How to Introduce Rats to Other Pets

Introducing your rat to other pets in your home can be tricky. Rats are considered prey by many animals in the wild. Due to instinct, your pet rat will probably be nervous around other animals so it's important for you to make sure introductions are safe and comfortable for all pets involved. Follow this steps to safely and securely introduce rats to your other household pets.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Make sure your rat is comfortable being handled by you before you try to bring him together with another animal. It's important for him to be in a calm, relaxed state when you introduce your rat to other pets.
2. Think about the social system of the other pet you are introducing your rat to in order to determine if it's a good idea to even try the introduction. For example, if you own a breed of dog that is considered a hunting dog, there's a good chance that the dog may consider your rat prey which can make introducing your rat to this pet risky.
3. Supervise your animals at all times when you introduce your rat to other pets. It only takes a second for the introduction to go bad, so it's very important that you watch the interaction and are ready to remove an animal from the situation immediately if necessary.
4. Know when to stop trying to introduce pets. Some animal breeds or personalities may not get along with one another. It's always better to be safe than sorry.

Tips & Warnings

• Rats like to know what to expect. New experiences can be very stressful for them and may cause your rat to act out by being aggressive to your other pets.
• Do not punish a pet for showing aggression to another animal when you introduce them. They are just acting on instinct. If one of your pets shows aggression towards the other you need to remove one of the animals from the situation and understand that they are not going to be a good match.
• Rats are omnivores and may try to eat birds or other small rodents.
• Snakes eat rats, so this is obviously not a pet you want to introduce a rat to.
• Do not keep friendly rats and rabbits in the same cage. Rabbits carry bacteria called Bordetella that causes pneumonia in rats.