WHY INTRODUCE ANIMALS?

If an animal doesn't live on its own in the wild it seems very unfair to keep it on its own in captivity. Although they have been bred and always kept in captivity they still retain many of their natural instincts and behave accordingly, that is what makes many of them such interesting pets. If an animal can't behave as its instincts are telling it to then it can become very stressed, is more prone to illness and can show abnormal and stereotypical behaviour. Its accommodation in captivity should be based on the environment in which it would naturally live to enable it to behave as naturally as possible. Most sociable animals spend a lot of their time grooming, interacting and sleeping together, this is a lot to take away from them. Obviously un-neutered males and females cannot be kept together but if same sexed pairs can be kept together then it is normally worth trying.

WHY FIGHT?

There are two main reasons why it is not always easy to introduce a sociable animal to one of its own kind.

TERRITORIAL: In the wild lots of species live in colonies and do not accept   newcomers. Food can be hard to find. Many will fight to protect their family, home, food and bedding from intruders . So it is a natural instinct to fight even when food and other supplies are readily available.

FEAR: The other animal will smell different, and meeting another of its own kind may be an experience the animal has come across before. In the wild most rodents and other small furies are prey animals so they instinctively run from danger. If an animal is scared and there is nowhere to run it will often try fighting instead.

HOW CAN YOU INTRODUCE RODENTS?

There are lots of different opinions and ways how to introduce rodents. We would normally try it by keeping both the animals cages next to one another so they can get used to each other’s presence and smell. Do this for about a week then put them in each other’s cage without cleaning the other cage out, so the smell from the other animal will rub off on them. The other animal won't seem as much of a threat if it smells the same.

After a few days it may be possible to introduce them on neutral territory, preferably somewhere with plenty of space so they can run and hide if they want to, and somewhere with plenty of toys and objects for them both to investigate and take their minds off one another. As long as they don't fight leave them in this environment for a little while.

If they seem okay they can be tried together in a cage / tank. Ideally it should be a new cage that neither has been in before, if not make sure that the cage has been thoroughly disinfected as have all the toys in it.   You will need to keep a close eye on them for several days afterwards for bullying. They will normally have a few scraps to work out who's the more dominant, but if they were going to have a real fight (sometimes to the death) they would have normally done so by now.

It may not always work and as long as neither animal was in too much danger it may work by repeating the process again.   However it may upset the animal more by keep trying to introduce it, than if it did live by itself.

It is normally only a good idea to introduce one animal to another. If you introduce an animal to a pair or more its not going to be able to defend itself and it may cause the group to fight amongst themselves as they try and re-establish their pecking orders.

If an animal ends up having to spend its life on its own it should be provided with lots of stimulation and opportunity to exercise.

WHAT IF AN ANIMAL IS SEPARATED FROM HIS COMPANION/S?

  If an animal is separated from its partner or group for more then 48hrs you must be careful when re-introducing the animals.

First you can try putting the animal straight back into the group, it may be a good idea to rub some of the other animals bedding on the animal first so that it will smell the same. You will need to watch the animal closely as it meets the others. If there are any problems follow the introductory process as described above, as it may be necessary to introduce them as new to one another. It may not be possible to mix a single animal back into a group.  

ANIMALS THAT CAN BE MIXED WITH THEIR OWN KIND:            

•             Ferrets

•             Neutered male with a female rat

•             Neutered chinchillas and female chinchillas

•             Young Russian Hamsters

•             Guinea pigs - see handout

•             Mice - occasionally

•             Degus

ANIMALS THAT WILL NOT MIX WITH THEIR OWN KIND:

•             Syrian Hamsters

•             Adult Gerbils

•             Adult Male Rats

•             Female Jirds

•             Adult Male Jirds

•             Adult Russian Hamsters

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