Can I introduce a new rat to my old, anxious male?

[bowgie]

We had 2 rats, a female and a neutered male, that I got from a rescue home when they were around a year old. The female, Wolke, was very active, healthy and friendly, but sadly, she died suddenly 2 weeks ago. Now I'm left with, Mr Brown, the male. He's friendly towards us and loves strokes, but he's a massive coward and never liked to spend much time out of the cage and has alway been afraid of being carried or put on the couch. I think this is probably due to spending the first year of his live in his cage in the rescue centre. He's now just over two years old and since his cage mate died he has not come out of the cage at all. He's still healthy and he loves it when we reach inside the cage and stroke him, but he's definitely a lot quieter and I think he's probably depressed.

Normally, I would get a pair of young rats to keep him company, but I'm worried that the stress would kill him! He's overweight and has a slight permanent head tilt from an earlier ear infection, apart from this he is very healthy. We always thought he'd be the first to go, but he's a hardy guy. Wolke always let him be dominant, but in reality I think any other rat, even a very young one, would run rings around him.

What should we do? Get a pair of rats and keep them in another cage in the same room? Try to introduce them? Or just let him live out the last few months of his life alone? If we get more rats, should we go for females or males?

Finally, I can't stress just how much of a coward this fella is, and he's not very agile due to his weight. We don't overfeed the guy, he gets all in one dried food and a bit of fresh and he actually prefers salad to carbs, Wolke was slim and she had the same diet, he just can't get the ounces off.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Jolene L]

You should get another rat. Maybe 2. The more the merrier. Your rat would definitely get more active with younger ones around. I don't think they would fight. Maybe a bit of humping but that's all. He's just trying to show them his place in the group.

Introduce them in a mutual ground. But before introduction, put their cages side by side and let them sniff out each other for about a week. Then, introduce them. You can do this in a hall way or bathroom. Put treats around the floor and just let them roam free. Let nature take place. They might fight for a little bit but it'll be fine after a while.