Still pretty frightened, but feeling more confident having watched this! The receptionist at the vets recommended your channel :) I hope my intro is as successful!

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

Aww that is lovely. I am glad it helps and that the lovely receptionist helped too

Your channel should be so much larger than it is! This video was so much more informative than so many others I’ve watched. I have 2 paired rescue bucks I’ll be introducing to two paired 1 year old bucks. From what I’ve seen so far in each group separately I’m hoping for a smooth transition. I’ll be using the scent switch method for the first few days and then the carrier method. New sub here, I’m about to go binge watch your vids now🐁❤️

Thank you so much!!!! I had two male rats, but one eventually passed away from old age. Wilbur (the remaining rat) was along for a little while until we got him two baby boys to play with. He HATED them. We tried everything the internet suggested, but the main method we used was introductions in a neutral space. Those introductions did not go well. I watched your video and took your advice, and an hour later, my boys are happily napping in a carrier together. You're a life saver!

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

I am so glad for you and him, he’s very lucky to have an owner that’s prepared to keep working at it for his benefit

Finally successfully introduced my two 30-mo-old bucks (one neutered) and two 9-mo-old bucks (both neutered), this video really helped me so much. Thank you!!

This is the best introduction video I have seen. I have 2 19 month old boys and just got 4 new babies which are 7 weeks old. I watched a few video's where people started introductions in the bath tub and I tried this twice and one of my older boys got very agitated and started pinning down the babies and biting them so I had to intervene and calm tge older boy down. Then I decided to call it a day but it was only 15 minutes of intros. I just watched your video and I now feel confident that the carrier method is what's best for the boys. The weather is going to be hot for the next few days so I'll probably start next week. Wish me luck 🙏 😅

Thank you, I've been introing two pairs to each other. One from each pair are kind of 'problem rats' so they were kicking up such a fuss. Slowing it down and using your method helped soooo much! Thanks for making this video ❤️

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

Really glad it’s helped them

got my difficult boy mixed with little baby called bracken this morning, wouldnt be here without you. your incredible. I am so glad for them, it wasnt looking goo for banjo hes been re homed four times before me. he just needed the right rat an the right person and some patience.

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

Aww that’s wonderful to hear

This is a great video. I had many introduction hiccups with the 2 boys I used to have. I didnt have very much help in videos so I took it really slow but ended up good. The girls I introduced a little over a month ago went super fast and easy. So I have learned that every rat is different. So the next time I need help and tips on intros i will be coming back to this video. 🙂🐀🐾

@IsamuRatCare

5 жыл бұрын

It is very much different for every rat. Totally hit the nail on the head here. Things can change too. I've got what was a super easy intro going at the moment and out of the blue someone has got upset so we are going back a step and giving her time

@LittlePaws18120

5 жыл бұрын

@@IsamuRatCare I hear that.

Thanks for this video. I adopted a lone adult in October last year and quickly realized he needed friends. I adopted two more and tried introducing them using both a carrier and a bathtub. Both times there was instant fighting and blood. I was distraught. A few weeks ago I decided to adopt a couple who were being re-homed by the owner in the hopes they’d be a better match for my lonely boy, but I was so nervous to try any introductions again. This video gave me so much confidence. And the tip to tap on the side or move them about was absolutely key. They had a couple squabbles that were taken care of in this manner. Now they’ve been upgraded from a small rat carrier to a cat carrier to a small cage with no issues. Next will be half of the big cage. I still haven’t been successful the the first couple, but I’m hoping to try again in a couple of months to have 1 complete mischief of 5 boys.

@rockerbabyfi12

3 жыл бұрын

I forgot to say, your calm demeanor and the way you showed that a fight wasn’t the time to immediately pull the plug was what really helped a lot.

I send this video to all the volunteers/fosters I know looking for advice on intros 💕 and I still watch it myself as a little reminder before my own intros at times!

Sooo helpful. Two new sisters are done with quarantine tomorrow and they meet my lone girl i found in a parking lot. One of the sisters is like Luna 🙈 this has made me feel better. Appreciate it

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

I hope they settle in with there new friends well

We've just started intros using this method. So far so good. Thanks for the video.

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

I hope they go well, it’s always a nerve wracking time but well worth it in the end

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

I hope they go well, it’s always a nerve wracking time but well worth it in the end

Last time I introduced rats it went better than I could have hoped. I bought 2 females from a pet store and one died the next day from seizures. After about 2 weeks I found 2 neutered males from a rat rescue. Had them in a box on my bed, put her on my shoulder. Opened the box. She leaped off me onto them and started licking them. The most excited she had ever been. They were all best friends within 1 minute and were all sleeping together in their hammock within 10 minutes. They remained best friends for the next 3 1/2 years. I miss them RIP Bug, Bucky, Chicken

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

Bless them, intros to neutered opposite sex are often the most easy and they form really nice groups

How she has that rat lay still in her arms I don’t know. My girls are so erratic.

@IsamuRatCare

5 жыл бұрын

Mine are nutters lol but sometimes they show off to the camera lol. Mostly they don't ever stay still

great suggestions, easily the best video i've found for this topic! my first intro was between 4 males around 6m old, and it didn't go so good, esp with me being inexperienced. ended up having to neuter 2 of them although they did finally all get along alright. one passed just recently so i got a pair of babies and my gosh, they're so small, i'm worried about how it'll go! i was never sure what to do when one of the rats was starting fights, but i'll definitely try taking them out and petting them firmly to calm them down. as well as tapping on the carrier and going for walks. when i first tried to introduce them, i used the 'neutral territory' method, using a bathtub. it didn't work very well, but when i eventually put them in the carrier (after neuters), it worked much better, although i'm not sure how much of that was thanks to the neuters vs the method. if you're unsure, definitely try the carrier method first, though! i think it works on rat psychology better than using an open neutral territory. and it definitely reduces the risk of injury. you don't need a lot of cages to do it, either, especially if your main cage can be split in half! a carrier, then a quarantine cage, then half of the main cage, then the full cage is how i did it last, and i think that'd work for most people.

