Adult Male Intro's?

[LOTR_Ratties]

I currently have 3 ratty boys that are almost a year old; and I am looking into adopting a pair of males, also around a year old. I am wondering, can 2 groups of adult males be introduced and live together successfully? How do the intro's usually go in cases like this? What's the best way to intro? If I get through the quarantine period and they seem to be introduced successfully, at what point can I attempt to place them all in the same cage? Any other things I should know?

Wow sorry for all the questions, I've never done intro's before, and I just want to make sure that I'm up for this, and that my chances are good for them getting along. Any links, advice, etc. you can give me would be great. Thank you so much!

[RatAttack59]

Hm, most of our males were young-ish when intro'd into the group, but except for my two grumpy old men (past two when I got them) we've had few problems.  Tips to remember: let them see/smell each other first, swap their cages second, intro on neutral territory, if you free range do that together (we are limitted in that because of te critter mix and floor plan here), then scrub the cage, replace/wash the "furniture", and rearrange it differently when the boys all go "home" the first time.  Do remember a certain amount of squabbling is to be expected. Good luck!  It should go fine.

[jeepharm]

'Patience is a virtue'

I'm an 'all male house' when it comes to rats.  A breeder once told me to start out with 5 minute intros and move up from ther and that has always worked well (along with RatAttack59's advice).  I do keep a spray bottle handy, just in case I have any squabbles that look like they are heading down a bad path, but usually I don't need to use it.

Good Luck!

Ann & my gorgeous boys Nobel, Figlewitz, Ridley, D'Marco, Gino & Nunzio!
Enjoy the yogie bar Efram!
Co-founding Partner/Secretary
Pittsburgh Rat Lovers Club & Rescue

[LOTR_Ratties]

Thanks so much you two for the great advice. I will be sure and do those things. And jeepharm, just wondering, how long do the intro's have to be up to before I can try putting them together in the cage? I'm so excited to get a couple new rescues! I sure hope this goes well. I always tend to worry too much.

[jeepharm]

Thanks so much you two for the great advice. I will be sure and do those things. And jeepharm, just wondering, how long do the intro's have to be up to before I can try putting them together in the cage? I'm so excited to get a couple new rescues! I sure hope this goes well. I always tend to worry too much.

It always depends on the rats.  Some get along great from the get-go, others may take a month of daily playtime.  Just be patient!

Keep us posted!  (I've had rats for over 30 years...)

Ann & my gorgeous boys Nobel, Figlewitz, Ridley, D'Marco, Gino & Nunzio!
Enjoy the yogie bar Efram!
Co-founding Partner/Secretary
Pittsburgh Rat Lovers Club & Rescue

[LOTR_Ratties]

As you can tell, patience is unfortunately not usually my strongsuit, LOL. But I will be patient with my boys, I want to do this right. Thanks again.

[wickedrodent]

Vanilla extra is your friend! Just dab a bit on each of the before letting them meet eachother for the first time. At least, thats what I heard.. I have never done intros either and man, Im going to have a doozy (2 groups of 2 adult male rats + a young male). Fun, fun.

Anyway.. I heard one of the best ways is the bathtub. Put some water and make an 'island' in the middle.. Add vanilla extract dab to each rat and then put them the groups at separate ends. They will all end up clinging on the island together to try and stay dry. I did that when introducing all my pigs and it worked really well. I hope it works as easy with the ratties!