my day has turned horrible...

[ratcreature]

I got my two new little rats today, and I proceeded how the breeder suggested, set them together in a neutral location (my bathroom), and all was calm. Ben wasn't aggressive, actually not much interested at all in the two little ones. Since all seemed to go so well, and Ben was his usual laid-back self I set them in my new cage, and all three seemed nervous at the new surroundings and just hid for a bit in different locations. Ben went into the direction of Gonzo a couple of times, but they didn't fight. Then all of a sudden Ben went into the hiding place where Gonzo was and I just heard a squeak and Gonzo was dead. It was just a few seconds, and I couldn't get there fast enough to do anything since both where in a hollow branch. Obviously I immediately took Krümel (who was sleeping nearby) out of that segment and put in a barrier. But god, I feel guilty and completely crushed, and now have two single rats and one dead one. He was just five weeks, I don't even have a photo of him. And now I'm off to bury a tiny rat.

Comments

[catmoran.livejournal.com]

I am so, so sorry. *cries* *hugs*

[ratcreature]

Thanks. It's just so awful. I didn't even know him yet, but I have been looking forward to these two for over two months, and I visited them before, and everything seemed to go well, only to turn into the anxiety nightmare I had about introducing Ben to the new ones.

And now I have a lonely baby rat, and it would be cruel to keep him alone his whole life, so now I'm going to get another baby from the breeder's next litter so at least he won't live alone, even if I need to keep Ben as a single rat (I don't dare to try with him a second time, at least not with any tiny one, though I will keep the integration barrier mesh so they can smell and see each other and maybe some more contact can develop later on, though I suspect Ben will stay a single rat), but obviously now I'm even more afraid of setting two new rats together, and okay, those two will probably only have eight weeks age dfference, but still, when I introduce them Krümel will be almost grown, and while intellectually I know that at least that is unlikely to turn horrible again, and that that time both will be young, and I'll be more cautious, maybe introduce them longer in area where they can't hide out of my reach (though since Ben didn't bother to fight before killing Gonzo I'm not sure I could have stopped him from breaking Gonzo's neck even if I hadn't the seconds delay of opening the door and getting to them), and really watch that Krümel will piss on the tiny one, like Ben didn't do but just ignored them, and I don't know, but I'm already afraid of having to do it again.