Absolutely amazingly informative video! Thank you!

@Em-ws4ik

5 жыл бұрын

Any idea where I can buy the rat show tanks from? I will be introducing two new rats and they seem really handy!

@IsamuRatCare

5 жыл бұрын

You can get them from most local rat clubs in the UK however failing that the tank used is listed here as will as how to make the mesh lid www.nfrs.org/articles_show_tanks.html I will say the mesh lid is a lot better than the plastic lid that comes with some tanks which doesn't allow good airflow

I shared this with one of my rat groups! Luna is very pretty! I love Fawns! One of my favorite varieties.

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

She was a really pretty lady, Russian fawn (or Russian topaz over here) so a little paler than my usual topaz but really lovely. She was also my first ever velvet rat

This had been so helpful to watch! Thank you so much. Could I ask what substrate you use? 😊

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

I used little max as the substrate in there, with a coco soil digging box and some dust free hay.

Hi Jemma. Thanks for this! I've used it as a guide with my current intros. I really could use some advice, though. I have a particularly skittish rat called Sophie... highly strung is a better description, perhaps. We've made some slow progress over the time I've hard her - 3.5 months or so - and she may never be completely comfortable with handling, but we're at a point where it doesn't completely freak her out anymore. She, together with her sister, are my first rats - I recently got two more to add to the mix because I a) wanted them to have more of a community set up and b) I thought Sophie would benefit from more ratty company. After quarantine, I started the intro and everything went fine in the carrier. They were in there for 4 hours or so and there was just a lot of sniffing but nothing else. So, this may be were the first mess up comes in because I don't really have a cage that's adequate for stage 2. The smallest cage I have is really what a stage 3 or 4 cage should be - it's about 75cm L x 42cm W x 30 cm H. There were no issue there however, and they all seemed to be getting along fine. And so, optimistically, I put them in the bottom half of my Savic Royal Suite - with furniture, everything cleaned. Things seemed fine, so I opened up the whole cage (too soon), and one of the new girls, Willow, started pestering Sophie. Sophie would shriek - and then run with Willow chasing her. They had one scrap but no blood. I moved them back to the smaller cage, which is bare save one hamock - and they settled down and Sophie and Willow even started sleeping together and even grooming each other. I left them there for 48 hours with the hamock. All was fine, so I moved them into the bottom half of the savic, but this time I partinioned it much lower down. It seemed to be going well but the next evening, Willow was approaching Sophie, and sniffing her, and Sophie was shrieking and then running. I moved them back to the smaller cage, and peace again. So now I've put them BACK into the cordened off Savic but with no furnishings. Willow is still perstering Sophie and Sophie is really not liking it. And I don't know what is causing this issue in the slightly bigger cage, when they're completely fine in the other cage.... Could it be because the Savic is Sophie's usual cage? I wiped down the whole cage, and cleaned all the toys. I'm just not sure what's happening and if i just need to leave them in the medium sized cage where there are no issues for longer? It just seems that nothing develops there, and they seem really bored. It's furstrating as it feels like it is so close to going great... but then not! Sorry for the long comment, but I'm at a loss, and I feel I need someone with a lot of experience to give me some advice. I appreciate all your info. and I know you're swamped with requests - so I'll figure it out, one way or another :P

@SebastianTemlett

Жыл бұрын

Update: They've been together in a big cage now for about 5 days. It's mostly peaceful, but there is an occasional scuffle between Willow and Sophie, which has a couple of times turned into a full fledged fight. No blood drawn, just a lot of squeaking and flying around the cage. Will these two settle down in time? Sophie is a neurotic rat and easily agitated. Sometimes they are fine, and sleep together and groom eachother. Then occasionally Willow will sniff Sophie, or try mount her and the trouble will start - First with chasing and then a scrap. Willow is now about 14 weeks, and I wonder if she's trying to establish her position in the cage - Sophie has been the second in command, and perhaps Willow senses she can take that position. I don't know. I just hope they find an equilibrium - and I'm not sure what else I can do.

Thank you! You are amazing!!!

It helped me introduce my babie's thank you

This is a great video, thank you so much. I was wondering, how long should I wait after a failed intro to try again? My most recent intro was between one elderly rat, two adults and two babies. It went well right until the last phase where I was allowing free roam again. A chase ended badly and one of my babies had a massive tear on her back that required 7 stitches. I separated the babies and the original group while she was healing. The gash has completely healed now but her fur hasn't grown back to cover the area. When should I start the process again? I plan to go much slower this time. I'd done two intros in the past that were no bother at all, settled within a week so I had unrealistic expectations of this more complicated group.

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

Your probably good to start now she’s all healed. It should have been long enough

@bananasloth99

3 жыл бұрын

@@IsamuRatCare Thank you so much! :)

These videos are so helpful! I have one older male who was neutered due to some aggression issues. He has wayyy calmed down and is a sweetie now, but I am worried about introducing him to my female kittens. Should I be? Any tips?

