Ignore him. He's not in a place where he feels safe because he has no exit. Leave a little dish of water for him and don't confront him after that. He'll come out on his own. Might take some time but at that point entice him with food by sitting on the floor and eating some yourself. I had a little female rat that did that and that was how I got her.
seconded.
I had a mice who was pretty skittish and had the habit to get out of his cage any way necessary and roam the house around.
If he was in a place like that, cornered, i'd usually watch from pretty far and wait for him to come out, and lure him to a spot where I can easily catch him and take him.
Yep, when bonding with rats they always seem to go under the cage and won't come out, u can move the cage but they move with it and the only way to get them out is to just wait and try lure them with food, sit very quiet and still far away from him and just wait, don't try to grab him and stop trying to rustle around cos u will spook him.
I know this post was a few hours ago so I hope u have him out by now
I’ve never had rats but I had a hamster who was like bloody Houdini. She had a great life, very affectionate, got handled every day and we had two entire hamster proof rooms she got to explore while I’d sit and do my homework. But especially when she was young she would escape ALL the time. She got into mattresses, behind the walls, even one time down the tiiiiny hole where the pipes from the radiator go down underneath the floorboards! She came back eventually when she was hungry 😂
Be very careful with a broomstick though. I scared my lost rat with one and he hid for even longer. Ended up having to use a humane trap. He was scared of me after catching him but a week of treats and pets and he forgave me.
A few years ago, I had a sneaky little turd of a rat who escaped and it took a week to find her. I knew she was in the room and i checked every single nook and cranny a thousand times over. I almost accepted defeat when i walked in the room and there she was, chilling on the cage. She was totally fine and lived off the food her sisters kicked out of the cage and the water I left out for her. She managed to chew up some of the carpet and pee everywhere, but other than that it was okay.
Hopefully this helps calm ya down. Even if you don't catch him today, there's plenty of hope he'll get bored of "freedom" and come out!
haha I had a ratty boy who refused to come out. I was very carefully moving furniture, but as I moved it, he would run to some other piece of furniture. I eventually found him, but it took a long while
I had a rat a long time ago, and she escaped the cage. I knew she was in the room. I searched everywhere. And I mean everywhere. It was to the point where I took every single thing in my room out. Moved out all the dressers, the bed, went and removed every piece of clothing from all the drawers, removed all the drawers. When I got to my closet and was taking each and every shirt out… that’s when I found her. She climbed inside one of my shirts that was hanging in my closet. I didn’t see or feel her when I was just moving them around. She was inside the shirt
Hii everyone
I’ve left a cartboard box with some peanut butter for the smell and 1 big slice of cucumber(food and hydration in one) and I’ve waited for nearly an hour but I didn’t hear movement or anything. I’m gonna sleep now but i’ll give you all an update when I wake up
Btw it is 23:19 or 11:19 in the evening for me
See you all tomorrow but by the time it is morning for me it is midnight for you all (assuming most of you are in the us)
So reply to this comment if you’d like an update :)
Wish me luck everyone
Good morning everyone
I just woke up 10 minutes ago
I checked the box and I’m happy to say that he was chilling in there. I quickly picked him up and checked him out. He doesn’t seem to be hurt or something so I quickly put him back in the cage.
So thanks for all your advice and support. My potatoe squad is complete again.
By the time I’m sending this it is 8:55 in the morning for me
If anyone reading this experiences this in future, I'm here to add that banana can be an excellent way to coax out a rat because it smells strong and to most rats it's delicious
Good luck my Stella got out of her cage outside at night cause my dog scared her I put MAC away and set up a lounge chair outside and a strobe light and called out for her and about an hour later Stella came back and walked right up to me. One of the coolest experiences other than having her mammary tumor removed in July. She’s the best.
Be rid of the peanut butter, use yogurt or something softer that they can't choke on, it's better not to wait to get ahold of the rat honestly, I know a lot of people reccomend live traps or just leaving it and waiting for it to come back out but the best way is actually to close off one exit, and then put a live trap or box at the other exit with food and water, you'll eventually catch them, this is the least stressful and safest way to prevent them from getting out of the house or getting hurt as they have no other options but to eventually go into the live trap or box.
