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torquillWe've barricaded off the living room (normally it's open by an arch into the dining room) and we're in the resulting cat-free zone. There is a very large cage with two rats in it behind me.
After an hour and a half this afternoon spent scrubbing the cage (which badly needed it) and all the accessories, we put new paper in and added both rats. They've been getting along just fine when they're out together, so we figured it was time for the next step. So Abe, the tuxedo-rat, got transferred to Pirate Pete's skyscraper-cage... Pete has had a roomie before, so he can handle sharing his territory, while I don't think Abe the single-child would be able to adjust to having a guest. Better this way.
Pete is strange, in that he likes being as high up as possible, so he's in his customary perch on the fifth floor. We added another bowl of food on the third floor for him, and he has water... meanwhile, Abe is sticking to the ground floor with occasional sorties upstairs. They've squabbled twice, mostly just wrestling matches, though Pete has a small bite now -- but for the most part, it's been a quiet upstairs/downstairs sort of arrangement. Pete's perched on top of his small hutch, while Abe is hanging out in the big one downstairs.
We've got them in the living room so that we can keep an eye on them, and we'll keep them under observation for at least the weekend. I suspect what's happening is that Pete is naturally trying to assert dominance, and Abe doesn't know how to play the game (since he's never lived with other rats), so instead of the usual feints and sidling things descend into full wrestling and the occasional panicked bite. I suspect as they both get more comfortable, they'll end up sorting things out one way or another -- all bets are on Pete being the alpha, since he's both a full male and younger than Abe. So once that gets clarified things should be much happier.
I'll be glad when they're living together peacefully. They've both been kind of lonely and bored.
After an hour and a half this afternoon spent scrubbing the cage (which badly needed it) and all the accessories, we put new paper in and added both rats. They've been getting along just fine when they're out together, so we figured it was time for the next step. So Abe, the tuxedo-rat, got transferred to Pirate Pete's skyscraper-cage... Pete has had a roomie before, so he can handle sharing his territory, while I don't think Abe the single-child would be able to adjust to having a guest. Better this way.
Pete is strange, in that he likes being as high up as possible, so he's in his customary perch on the fifth floor. We added another bowl of food on the third floor for him, and he has water... meanwhile, Abe is sticking to the ground floor with occasional sorties upstairs. They've squabbled twice, mostly just wrestling matches, though Pete has a small bite now -- but for the most part, it's been a quiet upstairs/downstairs sort of arrangement. Pete's perched on top of his small hutch, while Abe is hanging out in the big one downstairs.
We've got them in the living room so that we can keep an eye on them, and we'll keep them under observation for at least the weekend. I suspect what's happening is that Pete is naturally trying to assert dominance, and Abe doesn't know how to play the game (since he's never lived with other rats), so instead of the usual feints and sidling things descend into full wrestling and the occasional panicked bite. I suspect as they both get more comfortable, they'll end up sorting things out one way or another -- all bets are on Pete being the alpha, since he's both a full male and younger than Abe. So once that gets clarified things should be much happier.
I'll be glad when they're living together peacefully. They've both been kind of lonely and bored.