I’ve mainly had females for the past 7 years, I’m currently trying intros with 6 boys, 3 need neutering due to hormonal aggression unfortunately I think the last homes just didn’t want to pay for it and if they’d just told me I’d of booked them in sooner before my vet was too busy (but I’m considering the implant now as two of them are older) they’re booked in for March but I’m going to discuss the implant with my vet tomorrow and see what she says. I’ve been so unbelievably stressed and beating myself up about how it’s gone with the hormonal boys, as they’re on their own otherwise they cause very decent gashes, every time I’ve tried since I’ve had them. I’ve obsessively watched this video and at least know I’ve done the right steps (I’ve been second guessing myself even though I’ve done it multiple times with females) so thank you for putting my mind at ease. I feel awful they’re on their own but at least I know it’s not something I’ve done wrong to cause the injuries! Can’t wait for it to all be over and sorted 🤣

Thank you for this video! A breeder recommended it to me as I’m having trouble introducing a 7mo female to a 2yo female and 1yo neutered male. We’re worried that because she keeps the sexed separated, the new female might never get used to my neutered male even though he’s the sweetest rat I’ve ever owned. Do you think that could be true or should i keep trying? The problem is the male is hairless so he always gets pretty scratched up when they interact.

Im currently attempting to add a lone female to my mischief of 7. She was very defensive, backing into corners, standing on her hind legs and squealing at anyone coming close. We started almost 3 weeks ago and have taken it very slowly using this method. Today they went into half a LZV and she's using the space to run away from any other rats who make contact with her. She now has an URI which, she will start treatment for and a lump on her lower abdomen that she had when we homed her. Can these affect intros? Will she respond better once spayed during the lump removal? Or should we adjust intros for her? Any advice would be great please, we're at a loss now with what to do.

awesome video!

I appreciate your videos so much! I have a question that I'm praying you'll see. I did this method but I'm thinking I may have went too quickly, so do I start over OR will that not help things? I'm not seeing super aggressive behavior BUT my Bucks went so much better than my Does are.... I'm currently praying you'll see this and answer

@IsamuRatCare

2 жыл бұрын

Going back a step or two can often help things

i have a female rat that is about 7 months old and when i try to bond her with my older girls she acts very aggressively towards them, she lashes out at my oldest one and scared her pretty bad and in one of the introductions she fought with my second girl, who is more dominant. what do you reckon i do? i tried the carrier method and a fight broke out and i couldnt bear to watch it so i broke the fight up. i tried neutral territory method too and the same happend. no blood drawn, but i dont want to wait till there is to stop it.

Hi, just about to use this method with my girls for my first intro! There will be 6 total, just wondering where you got the show tank? I cant find one with the same lid, thanks!

I've started intros. I've got 2 bucks 6 month old and I adopted a little buck. The young buck I adopted is approx 11 weeks old now. He's been quarantined on his own for 3 weeks and was all alone prior to me adopting him. He keeps humping my more dominant rat. When I say keeps, I mean constantly non stop. This reason and this reason alone it appears my rat has had enough and has puffed up several times. If the youngster carries on like this I fear they will never accept each other. What is the best way for me to move forward. Also thank you so much for all your videos and the time you take in making them. They are such a valuable tool to new rat owners like myself.

@IsamuRatCare

5 жыл бұрын

Hi Joanne, you may need to get your young man a same aged friend. This is typical behaviour from a rat who wants to play and have fun. His older cage mates are too old for him to do that properly so he just annoys them

@Frizzymop10

5 жыл бұрын

Ah OK thank you. I thought as there is only a few months in between them they'd be OK. Thank you.

your video helped so much but at this point I'm at a loss and ready to give up. are there sometimes just rats that can't live together? when do you call it quits on certain rats living together? im so sad for the girls I had to separate.

Hi @isamu rat care, and warmest thanks for your informative videos. We have five rescue girls: Doris (around 9 or 10 months old) who apparently had a female friend for a while, but has been alone for about 5 months; Coral (about 8 months old) and Clarice (about 5 months), who have lived together for about two months but aren’t particularly well bonded; and Daisy and Daphne (both a bit over 3 months old) who live together and are quite well bonded. I want to get them all together using your method (and I am not experienced). The three groups - Doris alone / Coral and Clarice together / Daisy and Daphne together - have all been housed in the one room for about five weeks, so they know each others’ smell quite well, but when Doris has been close enough to see Daisy and Daphne (which I see now you do not recommend so won't put enclosures close to each other again), she has become quite agitated. (Doris is very human-friendly.) Would you recommend trying all five at once with the carrier method, or in smaller combinations of girls? Many thanks in advance for any advice. Kate

@kathrynclarke1312

2 жыл бұрын

I should add that the reason we have been slow to consider introducing them - apart from our own anxiety! - is that little Daphne has had pneumonia in both lungs, and the vet wasn’t sure she would pull through. After a fortnight on Enro and Doxy, she is now just on Doxy (for past week), and her breathing has sounded normal for the past six days or so (to the vet’s amazement). We’re still nebulising with saline solution twice a day. We thought we’d try doing the intro while she’s sounding clear in the lungs but is still on the antibiotics, if that makes sense ... so if meeting the others stresses her, at least she's still on the medication. Does that sound reasonable?