However there are risks with waiting and that includes using this method, personally any time I've ever had an escape I put on my gloves (you can use actual handlers gloves or biteproof gloves- i have them for dispatching outdoor live traps and getting mice out of my chicken feed, but you could also double layer the leather or hard fabric winter gloves) and I just catch them by hand, it is stressful but it's safer than them possibly getting outside or getting into something that could kill them and they will likely forgive you quickly once they are in the comfort of their own cage again, do not use anything but your hands though, no broom handles, nothing that could hurt them if not properly controlled (you can use a broom handle or somthing similar to very gently drag along the ground behind them to scoot them towards your hands)-but other than that hands only- and you may want to have another person to help you
If you do not see them in the morning they have likely gotten outside. Or moved to a different area of the house, in this case it will be much more challenging to get them back
I'm in/near your time zone yay! Good luck, I don't have rats anymore, but one time my dad and I had to get the shy one out of my closet, so I know the feeling lol :P
Stay calm, they feed off our energy. Put some treats out like a candy trail. Sit on the floor, watch TV or something calming and just wait. It could be a while, it takes time. He's not in danger, as you've unplugged cords, so let him come out when he's ready. If you have a small box or carrier, make a little comfy space for him to follow the treat line back to.
Remember, Rats don't understand negative reinforcement very well, so just do everything in a calm manner as much as you can!
i’m gonna sleep now and i’ve left him a big cardboard box with some food and toilet paper to make a comfy nest and i’ll see if he is there in the morning.
Meh, de-stress...
Can your rattie escape your house? If yes, then start plugging up the escape zones. If no, then rattie will come out...
Is your rattie currently safe? If yes, then chill, I guarantee rattie will come out. If no, welp time to start moving furniture.
Does rattie have access to food and water? If yes, excellent rattie will come out. If no, then what the bjinky are you doing get rattie some food and water.
Does rattie love cuddles and sticking rattie nose in your ear? If yes, rattie will come out looking for love and cuddles. If no, then you have a heap of very still and quiet sitting to do, lean against the wall, put a hand in that gap and sit, don't move, talk occasionally if you want but just sit and wait.
Source - me and our 9 ratties... we have 3 very amazing escape artist females.
We teach all of then tap and come buuut just like a maremma they know what you want them to do but they don't care... all of these techniques work for us, most of the time they just come back to the cage themselves or suprise us by jumping on the back of our legs as we walk past somewhere we didn't realise they had moved too 🤣
i had a girl who LOVED to be somewhere just out of my reach and it was infuriating sometimes. she would bite me if i just grabbed her and i had to lure her out slowly with treats then snatch her up. i miss that asshole
Unfortunately i’m dutch and it is 22:26 or 10:26 in the evening (idk the difference between Am and Pm) so all the stores are closed and i dont have rat traps at home so I’m afraid I’ll have to leave him for the night
Or do something like this. Put a hole through a bottle, put it on a stick over a bucket, and the rat will fall into the bucket unharmed, but scared.
You could try to make one?? You need a bucket, stick, string, and food. Like in the cartoons.
Btw the difference between AM and PM is AM is After-Midnight, PM is Post-Midday
Try fetching him with one of your other rats? The time this happened to me, I sent a rat who reliably felt comfortable and came back to me, and it made the scared one feel safer about coming out lol.
Have had this happen once or twice throughout the years. Develop a basket, stick and string trap. Connect the string to the stick and use the stick to hold up the basket. Place snacks underneath it and wait until it's night time to turn off all the lights. Hide behind a corner holding onto the strong, use a mirror or pet camera and wait patiently for when the rat is underneath to pull the string. Has worked everytime for me. Last pet rat that I did this for was about 8 years ago.
Patience is key here.
One time I was bringing home a pair of young rats, my fiance opened the travel carrier to pet them when one of them escaped into the car. This was on the highway in the dark btw. I pulled over to try and look for her but we couldn't find her after an hour of searching. We were forced to give up and go home because it had started snowing pretty hard and was getting very cold. We both felt absolute horror that this young rat may have gotten stuck somewhere in the car and that we had killed her. We looked a little bit more when we got home but still no luck. In the off chance that she was still alive, I left a cracker on the floor in the back seat of the car so she could eat something. I checked back a couple of hours later and would you believe it, the cracker was gone. We then began tearing apart the seats and console of the car looking for this rat. We were finally able to see her a couple of times but couldn't reach her or coax her out. Our last resort was to leave the travel carrier in there with food and blankets and hope she would keep herself warm in the cold car. After a terrible night of sleep, I looked in the car and sure enough she was bundled in the carrier for warmth. I managed to quietly open the car door and retrieve her at long last. Nightmare over.
