New Member of the Family!

Question
Hi, on Saturday we purchased a female (feeder) fancy rat that is one week younger than the others. Sorry to say but my parents got it from a pet shop as a surprise. Although she is very friendly and alert (and healthy). We had her in quarantine for 2 days just to be sure that she is healthy and not sick. In the cage she was located there was no toys only 30 other rats and a food and water dish. Today we are going to introduce them one by one to the new rat that is still to be named. I was thinking Sven but I'm still no sure. What should we watch out for when introducing them to each other since they are not from the same "litter"?

Oh my mother wanted to know if it's possible to have the fancy rats (Ella, Stella, Skyline and Sven pending) in a bigger cage with a 1 year old female dumb rat? She found the most friendly dumb rat I have ever seen for $50 with the cage and all the assesories.Don't worry it is great with the rats we own they even play!

And when I am to go and put you under my contacts what do I put?

Answer
Hi there.  As far as getting rats from a pet shop, you know my feelings about that, but you already have her, so of course keep her.  Although she is healthy now, you don't know her history (health of her parents, grandparents, etc.)  Very often, pet store rats are feeder rats.  Down the line when she ages, chances are she will have health problems, but you might be lucky...you just never know.  Hopefully, she is not pregnant!!  Sometimes pet stores keep males and females together (sometimes unknowlingly!).  

As far as quarantine, it's very hard to do a true quarantine.  2 days is not nearly enough.  2 weeks at minimum are required, and 3 weeks is recommended.  But the other thing is the proper way to do a quarantine is to keep the new rat in a completely different air space than the others.  Problem is that most houses have the same air flow throughout the house through the ducts, so even keeping the new rat in a different cage and room is not enough.  Also, the proper way is to completely sanitize yourself when going between handling your other rats and your new one.  That would mean washing hands and face AND changing your clothes each time you go from new rat to older ones....imagine what a pain that is!  You see how difficult this is?  That is why adopting a rat from a reputable breeder is the right way to go because the quarantine, although always safer, is not as important if you can't do it properly, because good breeders keep their ratteries "closed" from the outside and so the rats don't have outside diseases that can come into the rattery.

Enough lecture, but keep this all in mind for your next addition to your rattie family... so welcome to your new little baby!  Have you introduced them yet?  If not, the best way to do it is to place the new rat's cage a few inches (maybe 6") next to the other ratties cage and leave it there for a few days.  Let them smell each other and get used to each other.  Next, one by one, place the new one with an older one together in a neutral meeting place such as a bathtub or floor of a small bathroom or playpen and watch how they act.  Sometimes, they might go into the "fighter" position or try to kick or fight a little, but let them work it out for about half an hour or so.  Only separate them if you think it is getting too nasty.  They are all babies so they should accept each other with curiousity rather than anger or fear, whereas with an older rat, sometimes, it's more difficult as they are "set in their ways".  Repeat this with each rattie and the new one, maybe later putting 2 older ones at a time with the new one if things are going well.

As for your question about the "dumb rat"...do you mean Dumbo rat (with the ears set lower and larger)?  If so, a dumbo rat is still just a rat, the ears are just a cosmetic difference, just like fur or eye color.  It doesn't make the rat any friendlier or affect temperment.  BUT she is one year old, so remember what I said about introducing an older rat or others.  Sometimes, it doesn't work out and the older one could be nasty to the others if she's used to being alone, and also if she has that kind of temperment.  No matter how friendly she is to people, she might not be accepting of little ratties, who are WAY more hyper than she is.  She may think they are annoying and ignore them, or she might try to hurt them.  Be careful on this one.  Plus, this sounds like another pet store rat, so if you haven't gotten her yet, my recommendation is: Don't.  Since it seems like you are loving being a rattie owner and are looking to expand, please look into finding a local breeder.  I can help you find one.  Where do you live (closest big city).