I have one adult XL male rat, and have just gotten one more who is adout the same age and size. Do you have any suggestion on how to make integration more smooth?
Well, first thing I need to comment on is that babies 6 weeks old or younger are usually accepted more quickly by adults of either gender (rats have incredible parental urges). Introducing adult rats can be tricky, but it can be done. However, remember that even with every precaution, you may still have problems, especially if both rats are territorial and/or dominant. You will want to let your rats meet on neutral territory, a cage or meeting place where neither of them have ever been (or where neither go often) for a few minutes every day a few days before you put them together “for real.” The absolutely best scenario would be to have a brand new large cage for them to meet in and live together in. (Large cages with multiple levels allow the males to get away from each other when they feel threatened and even establish separate territories if needed.) If you don’t have a new cage, take the cage the rats will be living in and clean it thouroughly with bleach (be sure to use chemicals