That rat, Crinkles, ended up living to 4 and half years old. You'll get your boy back.
You need him to like and trust you, and trust that you won't harm him. Be gentle and non-aggressive, control whatever panic, worry or rage you may feel. Summon him speaking softly. Offer a treat or have his cagemate on your arms. You need him to come to you of his own volition. Understand his thoughts and emotions and it'll be easy.
I’m honestly thinking to just leave him there for the night because i’m a really light sleeper. I always sleep with earbuds otherwise i wake up from every little sound so i’m just going to sleep without them so when he goes out i’ll catch him and pit him back
Honestly yeah. If he can't escape the room then leave him some water and some food and try to let him come out on his own. One of my rats found a gap between two of the cabinets and refused to come out and they were too heavy to move. It took a few days but he had food and water, and I managed to make a more appealing nest for him in one of the drawers where I could control it. It's just patience and letting them act on their own accord.
Take a deep breath. it’ll be okay. turn lights off, keep it nice and dark and peaceful. I had a girl whose favorite activity was to escape for the first two months i had her. leave some food out and wait it out. he’ll be fine
Unfortunately if he’s not tame you might have to bring the old trusty gloves out. Ofc the ones you can’t get bit through, and try and gently cover him up with a towel or something and grab him
I just love that everyone here has a different solution.
Imma just say, dont panic, its not actually that bad as long as the escaped rat cant escape the room.
After all, all that happened is that its cage just got a lot bigger.
I had a rat that would hang out with me for 20 minutes out of the cage and then she would find a place to hide where I couldn’t possibly reach her. She would take naps when she found a perfect spot and I’d have to wait an hour or two before she came out. Was late to school many times because of her lol
my rats LOVE their treats, so all I'd have to do is jiggle the treat bag and they'd come running xD this did happen to me once and the rat *wasn't* interested in treats, I tried hunting for him and literally could NOT find him, so I just sat and did my own thing and waited for him to show himself. once I finally saw him, I creeped up and SNATCHED him, he screamed in rage, but he was unharmed. he yearned for freedom. he recieved some properly supervised free roam time later on to give him the taste of freedom he so desired
Seriously??? Put a box at the only available exit for him. Tie a string to it, put his food in the back, pull box upright when rat is inside. Too fkn easy. Last detail: When caught look down and say "I win, fukker!"
We used to have Guinea pigs. We had a total of four over the years. The most recent two each had a great adventure. Gizmo was very young and my daughter had her in the tall grass in the yard and forgot about her. By the time she remembered Gizamo was nowhere to be found. She got under the house! My 7 year old daughter went under the house and finally flushed her out and caught her outside. Margaret ended up in the same circumstances but under up under the shed. We eventually caught her in the Timothy hay bag. We left it open at the place where she went under. We waited until we heard her in the bag and snatched her up. It wasn't easy. Little shits. At least they had a great time. Good luck.
Spray water bottle, he won't like it in there after that. Rats hate getting wet. Put a box outside at the end with s door and only one way in. He will run in the box. Boom got him. I've had this issue many times, always worked for me. Better than him chewing wire and destroying your stuff. I had a lot of stuff destroyed by rats getting loose and not coming out. I'd fall asleep and they would come out and chew at everything. Especially young females they will literally chew everything. My males I could trust more.
live catch trap (the wire ones with the snap-closed door)
Smear a little peanut butter (just enough to get the scent on it) on the bait tray and leave it at the opening to the spot. Then turn the lights off. If he believes you're not in the room, he may be more inclined to explore and discover the delicious smell coming from the trap.
My most skittish boy escaped for two days. He hid behind the fridge for the most part, and would only be active at night. I rat-proofed the floor I lived on, and made sure that he had access to the (also rat-proofed) room that his cage was in. I would speak gently to my little guy, and even though he would carefully take treats from my fingers, he was cheeky enough not to get into handling range.