@IsamuRatCare

2 жыл бұрын

I would try doing them all together initially and see how it goes, sometimes this takes pressure of individuals as they all have new people to meet and there’s not just one person to a group that already know each other. Give that a try but be prepared to resasses. It’s always hard when you’ve got a rat that’s been alone for a long time as they often don’t speak rat particularly well so you may need to go slower. As a plus though does manage a lot better than bucks in that situation (you generally have to neuter bucks)

@kathrynclarke1312

2 жыл бұрын

@@IsamuRatCare thank you so very much for getting back to me, really appreciate your advice and we will proceed (with due caution!). 😊🐀😊

Hi :) this is very informative, thank you. I just got a new boy who’s been with me for a week. He seems very curious and quite bold (he will sniff my hand with no problem, eat snacks off my hand, lick babyfood off my finger) but he is very very skittish when I try to touch him at all. Should I wait with introductions until he is more comfortable with me and lets me pick him up? I’m afraid I will have problems intervening any fights because of that but I would love him to get cage mates as soon as possible. He’s a 3-4 month old that has been living alone for quite some time.

@JapCncll

4 жыл бұрын

My two other boys are 1 year old now and they are super chill and super snuggly angels :)

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

I would look to introduce him, in many ways the company of other rat’s is more important than the company of humans, plus your boys will help teach him about how wonderful you are

Hi, thanks for the video - very helpful. Can I just ask, where did you get the stage 2 small (one after the show cage) orange cage from? Would like to get the same ☺️

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

I picked it up second hand locally. If you keep your eyes open they come up normally for around £10 sold for hamsters and it’s good to get them off the market so no hamster has to live in one. They started with white bars but I painted them as I can’t stand white bars on a cage lol

@chelseabeton

4 жыл бұрын

Isamu Rat Care thanks! Do you know rough measurements of it? They vary so much on loads I’m looking at 😫

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

It’s similar to the medium cage here but an older model without the annoying plastic tube openings www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/pets-at-home-hamster-wire-cage?size=medium

@chelseabeton

4 жыл бұрын

Isamu Rat Care thanks xx

Nice vid 👍 very helpful

Hi there. Is there any particular place you can purchase a small show tank like the one you used at the start? I do have a carrier but as you said, its very hard to see what is going on!

Can you still socalize with them while doing intros or should you try to avoid it? Im doing my first intros soon

I have 2 year and 4 month year old intact boys who are siblings and I'm trying to introduce a 6 month old intact male who I adopted from my school's rat lab. I've done some (one at a time) neutral space introductions in my bathtub and saw that my older males were raising their fur, heavy breathing and sidling towards the new younger male. These behaviors have lessened with more introductions however, the younger male has been freezing/squeaking and screaming and holds his face very close to my older boy's faces, I think it might be considered to be "face off" behavior which is really making me nervous because I don't know if he intends on biting (especially their faces). It appears that my more dominant older male has torn some fur off of my new rat when they were in the bathtub and it looks like it resulted in some blood. Is it safe to continue with introductions? Are these signs that integration isn't possible? I'm terrified that the carrier method will result in my rats getting injured.

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

It’s very difficult to say without being there. Personally I find that repeated neutral space intros can drag things out though sometimes they are the right way forward too. If you can video what’s happening and maybe message me with it on Facebook I can probably read more into what’s going on

Hi! I have 2 pairs of rats who have never gotten along. I tried introducing them in many different ways when 1 pair (who were originally part of a larger mischief but have now outlived the others) was a bit over a year old and the other pair was 8 weeks old, but they always fought and there were injuries. They now live in 2 separate cages and my oldest boy still gets puffy if he even smells the others. Is there any hope that this method might work for them? The oldest are now 2 years, the youngest are about a year, and I worry that one of the older ones will soon be alone :( We considered neutering the oldest boy - I am not sure if his aggression is hormonal or trauma-induced, though. He escaped outside when he was young and was attacked by wild rats... I think he may consider all rats he didn't know before that time to be a threat.

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

I would say that castration is unlikely to make him worse and may help so is generally worth a try if he’s physically in good shape. However if he’s been alone a long time there may stop be challenges getting him with other Bucks, he may do better with does once at least 2 weeks castrated, but it’s worth trying with that and Bucks first just bear in mind it might take 4-8 weeks for hormones to fully die down

After a couple of months of being alone we’ve finally found a friend for our now 1 year and 2 month old boy. We’re very nervous about intros. It’s been a couple off days and the new boy has come from a handles background. We’ve swapped cages just for 10 minutes to familiarise their scents. It’s been 3 days tomorrow is it time to get them knowing each other. They caught a glimpse of each other through the cage and they were making so squeaking. Should we wait till the new rat is more confident with us? Or would it benefit him more to not be so he can rely on the other rat? Some have advised the neutral territory method as the new boy is a bit skittish. We’re not too sure what to do as our current rat is our pride and joy and hate the idea off him getting hurt with the carrier method. In terms of noises and sounds what’s normal and what’s worrying? Any advice from anyone would be so so appreciated

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

Personally I find that for adult bucks cage swap and neutral space can actually make them more wound up, particularly if your talking about 6-12m olds. Personally I do find the carrier method least likely to lead to injuries unless you’ve got a properly territorial rat (which is thankfully not common) I would advise on getting another 2m old to add to your little lad too. They really need similar aged playmates at that age. It will also help with intros. Then introduce those two to your older lad I do find that introducing them to a bolder rat can help a lot in terms of confidence.

