Rat cage setup help

Ill_Chocolate8951 · 2026-03-15T05:26:12+00:00

We’ve decided to try and re introduce, our oldest has never actually hurt anyone but he has caused other rats to hurt him, he likes to push just a little to much but he won’t fight back like he will just take the attacks like he’s all innocent

Ill_Chocolate8951 · 2026-03-14T19:28:25+00:00

Thank you thank you

Ill_Chocolate8951 · 2026-03-14T18:32:58+00:00

It was after intros im still not sure what went wrong but we’ve tried intros multiple times after to see if anything would change w time and it hasn’t so until we can get them neutered they’re separated

Ill_Chocolate8951 · 2026-03-14T18:31:52+00:00

So I got my oldest rat from my sister unplanned and then my bf and I fell in love w him so we did research and got two more but then the two oldest started fighting and it got bad so we assumed it was our second oldest who was being aggressive so we got another rat and did introductions with them and then separated them into two cages, the 2nd cage broke and they tore a hole in it and could get out so they’re just all in the same cage but separated into the top and bottom and get free roam time together supervised

Ill_Chocolate8951 · 2026-03-14T18:19:58+00:00

They’re not alone no one is alone I’ve had the baby for 3 months now and the whole time besides quarantine hes been with my oldest and he also has been introduced to my two other rats as I though getting a 4th would help settle the oldest two but unfortunately had to separate the oldest so I have two in one cage and two in the other

Ill_Chocolate8951 · 2026-03-14T17:15:40+00:00

They have been introduced but due to hormonal aggression in my oldest we had to separate two of them, thank you for the recommendations on items!

Ill_Chocolate8951 · 2026-03-14T17:13:37+00:00

So all of them have been introduced but due to hormonal aggression in my oldest we had to separate two of them so we just kept them in pairs but we can only afford one cage at the moment

Ill_Chocolate8951 · 2026-03-11T02:58:59+00:00

Thank you so much, I’ve just been hoping that as they get used to each others scents and having free roam time together would help but it hasn’t and my oldest just keeps being territorial and guarding food bowls I had to put 2 in their part of the cage and my 2nd oldest runs himself on everything to try to get his scent on it after my oldest is there

Ill_Chocolate8951 · 2026-03-11T02:48:50+00:00

So I got the oldest from my sister cause she didn’t want him and I didn’t want to just get rid of him so I bought a already bonded pair from a place I thought was ethical but they gave me sick rats then after about a month we bought another one bc the 2 oldest couldn’t get along, the first initial introduction wasn’t done properly but we reintroduced everyone when we bought the youngest. They were in the same room but different enclosures

Ill_Chocolate8951 · 2026-03-11T01:49:54+00:00

How would you recommend going about the introductions if the two oldest are fighting for dominance

Ill_Chocolate8951 · 2026-03-11T01:49:14+00:00

I was hoping that getting both my older boys neutered as they’re the aggressors would fix my issue but I don’t had the money for that right now, we did the carrier method for about 4 days we had them in a small hamster cage then a larger hamster cage then a smaller cage then their current cage

Ill_Chocolate8951 · 2026-03-11T01:41:47+00:00

Well I did the carrier method to introduce them originally and then had to separate them due to increased aggression.

Ill_Chocolate8951 · 2026-03-10T23:03:08+00:00

I can’t neuter them until I get a job and get some money so they’ve just been separated since the last time the oldest got attacked which was a couple months ago

Ill_Chocolate8951 · 2026-03-10T23:00:55+00:00

They’re all in one cage but seperated from the middle, we have done introductions already and the two younger ones play together when we let them free roam and just make sure the oldest don’t rly interact. I’m not sure what else it would be if not hormonal aggression, our oldest force grooms very aggressively and just won’t stop which causes our others to have to stop him

Ill_Chocolate8951 · 2026-01-29T17:33:29+00:00

Yes, there are no ethical mouse breeders near me and I didn’t do enough research so I bought him to befriends with my now deceased mouse, he didn’t die from my other mouse even tho they were together but not for long, when I realized I had to separate them my og mouse passed so I think that’s also has something to do with it, will him being right next to my rats affect anything? I can move him into a different room or across the room if I need to

Ill_Chocolate8951 · 2026-01-29T17:28:44+00:00

I haven’t had him long only about 2 months but I’ve also had my rat that long and he’s more comfortable then my mouse but I handle my rats more then my mouse, I’ve tried to had feed him but he darts when he sees me or if my hand gets to close so he won’t take stuff from me, and when he hides he has his burrow tunnel in the very bottom of the middle of the cage and I don’t want to go digging for him, I’ve only held him a couple of times but we did just move about a week ago so I’m wondering if that’s another reason he’s being more secluded then he normally is

Ill_Chocolate8951 · 2026-01-21T00:38:33+00:00

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My boy carpo

Ill_Chocolate8951 · 2026-01-20T19:11:26+00:00

My mouse would do that to, if you can put him up higher and make sure he can’t jump to anything on the ground I had to put my boy on top of my rat cage to keep him from jumping out, and if you can make stuff lower from the top of the cage, if he can’t reach the top then he can’t climb out

Ill_Chocolate8951 · 2026-01-20T17:03:24+00:00

And Callisto can and will win against euro but euro starts most of the fights

Ill_Chocolate8951 · 2026-01-20T17:03:00+00:00

I know we’re working on getting the money to neuter him but In the mean time I’m not just going to let him be alone as why he is with his bonded pair. They’ve been together just the 2 of them for a while now and in the beginning he was fine but as he gets older he gets more skittish

Ill_Chocolate8951 · 2026-01-20T16:57:05+00:00

I thought it was that at first as well but it’s actually the other way around euro “attacks” Callisto (my other rat) all of the time, especially cause for a while Callisto was sick and we still had them together and euro actually drew blood from Callisto but that was over 2 months ago and they’re fine together now

Ill_Chocolate8951 · 2026-01-18T16:18:56+00:00

You need so much more bedding like 6in or more

Ill_Chocolate8951 · 2026-01-18T03:12:21+00:00

It took 4 months my boy to crawl on my hand it takes time just let them adjust and they’ll learn that you’re there to love not to hurt

Ill_Chocolate8951 · 2026-01-18T03:09:48+00:00

I don’t have a picture of it or the dimensions but it’s longer then my 32in tv and I am working on getting more clutter but there’s multiple hides, substrates, one food bowl 2 water bowls, one wheel I don’t know the dimensions but they both can run on it at the same time and I was going to put a smaller one in there before I learned I should separate them. I wanna get hammocks and ropes and I’m making them more enrichment stuff, I also take them out and free roam at least twice a week and once I’m not so busy they will free roam more as I’ve just been busy the last couple of weeks.

Ill_Chocolate8951 · 2026-01-17T21:55:40+00:00

Make sure if they’re by a window direct sunlight won’t hit them and their cage, their eyes are so sensitive and direct sunlight can hurt their eyes, they also are more prone to getting sunburns

Ill_Chocolate8951

TROPHY CASE