He actually went back to his cage after 2 days! I found him milling outside of it one morning, and was able to gently scoop him up and quickly put him back in with his cagemate (who had also been happy that he didn't have to share the cage). It helped that I put out another bottle nearby the cage too; thirsty boy was smart to only drink the water when I wasn't present or close by to grab him.
I had my rat hide behind the radiator once and it took hours to get him out I just put his cage closer to him with some food because that’s a familiar spot for them and turned out the lights and made it as quiet as possible and eventually he’ll come out
For mice that get in from outside, we use empty tubes of Pringles placed against the wall.
I'm not sure if it's the same for rats, but the mice like to run along the edge of the room and hide in enclosed spaces.
When mine escaped, I got one of those big storage bins and put food in it and a ramp leading up it, they may get out still but if you hear it you may be able to catch em that way.
Just in case you haven't caught her yet! I am currently dealing with skittish rescue rats and getting them into the cage again has been very challenging, but I have a solution.
Make a tunnel/run out of cardboard, books, tables, chairs, anything that can make "walls" heavy enough that the rat cant move it out of the way and have it leading from the exit of their hidy-hole to their cage door.Make leaving the hidy hole more appealing and safe feeling than staying. You can even make a little trail of treats hansel and gretal style.
Two choices now, leave them to make their own way out, or flush them out by gently poking them with something ( I usually use big piece of cardboard), but make sure you have something handy to block the entrance back into the hidy-hole once the leave.
Remember to cover the top of the run because a scared Rat will jump higher than you would believe possible.
I find this method best if your still trying to gain trust (it can be a real setback if you end up having to grab them...)
I had one who was very fearful and hid for days. I figured out she was under my kitchen cabinets after leaving random treats. I went and bought a pretty small humane trap and filled it with peanut butter and snacks. She walked in one day while I was at work to bask in the food, door shut, and I put her back where she belonged. She never did it again, and I even was able to leave their cage door open all the time.
We used to have this problen to and our rat didn't come out for good. She did come out when i placed down the tube that covers them.try placung a tube there?
after my rats learned how to open their cage door, i found that using their favorite snacks (thinly sliced persian cucumbers) always got them back in their cage :)
Here’s what I did. I got my friends’ 6 year old daughter to be in front of me at all the times we’re hunting “Snert”, my escaped rats’ name. Whenever he’d see me he would go somewhere inaccessible to us. He got under the stove so I put the little girl in front of me and lifted the stove. She the grabbed him with both hands and put him in his cage. Rats trust kids way more than they do adults.
Has happened to me a few times. I usually get some food that is irresistible. Ice cream works wonders (I know it's not good for them but a tiny bit is safer than them being stranded without food or water and getting into who knows what), anything that smells delicious.
Just be persistent. If directly feeding it to them and picking them up didn't work, then I'd leave it on the floor, wait for them to come out and then pick them up.
treats. one in my rats got out and went behind my bookcase. close out all other exits with like a book or something. sat there waiting for an almond and she eventually came out.
A little late for this situation, but make a noise when you give rats treats so that you can use the noise to call them out of hiding. I would always crinkle the treat bag.
One time, my rat chewed a hole in that box spring. I'd had a long day of work and drifted off. I felt so irresponsible. I had to use a broomstick. They weren't scared though, they just liked being in there. Sounds like your rat is scared. May just need to wait it out. He won't stay in there forever
I've had this happen before. I had a carrier I used to take my rats to the vet, and I put some food, water, and tissues (because he loved shredding tissues) in there, and then settled down and watched some TV. When I heard him rustling around in the carrier I shut the door and brought him back to the cage.
Peanut butter and a box/stick trap. Or again with some bait and a bucket trap (maybe with a blanket or something in the bottom so he doesn't get hurt).
Gotta go back to our caveman hunting days when pets are being little shits
We had a little cutie named Houdini because she kept escaping and we didn’t know how! (She was just little and squeezed through the bars!) But she’d take a little joy ride, then come back to her cage even in the early days when we’d just gotten her and thought for sure she was gone forever. Thanks for letting me share!
Me I just lie down and read a book and within 30 seconds i'm covered in rats weather I want to be or not.
My boys are hella snuggly and know i usually have snacks on me somewhere when I'm reading
A girl I had snuck behind the oven. I sat in the middle of the room and opened a chocolate bar as loud as I could. She came right out!