I have 2 newbies that were not handled when babies. They started fighting when they smelled my rats and I separated them after a few incidents. All 3 cages (my two in one cage, plus 1 newbie in a cage each) are in the same room but they can't get at each other. They finally stopped puffing up when they see each other. I want to try your method soon but I am not sure if I should intro the 2 new ones back to each other and then wait to intro to mine? Or the tame-er one of the new to my 2 and then the other one to all 3? Or all 4 at once? They are all un-neutered bucks, Mine are not quite a year old yet and the 2 new ones are unknown but just by the looks of them they are younger.

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

I would tend to try everyone at once initially and see how it goes. If you end up with someone who is a problem it may be necessary to shuffle things and neuter one or tai

I have a new adult female (age unknown) that has been alone for awhile in not so great conditions. I am trying to introduce her to my current three rats (two are about 6 months, one is a year and 2 months) and intense fighting breaks out almost immediately every time. I have been using a neutral space for the time being as I am afraid of her aggression in a small space. Blood has only been drawn once, but only because I have been interrupting the more aggressive fights since then. She almost did okay one on one with the oldest for a minute, but as soon as another rat was introduced fights broke out everywhere. What can I do? I have tried swapping hammocks and toys occasionally, as well as placing their cages close together (which I see your comment below about placing cardboard between them so I'll try that). She has made so many improvements so far, and I don't want her to be alone forever. Thank you for any help or advice you can provide!

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

It may be worth trying the small space but keeping a very close eye to intervene if necessary. I do find that proper fights are less likely in there. However if that’s still not working then I would consider spaying her, it does often help calm them down. The suprelorin implant (for dogs) can also help

Hi! Thankyou so much for your videos and website, I have found them a great help! I’m currently doing my first introduction. I have 2 11 week old bucks and am introducing 2 5 month old bucks. I currently have them all in a carrier. They split into their pairs and go to sleep. I’ve tried rocking them. Is there anything else I can do to help them along the way? Then next step is I get a slightly bigger cage and do the same before putting them into their main cage? Thankyou

@IsamuRatCare

5 жыл бұрын

How long have they been in the carrier now?

@gemmauniacke2832

5 жыл бұрын

Probably 6 hours. No major fighting just the usual scuffles. My original dominant rat seems to just go asleep on his own in the corner . I don’t yet have a “middle cage”

@IsamuRatCare

5 жыл бұрын

Assuming you've got a water bottle fitted I would give it longer. They can take a while to settle in some cases

@gemmauniacke2832

5 жыл бұрын

And I should just keep them in the carrier the whole time?

@IsamuRatCare

5 жыл бұрын

Yep until your ready to upgrade. With the weather being warm though depending on the carrier style you may need to be careful and upgrade sooner

How long do you find babies and adults take to intro? I have 2 6 month old girls and 2 6 week old girls I just got and it's my first intro so any advice is hugely appreciated!

@IsamuRatCare

5 жыл бұрын

It does depend a lot of the rats involved but generally if you intro well it's straightforward

I’m starting intros between my older rescue boy (2 years old estimated) and 2 10 week old babies in a few days.. I’m guessing because they’re babies they’ll be naturally submissive and my older boy will take the hierarchy? Do you think this will be an easy intro? My older boy is so calm and sweet

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

It should be straightforward but you do never know. I hope it goes nice and smoothly for you

Do you find there is any difference re-introducing rats that were previously housed together? Ex. One rat having to be separated for injury. Is it best to still take precautions and use this method step by step?

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

Usually things go a lot faster, especially if it’s not been long. I tend to start in the carrier but if that’s smooth quickly move back to the main cage. If there’s tension I treat as a normal intro

Is that noise normal that there making in the beginning of this video at about 202 ? i just ask because i have one that douse that and i don't no if he needs to go back to the vet or not. I am a new rat mom here . He was all ready there once he is on meds for gargling but as soon as i changed the bedding he was better by that night no more noses , But new about 5 days later he is making that noise not even close to being what he was doing before though . and it is not all the time just when i have to give him his meds .

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

Do you mean the squeaking? That was likely to be someone having an argument in a different cage. If you can get a video of him making the noise and link me to it I can let you more

Hi there, Thanks for such an informative video, I was recommended to your website for introducing two 18 month old rats to my 2 year old rat who has been left alone due to his brother passing away. One of the new rats has been known to bite but doesn't seem to be aggressive with his brother. Do you have any tips on introducing rats of this age?

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

I would probably start with a small neutral space just to assess how they are around each other, say a small sofa or table top they don’t go on a lot. Watch how they interact, if they are all pretty relaxed then go onto the carrier method. If not then it’s worth looking at something like the heavy supervision method which I haven’t got a video for yet but there’s a step by step on my website

@dangerzonekd

3 жыл бұрын

@@IsamuRatCare Huge thank you for the quick reply. It’s really appreciated 😁

Just attempted to introduce two males. They were doing really well and got to stage 2 (small hamster cage) but one has now bitten the other pretty deep on the back. Shall I let that wound heal and then try again in the carrier in a week or so?

