socialising

Question
Hi, i bought my rat about a month or 2 ago, i just read another one of your
answers on rats sneezing porphyrin. my rat, who is a girl, has been doing
that alot. i think it may be because she's alone. is it too late to get another
female rat for her to play with? my sister wants to get a rat too and i was
thinking maybe i could house them together or let them play together
sometimes. will they hurt each other?

Answer
It is never to late to get a rat friend. they should get along great but introductions need to be taken slow, don't just put them in the same cage and walk away. Every day allow them to play and there may be fights and squeaking, this is okay as long as its not flesh wounds, they are simply establishing dominance, once they seem to be doing good swap their cages and put the new rat in the old rats cage and visa versa. after a few days put the older female rat back in her cage with the new one and watch to be sure no one is seriously hurt.

Good luck!

Emily Harris