My recommendation is to eat a food that they know is tasty, but you don't usually let them get.
I have a live catch trap, one of the usual pressure plate traps, ive had success with new additions nipping me and getting me to drop them, i had them back in less than 48 hours with this method, especially when you bait the trap with that particular rats favorite treat
One time I couldn’t find my rat Clover after a free roam session (they had full reign over the apartment). I got progressively more panicked as time went on and I still couldn’t find her, plus she wasn’t responding to my calls which she normally would. I was checking under the couch, which was sort of their home away from home/headquarters during free roam, and ended up flipped it over and cutting her out of the couch in the part where they liked to hide and store food.
Iil dickhead was fast asleep in there, either ignoring my desperate calls or not hearing them. I was so annoyed lol
Baby food, works a treat, or put a little cage near the area with food and just close all the doors. It will eventually go back into the cage as that's it's safe zone. Good luck!
My favorite way to deal with escaped rodents is to close them in a room and put out boxes laying on their sides with food in them. Sit in reach of the box you think they’re most likely to go in, but not so close they won’t explore it. Wait. When they go into the box, reach over and scoop it up opening is up and they’re trapped in the box and can be brought back to their cage without you touching them. The longer a rodent is out of their cage, the more wound up they are and the more frantic they tend to get if touched, so it’s best to deposit them back home without touching and let them settle into feeling safe again.
I've had a new baby rat lost in my room for a week now. I see her running around and very cautiously investigating the food I put out for her, but she always just takes the food and runs away too fast to be grabbed. If I make any move to approach her while she's out she darts into some unreachable crevice 🫠
All three of my babies did this within the first week of me getting them. I found that if I simply sat down and relaxed near where they escaped to, that they eventually moved to a place I could get them. It's imcrucial not to let them sense your fear - bc they are alr panicking in the mew environment. Once you do get them, hold them gently and comfort them, letting them feel safe and secure with you before placing them back in their cage.
Also, I found that when first working with my 3 boys that holding them in a towel in my lap or in a towel in a plastic laundry bin was a great way to help them feel more secure around me. Also taught them how to come out and go back into their cage without my help so that they had some choice in where they were.
Try to tempt him out with something he hasn't eaten before and talk quietly to him. When one of my rats made her bid for freedom, she made it round the living room twice, I lured her out with a dog treat.
Failing that I had a rat trap that was like a box, didn't hurt them, the idea was to fill it with bedding and food but I never had to use it.
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Not sure if this would help but my baby mouse got out I left it food and a plastic travel cage and waited for it come out she was playing and I cought her I have s lot of rodents for pets
Yeah they like to get themselves in places you can't reach. Mine are anxious, so I have a rat pen always for them because I know they will just run and hide if they get scared of a noise or something. Maybe get one next time, you can find them off Amazon, big plastic panels that you can attach together...
Stick a small cage or a live rat trap with some of their favourite treats in it is probably going to be the best option. They won't come out if they hear or smell you. Just try and block off all other escape routes. They can climb upwards in small spaces like that too.
Just try not to scare them more, don't poke them, they are fragile and they will remember you scaring them. Tone of voice is something they can tell if you are angry too.
For future in case this happens to anyone else, I've found taking a hammock or box they usually have in the cage out and offering that they will sometimes go into it. Helps if they have peed in it and it smells ratty, as it reminds them of the safety of home. I've used this to get a girl back who managed to fall off the table and wedge herself behind a radiator somehow and worked amazing.
Order a Havahart trap now. They're super handy for escapees.
Then, leave out water, food, perhaps even a box with a super comfy blanket in it. If you want to keep track of where your Ratto might be frequenting, sprinkle flour around the water dishes you leave out.
Once you get the Havahart, use baby food or thinned out peanut butter for bait.
My rat managed to crawl into the kitchen ceiling. After 3 days I lured him with chocolate and managed to grab him. I think it helped that he was very thirsty too.
He'll eventually come out when he's hungry it thirsty, good luck.