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

It’s probably worth it, then try moving more slowly this time. However if it happens again you may need to consider someone being catered

Hello this video is great. I have a hairless male who is about 4 months old and I will be introducing him to his new brother who is also hairless he is about 2 months approx. My guy is very friendly and was housed with 2 other rats at the breeder before he came home with me 6 weeks ago and this new little guy will be also living with others before being introduced. And tips on the into with these guys or will it be the same sort of way as shown here? Thanks in advance 😊

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

I would see if you can get another 2 month old to go with your new baby as its is much better for them to have company of there own ages as kittens (for social development), typically this should be within about 3 weeks of age so your other lad is too much older. I would intro this way however it’s worth beating in mind that spending 6 weeks alone may have damaged your current guys social development too, it’s a long time in a very important part of his life. Hopefully it’ll be ok and I would do introductions sooner rather than later but company as babies teaches them so much. 6 weeks doesn’t feel a lot to us but it can leave a big impact on them. If he really struggles with it then getting him castrated should help a lot and I would definitely start soon before he gets much older and the damage is more ingrained

hello i was wondering if they have been sleeping at opposite ends of the bigger cage should i move down a size again? they seem okay but sleeping at different ends of the cage makes me nervous because it is a potential set up for territorial behaviour

@IsamuRatCare

2 жыл бұрын

If they are otherwise relaxed I wouldn’t move down just give them time

I really want to introduce my new 2 male rats to my group of 4 male rats, all of similar age (between 11 weeks and 20 weeks old) but every time I put their cages near each other one from each group starts pacing and shows signs of aggression. Any advice as I’m really hesitant to try this method incase it goes wrong?

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

I find that rat’s will often react poorly through the bars and fine face to face. You really can’t judge there behaviour in person by how they act through the bars. In fact I make a point of not letting rat’s have direct eye contact through bars, if I need to put cages next to each other, even with rat’s that know each other, I put a bit of cardboard between them. Helps them relax a little more

The burying comment made me laugh. One of my intros earlier this year, my White Mage boy tried to bury my Azuline boy who was so chilled out. He was so non threatening, just laying asleep on his back and I did wonder why they kept trying to bury him 😝😝

@IsamuRatCare

5 жыл бұрын

Natural response, see the big monster, bury it. It's like not looking under your bed as a kid lol

@HeyItsCharlie

4 жыл бұрын

When one my my ratties gets tired of me she tries burrying me with fleece

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

lol don’t take it personally. Maybe she’s making a nest for you

I bought 2 baby female rats for my daughter after much (but I guess not enough) research. They are doing great. But I wanted my own, so I got 2 male babies from the same breeder, the last 2 males they had. 1 of my males passed away with diarrhea. I took the remaining baby boy to the vet bc he also developed diarrhea. He is doing better, it's been 6 days since he lost his brother and 5 days since he became ill. Although he's improving he is very depressed. He craves time with me but I'm not his brother. He's so small and in quarantine. I just feel so bad for him. I suppose I should have adopted 3 to prevent this possiblity? I don't know what to do. Any suggestions? I'm tempted to buy a baby feeder rat the same exact age just so he has a friend.

where can one buy a show tank? I live in the us.

Hoping to get some of your advice, I have 4 bucks in total, two i got a couple of days ago which are 9 weeks old now, my other two are 7-8 months old. I’m planning on introducing them soon but am very worried about the little ones as they’re so small. Is it too early to introduce them? If not is there any advice to make it smoother? It’s my first time and I’m full of nerves

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

I tend to find around 9-10 weeks is a good age to introduce babies to adult bucks. At that age they don't smell like a threat but have a bit of weight on them (well usually, it's hard to tell without seeing the rats). Id start intros in an unfamiliar place if your worried, like a room they don't go into. That can sometimes help

@charleypopps1487

4 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for replying! I followed your video with the carrier method with my calmest rat first. I was so worried about my other one! They are currently all in a small rat cage cuddling in a hammock can’t believe how well it’s gone, absolutely no fighting just a bit of butt sniffing and that was it! All this in just one day! So surprised! Do you think I should separate them again or just leave them to it?

I have 2 female rats and I’m picking up 3 female rescue rats on Friday. However, I have separate cages for the groups, do I need to conduct this method if they are only going to be interacting in free roam time? What is your advice? Thank you!

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

I personally wouldn’t just have rats meeting on free roam and not living tiger, whilst I’ve come across a handful of groups where this has worked the vast majority have caused a lot of stress and bickering. Is there a reason they aren’t going to be living together?

Where can I buy a show tank?

About how much space in the carrier would you need to introduce 7 bucks?

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

You ideally want them to have a bit of free floor space when they are all lieing down together but not much. So say around 1-2 rats free

Do you have any tips for reintroducing? I used the carrier method to introduced my (recently) lone adult to 3 babies, seemed to be going ok but a month on and they have had a very bad and aggressive fight. I have had to separate them and am distraught for my lonely adult and injured baby. Does this mean I should not try again, or might it be safe to give intros another go from the very beginning?

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

You can follow the carrier method again, however it’s worth trying to understand what went on and why the adult lashed out if possible as it may be beneficial to castrate him

@TheSimAviation

3 жыл бұрын

@@IsamuRatCare thanks so much for responding. I have seen so many of your videos I feel like I am speaking to a celebrity :). I already have the aggressor booked in for castration and will have another go once he is healed up. The fight happened at night so I didn't see, but I think having always lived in a pair and now having 3 new baby rats introduced might have been a bit much for him. Fingers crossed.

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

Bless him yes it sounds like the best option. Definitely no celeb, I am actually very boring lol.

I mixed my 4 nmbig boys and one got inged so ive put them all back in the cages was this the right thing to do ?

How does Luna sit so still?! My girls don’t stop moving and just use me as a climbing frame 😂

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

I think she’s showing off to the camera lol

Do you recommend introducing one rat to an existing group all at the same time or with the one he's more likely to get along with and add the more difficult ones after some time? I have 3 bucks and just adopted a 4th one whose been alone for a while. I was told the older two of the 3 were difficult to introduce to the younger one

@IsamuRatCare

Жыл бұрын

It’s one of those “it depends” moments. I’ll usually either try all together or if I’ve got a gut feeling he’s likely to get overwhelmed (particularly if they’ve been alone for a while) I’ll do to the calmest rat in the group for about a week then do with the rest so he’s got a Buddy for the main intro.

