their scent on him as well.

honestly, id just throw him and see what happens. if they pick on him too much, pull him out. whenever i rotate them through tubs or add new ones to tubs i never introduce them first, i just toss em in and let em do their thing. havnt had any get killed yet, or even close to it for that matter.

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Originally Posted by BAMReptiles

honestly, id just throw him and see what happens. if they pick on him too much, pull him out. whenever i rotate them through tubs or add new ones to tubs i never introduce them first, i just toss em in and let em do their thing. havnt had any get killed yet, or even close to it for that matter.

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I agree Ive never lost one when introducing. Smaller ones may get picked on a bit at first but they usualy submit prety fast to the larger ones and then everything is fine.

I just throw my rats into a cage, observe for a few minutes, check often for the first few days and leave it be for the most part. Rats will normally fight a little at intro but usually get along well after a week.

Introducing all the rats to the bin after cleaning (including washing the bin with bleach, rather than just dumping the bedding) is also a good idea. I did that with mice and never had a problem, and rats are more communal than those.

yea mice are terrible, i keep a close eye on those when i put new ones in. savages i tell you lol

thanks. i put all of them into a bath tub and sprayed them with a little bit of perfume to make them smell the same, they are happy and lovin being together!! im soo happy it went well no fighting, i was very happy with results. how we just gotta get 1 more male in the cage lol, thats gonna take some major time (very dominant male)