Immersion and trust training for a lone female rat
I have a female rat that is alone and does not have a cage mate due to severe aggression against other rats. I have tried twice now to pair her with another female and all she does is start fights. She is a very sweet girl with me, very loving. She just does not like other rats, lol. I love her to pieces but there must be something I can do to make her less aggressive towards other rats. I don't like her being alone like this although she does seem very content. She gets a lot of free range time outside her cage and like I said she is a total sweetheart towards me. Any insight would be very much appreciated.
Re: Immersion and trust training for a lone female rat
Quote:
Originally Posted by
sorraia
Do you know how old she is? In what ways have you tried to introduce her to a cagemate?
There are ways to successfully introduce even adult rats, but it can take time and patience (depending on the rats involved), and it's a specific process. Since rats are territorial animals, you need to start on completely neutral territory. If you just throw two rats together in one rat's territory, it's asking for a fight to break out. Sometimes older rats will accept younger rats better than other adults, but you have to be careful doing this because an adult rat can also severely injure or kill a youngster. If you can find one or don't mind spending the money, a neutered male can make a great companion too, since most rats will accept the opposite sex (even if that opposite is altered). If all else fails though... she might just have to be one of those rats that lives alone.
She is approximately two years old. I have tried having a separate cage for the other rats that I have introduced and have put it right next to her cage. I have also tried introducing her to other rats in my bedroom with the door closed while I sit on the floor and she does not like any other rats at all. I am rather nervous about the aspect of even introducing a neutered male to her. She pins other rats down and bites very hard, hard enough to leave open wounds. I am working on the immersion training with her now and she seems to be doing really well with it. She is a total sweetheart with me but no one else. When my boyfriend approaches her she just runs away and comes to me.
Re: Immersion and trust training for a lone female rat
Quote:
Originally Posted by
ballpythonluvr
She is approximately two years old. I have tried having a separate cage for the other rats that I have introduced and have put it right next to her cage. I have also tried introducing her to other rats in my bedroom with the door closed while I sit on the floor and she does not like any other rats at all. I am rather nervous about the aspect of even introducing a neutered male to her. She pins other rats down and bites very hard, hard enough to leave open wounds. I am working on the immersion training with her now and she seems to be doing really well with it. She is a total sweetheart with me but no one else. When my boyfriend approaches her she just runs away and comes to me.
Considering she's around 2 years old, I'd probably just leave her alone. She's pretty set in her ways by now, and at that age it could be more stressful to introduce another rat than it would do any good.
Re: Immersion and trust training for a lone female rat
Quote:
Originally Posted by
sorraia
Considering she's around 2 years old, I'd probably just leave her alone. She's pretty set in her ways by now, and at that age it could be more stressful to introduce another rat than it would do any good.
Thank you so much for the input! I was just thinking that it would be in her best interest to just leave her be. She is plenty spoiled and loved by me so I know she is not lacking in that department.