@ingatulip2590

Жыл бұрын

@@IsamuRatCare Thank you!

One of my rats got bitten during intros on his back and on his side. One is tiny but the other is quite deep and is about 1cm long should it get better on its own?

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

If it’s nice and clean then yes

I have a question, my two boys were doing great the last 24 hours in a smaller cage, so I've put them in a larger cage now. Thing is, the larger one (now neutered) is still asking the smaller one to be groomed, but he either freezes and doesn't do it, or does it after a little squeek.... I have a video if I can send it to you? I've no idea whether to put them back down to the smaller cage again and start from scratch

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

Your welcome to send the video over. How long have they been in the bigger cage

@dawnsmith4040

3 жыл бұрын

@@IsamuRatCare they've been in there about 5 hours now, they seem to be getting better but ignoting each other mainly

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

How are they going on now?

@dawnsmith4040

3 жыл бұрын

@@IsamuRatCare they are doing amazingly well, thank you to you for the videos, they've helped massively! They seem so much happier together now, they play about together and my neutered boy seems a lot more placid after the first week. I can't tell you how happy I am ❤️

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

That is such good news, I’m really happy

Can you please add closed captions? The automatic isnt doing it for me

What should you do if they don’t settle down at all during the first stage? If there are constant fights and/or blood drawn would you separate them indefinitely or would you keep trying? Also, during each stage, are they having a daily free roam with the other rats or are they in the cage the full time?

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

Are they bucks or does? Is there a particular aggressor? How old is everyone involved?

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

I should add I wouldn’t free roam at all during the first couple of stages

@LandosMilkman

4 жыл бұрын

Isamu Rat Care I have two bucks and they’re around 6 months. I’m just thinking about the inevitability of introducing babies in the future and the best way to go about it when the time comes. This would probably be in six months or a year when they’re getting on a bit. Neither of my rats are particularly aggressive.

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

It is likely that introduced well you won’t have an issue. Sometimes you do have to stop an intro, sometimes you decide to castrate an individual which sorts it out, sometimes the rats just need time to grow up a bit. Most of the time though they get together well

What is the white loopy thing in front of the wheel at 30:00? My rats want to know. :-)

@IsamuRatCare

5 жыл бұрын

That is an IKEA kompliment hanger (for ties and such) really great rat cargo net

@daikondam9293

5 жыл бұрын

@@IsamuRatCare Wonderful! I have been trying to find that thing for so long. Thank you.

Are you still doing the video on introing baby rats?

@IsamuRatCare

5 жыл бұрын

I will do but I need some baby rats to intro lol. To be fair it's similar to adults but generally easier

Would you still use this method with a rat that always wants to attack? I got a new girl, a rescue who has been solo a long time and I'm trying to introduce her to my neutered male. He's a sweetie, never aggressive, but a bit skittish and anxious. She on the other hand can't get within a foot of him without puffing up and sideling up to him. If I let them actually touch, she jumps him and they turn into a rat squeak ball. This is how it goes with neutral space intros for a couple weeks now. It's obviously not going well but I'm afraid to put them in a carrier together as I know she'd attack him straight away. Would you still use the carrier method in a case like this, keep trying neutral space, or does such a rat have to live solo forever?

@IsamuRatCare

2 жыл бұрын

Without seeing them directly it’s hard to say, sometimes rats behave far worse in a large space than in a small one and sometimes they do have problems. I should say though that a spay may be beneficial for her as sometimes grumpy does have issues with there reproductive system eg polycistic ovaries, annoyingly these are too small to pick up on scans so they only way to find out is too spay but it can be quite effective

@plumpudding748

2 жыл бұрын

@@IsamuRatCare Thanks for the fast reply! Ok interesting, I'll keep that in mind!

Where do i get one of those wheels?!

@IsamuRatCare

5 жыл бұрын

The tic tac wheels are the metal wheels from here www.tictacwheels.co.uk

Did you leave them together overnight? It isn’t dangerous?

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

I do leave them over night together. I find as long as you time it well and read the rat’s then it’s usually fine. You get more trouble when they first go in together so I do supervise fairly heavily for the first hour or two of any upgrade, in fact i find they tend to do better when people aren’t hovering. Rat’s can very much pick up on our stress.

Hi, what's the best age to do intros? I have 2 adults at 1year old and have to introduce then to my 4 babies which ages are 8 weeks 9 weeks and 10 weeks old. Are they to young? Xx

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

It does depend on the rat’s included but for bucks I like to introduce around 8-10 weeks (towards the latter end if they are very small or the bucks are a bit questionable), does I tend to do 8-12 weeks but really depends on the characters

@vickyjudd83

4 жыл бұрын

Brilliant thank you x

I put them in today, 4 adult bucks (1 neutered 5 weeks ago), and at least two were fighting and fluffed up, all were squeaking and begging to come out. One with HLD so I feel insecure about leaving him in such a vulnerable place. Do you think I should have persevered? No wounded but some VERY ANGRY fluffballs came out.

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

You could keep the HLD lad out of it whilst the arsey lads sport things out between them next time. Was the neutered lad one of the problem rats?

@Lintjeeeee

3 жыл бұрын

@@IsamuRatCare yep, the neutered one was. and thanks, that is great advice!

