How do I introduce a full frown huge male rat to a small female?

[Ellie Ferrero]

Ok so I bought a rat from a breeder he is very healthy and sweet he is an adult but they had to get rid of him because of dominance issues with another male I got him to breed they delivered to my house and he is huge !! I've never introduced 2 rats with such a size difference my female is about 5 inches (just body) and my male I'd about 9(just body) so how can I safely introduce the two?

 

[PunchToKill]

i would put them in a open bucket or bowl or something so i could see how they interact first, i would make sure they dont kill eachother first or if he doesnt kill her by humping her to death

 

[Lisa Morse]

Firstly, it is not a good idea to breed a rat with dominance issues - you do not want to risk him passing that trait to his offspring.

As for size, that's not a huge issue, don't worry. My biggest male is a good 12 inches without tail, and I safely introduced him to 6-week-old, 4 inch babies. Just follow the normal introduction process (neutral area, play area, cage), and they will probably mate somewhere along the line.

 

[Jessi Ree]

Have them caged separately at fist..
keep their cages near so they can see each other..
after both rats are comfortable in their own cage, switch one rat to the others cage(&vise versa) so they can spread their scent..

After about 3 days switch them back to their original cages that way theyll smell the others scent on their territory..

The next day take them both out & introduce them in a new invironment (so that there are no territory issues)..
if they do well rearange all toys & bedding in one cage & place them together.. (do your best to monitor their first day or two together)

 

[Frankie]

Doesn't sound like a good candidate for breeding. You don't want to pass on dominance issues and aggression to the babies.

You will have to house them separately for most of the time. if you do breed them, you can't just leave the male in the cage with the female because he will cause the female to get stressed out.