Anonymous asked: Is it easier to introduce rats when they're older (say 1-2) and more calm? I've got males but they are only a few months old and they fight all the time. I'm trying to avoid getting them neutered because of the risks and I don't even know if the vets in town have ever neutered rats before.
It really depends on the rats. For example, I have two groups of three and that’s merely because the oldies have gotten so grumpy that they’re the difficult ones to introduce. Whereas my young ones were so preoccupied with exploring their surroundings and meeting new friends that they didn’t really bother so much about territory and they were the easiest intros I’ve ever done.
Are the fighting to the point where there’s blood? The general rule is “No blood, no foul” - most of the time they’ll just be establishing dominance. I find that cage size can also have quite a big impact and whether one rat is used to the cage they’re being introduced into. If the rat sees it as his own he might be getting more territorial as he’s not used to someone else being in his home. Fortunately for me with all of my intros they’ve been around the same time as I’ve been upgrading cages (Well, I upgrade a cage and GGMR kicks in!) so I’ve always kept the boys separate and introduced them into the unfamiliar large cage so at first it seems like play time and by the time they realise it’s their new home they’ve gotten used to each other.
I’ve only had two out of my six boys neutered but both have gone through it amazingly and compared to some scratches that they’ve had before the neuter sites healed up brilliantly. I’m not sure of the ratio of successful to unsuccessful neuters unfortunately, but I remember a thread on a Facebook group where we tried to recognise the successful spays/neuters (as all you really hear about is the unsuccessful ones) and there’s a very large amount that went fine. It’s OK to go out further than your local area to get it done too - as long as your local vet has medication in case anything goes wrong. My vets are pretty understanding as while I have a vet in the city that I live in, I often get surgeries done in another city when I’m travelling there as I like the vet’s abilities - but I’m not keen on him for check-ups for example. Ask around for prices and experience - I’m not really sure what to do if there isn’t any decent vets around you sorry.