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

I’d give him a full 8 weeks post castration and try again, it can take a while for the hormones to fully settle

Hey, Don't know if you'll see this, but worth I shot. I've done the carrier method multiple times with females and had absolutely no issues. But I'm now attempting to introduce 2 un-neutered boys (1 year 3 months old, and 2 years old) and it is not going well. The second they're in the carrier the younger male attacks the older male (rat ball type fighting). Causing noise/moving the box doesn't stop the fight. If I get the younger boy out and handle/stroke him, he just attacks the other male the second he's back in the carrier. There has been a minor wound to the older male - just a claw puncture mark, but it is definitely causing him a lot of fear/stress. Any ideas/advice?

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

It sounds like the younger lad may need castration. Adult male intros can be tricky particularly if either have been alone for long

@ThexArcanexDiamond

3 жыл бұрын

@@IsamuRatCare Thanks for the reply. We have him booked in for castration next month. Just wanted to get some more opinions as it means lea ing the two boys on their own for longer. Thanks for much!

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

Best of luck, it is difficult but hopefully you can keep them company until then

We’ve done the carrier method multiple times successfully but our lone boy(lost his cage mate a week ago) seems terrified of the 2 new boys, he’s been very jumpy and off since the other died. He’s screaming and acting very defensive which is then causing bad fights. They’re all adults, new ones are 14months, original one is 20 months and he’s always been fine with previous introductions Please help

@IsamuRatCare

2 жыл бұрын

I would try introducing him in a small neutral space such as on a small couch they don’t normally free range on or a small desk. Keep a very close eye and see if the extra space helps him relax at all. Failing that try the carrier again but this time walk around the room with it a bit or go for a drive to try and get him to forget about the other lads and instead focus on the other strange happenings and so relax a bit with them

My older girl keeps pulling my 2 younger rittens back and picking on them after their intro now that they are in their permanent cage (wich i made a bit smaller) i dont know if this means the intro didnt go well or if its just normal

@IsamuRatCare

Жыл бұрын

It sounds like they may need longer at the intro stage, hope long did it go in for? Also how old is she

Watching at the beginning. Always using small space method. I have seen that most rats which are "loners", not matchable etc have been introduced the wrong way. (sometimes its just bad hormones and not even neutered). All the rats were in the end just social rats who needed the right group and owner who understand that.

I currently have 5 boys. One 2+ year old rat who lives alone, two 7 month old that live together and two that are around 3 months that live together. I would love for them to all live together. I tried introducing my elder boy to the youngest before but he was very aggressive towards them. He bit one babies toe twice. I'm not sure he can live with other rats. The other two adults are newly adopted and the plan is to introduce them to the babies. I'm so nervous.

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

I would try your babies to the adults, well worth trying but would do it soon as there smell will be changing soon and it will be higher risk. With your older lad I’d normally recommend castration (it can help even at his age) but he is an older man now so there’s a fair risk from surgery, however a suprelorin implant is a possibility

I watched your video because we have 2 male rats that we have had for a year now and we just adopted another boy because he was on Craigslist with no friends and a small cage with no toys. We were able to get them introduced okay in a small cage but then once in the medium cage we keep having issues with one of our original boys. He hates the new one and he picks a corner and defends it like crazy. We are starting to feel discouraged :( it’s been 2 days in the medium cage with just water and food as suggested

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

How long did you do the small cage for

@asholethewizzoh

3 жыл бұрын

@@IsamuRatCare 2 days, we actually are doing 4 steps, the 4th being their big normal cage. So we did 2 days in the small cage, 1 day in a medium sized cage, then now they have been 3 days in a bigger medium cage. In the first two cages we waited until they all slept together and the fighting stopped. But in this cage now it’s not working

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

You could step back and leave it longer at the medium step, though if he’s not settling soon you may want to neuter the aggressor if that’s an option

@asholethewizzoh

3 жыл бұрын

@@IsamuRatCare okay thank you so much for your advice! We will put them back in the smaller cage and research vets around here. Thanks!!

Hello I’m new to your channel but I hope you can help I have tow rats who I love but the dormant female Annie is hurting and ripping the others ear I don’t know what to do please help!!

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

How old is Annie and how long have they been living together

@karengrace3480

4 жыл бұрын

Isamu Rat Care about 6-7 months but I adopted them so I’m not sure and I think they were litter mates they look quite similar

Where can I get a show cage from please xx

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

Where are you in the world? If your UK the NFRS typically sell them or one of the other rat clubs but are not likely to be selling until shows are on (postage is difficult as they are fragile). However this article explains how to source your own show tank www.nfrs.org/articles_show_tanks.html

where can I find a show tank? I've never seen them before.

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

Where in the world are you?

@cynquenneville2553

3 жыл бұрын

@@IsamuRatCare Canada

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

Not likely to be able to get one from our NFRS lol. The tanks used for show tanks do seem to be widely available around the world and you can make your own lids out of mesh/hardware cloth Here’s the info www.nfrs.org/articles_show_tanks.html

@cynquenneville2553

3 жыл бұрын

@@IsamuRatCare thank you!

I’m planning on doing this with my boy. I’m getting a new male rat soon who is also an adult (I have a male adult too). Honestly, I’m scared they might hurt each other or attack but I hope it goes well.

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

If they’ve been alone for long you may find you need to castrate one of both for them to get on (as they don’t tend to speak rat easily). If they’ve lived with others recently then they tend to have a much smoother time of it

Has anyone successfully introduced multiple neutered male rats to females?

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

Yep they tend to work out as long as the bucks are well over there hormones.

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