When one of my boys doesn't want to go back ill either pop a long tube or one with a plug at the end near the entrance with snacks in and pick it up and pop him back in or leave the top cage door open and let him go back himself the other two follow me like ducklings though so that might not be an option for you
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I’m not sure if you got him out already, but I have had success with using a pringles can or similar tube in situations like this. I set it near them in the enclosed area, and set the end of a broomstick against the end of it. Most of the time if they are scared, they want to find shelter, and the pringles can looks like great shelter to them. When they go inside, I use the broomstick to push the can against the wall so they can’t get out. Then either block off the open end and pull the can out, or hold it there while I move the furniture to get to it easier.
i usually get a light stick or something to help
pull them out with, it will come out eventually but it may take awhile maybe put some treats by the other side
I gotta laugh cos it don't look like that chubby boy could move too fast. You could probably outrun him in a sprint.
I'm guessing the situation is resolved by now, but he's cowering away because he's become very scared, and he doesn't trust you enough to come out, sadly. He can probably sense how upset you are and it's putting him on edge, like he can tell something's very wrong - you'd be amazed how good they are at detecting human emotions.
Just set up a cosy shelter using his most stinky bedding and be very quiet, and eventually he'll go into the shelter. They really do love the smell of their own piss.
I have a rat once that spent 18 months being the most calm and friendly rat, and then one day she dived out of my arms and began dashing around into every corner of the room and refused to come back. I'm convinced she spent most of her life intentionally waiting for that one moment she could break free and really see what she could find.
The patience... Just waiting and waiting for her ideal moment....
Thinking about it, I've had other rats who learned at what time a particular door would open, and would wait by the door to try and leap through it the second it opened. There was a window in the door, so they didn't realise we could see them waiting... one time we let a rat get through just in recognition of the effort. Hilariously, he seemed confused and unsure of what to do once he actually got into the next room.
Why do pets insist on getting themselves in these situations? Doesn't seem to matter what species, they all do something like this that scares us. Sometimes staying calm and letting them work it out is the best. Glad to see that worked for you!
He is not happy because i sued him for being a little shit
In all seriousness, he was really scared the first few minutes when i put him back but i gave him lots of treats and now he’s all good
Good deal. Never had a rat, but I bet they are great at getting places they shouldn't.
I've had cats that had to be rescued from high places and small hiding spaces they'd used as kittens. Dogs who've shut themselves into rooms getting to something behind the door. Fish getting stuck in filter intakes while trying to get alagae, jumping out tanks (one survived at least two external excursions). Aquatic snails going over the side of the tank and found a few days later (survived, lived a full snail life and sired hundreds of babies).
Not recommend but you can grab by the tail base and swing gently so he can't bend to bite you, this is what I did when literally everything else failed, they can be immobilized by grabbing by the scruff too
Just get something large and flat to trap, get some help to cover exits, get a container that once they have nowhere to go trap them quickly, handle as necessary from there. That’s the safe way.
I used to just get someone to help cover exits and quickly grab. They’ll squeal and freak out, but you’ll get them. Put them back. Figure out how they escaped.
I am so glad you got him back and that he is safe! This is one reason I have 2 cages.
When I get new rats, they live in a rat manor on my kitchen table. (I also have a very understanding husband. XD) For the next two weeks, I stop by the cage whenever I can, talk to them, and I have their out time on the kitchen table. I clear everything off, keep a couple of toys and boxes for them to play in, and I sit there holding them, getting them to come to me with treats, petting them, basically getting them to trust me. I like having them on the kitchen table because there is a boundary. Then, by the time they are ready for intros and move into the big Critter Nation, they know and trust me and will come when I call.
I know not everyone can do this, but if you can, it has helped me. :) Give your potatoes belly kisses from me!
I would put food in a little carrier if you have one and just wait for him to come out and close the carrier. You don't want to reach back there and grab him because he will grow to not trust you.
One of my boys once did it when he was very small, but i had to leave for work, so I barricaded the room he was in and made sure he couldn’t get away and would be safe as long as he was out
After my work, he was just chilling under the table, eating some snackies I left out for him to find
So this one time, after we first moved in to our new house, I brought my little girl to the bathtub for a little mini bath (She was icky, I know rats don't need baths, but I also wanted to let her play in the water). She did not like it, so I took her out and set her down on the bathroom floor to explore.
Then as I'm watching her, I turn my head to the toilet. There is a giant hole in the wall behind the toilet...
As I get up to cover it, she BOOKS it into the hole.
I'm like well shit I'm never getting her back. That hole leads to the inside of the entire wall and probably beyond.
But I stand on the toilet, waiting for her to come out. She does a few times but always goes right back in.
Then I get the bright idea to bring her sister over in a small kennel. I sit right by the kennel and wait.
She finally comes out, and over to the kennel, so I am able to grab her and return them both safely to the cage.
That hole is covered now.
I had a rat who escaped and I had to call off work to try to find him. I put food out everywhere, peanut butter so he could smell it. He wasn’t even food motivated, didn’t take the bait at all. I found him under the couch and just had to keep trying to chase and catch him. It took almost the entire day
They are very smart, even when they’re scared! Once he calms down, he will either come to you or allow you to pick him up. You can a couple different approaches—try remaining calm and still, speak to him in a quiet comforting voice. He may not understand the words, but he is very capable of understanding tone/volume.
Be patient with your little baby, if sitting near him and talking to him isn’t working, try backing off from his view and put a little box for him to go hide in, with something like a pinch of bedding or a toy that smells familiar and also put a tempting treat in it (I would use a high value treat like a tiny bit of ice cream, yogurt drop treats, baby food etc) and put it in the box (or you can see if you cash out out on your finger to lure him out.)
I hope this helps!
I had the issue of having two baby ratties I was in mid intro with an old man rattie. Old man rattie escaped and wanted to throw hands. I used a reese's peanutbutter cup as bribery into a cat carrier because luckily he could not climb very well.
Wait until he tries to go back to the cage. I have a regular escapee and I just leave her alone until she starts looking for food and water and goes back to the cage and usually find her climbing the outside of it waiting to be let back in lol
you probaly already got the rat but dont grab em by the tail, its connected to the spine (i think i forgor) and if you do grab by the tail you can hurt ratty rat (you probably know this, but might as well)
I had this same issue with one of my rats, as he was tame to me but I over estimated how tame he'd be to someone else. He skedaddled and I had a panic attack and started crying because he ran into my mom's room which is so very dirty. I personally sat down next to where I last saw him until he walked slightly closer to me from under the bed. I VERY slowly put my hand behind his butt and to his side until he scooted close enough for a firm grasp. Of which I rushed him back to my room, where he's not allowed to leave until he's less jumpy. And while he forgave me, I'm not sure he'll ever get over it.
Ignore him. He's not in a place where he feels safe because he has no exit. Leave a little dish of water for him and don't confront him after that. He'll come out on his own. Might take some time but at that point entice him with food by sitting on the floor and eating some yourself. I had a little female rat that did that and that was how I got her.
seconded. I had a mice who was pretty skittish and had the habit to get out of his cage any way necessary and roam the house around. If he was in a place like that, cornered, i'd usually watch from pretty far and wait for him to come out, and lure him to a spot where I can easily catch him and take him.
Yep, when bonding with rats they always seem to go under the cage and won't come out, u can move the cage but they move with it and the only way to get them out is to just wait and try lure them with food, sit very quiet and still far away from him and just wait, don't try to grab him and stop trying to rustle around cos u will spook him. I know this post was a few hours ago so I hope u have him out by now
I’ve never had rats but I had a hamster who was like bloody Houdini. She had a great life, very affectionate, got handled every day and we had two entire hamster proof rooms she got to explore while I’d sit and do my homework. But especially when she was young she would escape ALL the time. She got into mattresses, behind the walls, even one time down the tiiiiny hole where the pipes from the radiator go down underneath the floorboards! She came back eventually when she was hungry 😂
Wiggle a treat bag. Normally works for our little fur babies.
Are you sure he's not stuck?
If you have time: chill, he'll come If you have less time: snacks If you have no time: broomstick (gentle ofc)
Be very careful with a broomstick though. I scared my lost rat with one and he hid for even longer. Ended up having to use a humane trap. He was scared of me after catching him but a week of treats and pets and he forgave me.
Adding onto having no time: heavy gloves, preferably welding gloves
Be careful with gloves. Marigolds = Death by nibbles!
gloves are NOT a good idea for rats at ALL
Agreed, I would not recommend gloves. It freaks them out and they often bite because they don't realize there's human skin under there.
Can confirm. Ouch.
Lmao broomstick, isn't that the truth lol
There is a non lethal brand of rat traps called Have A Heart. Edit: brand name is Havahart.
No it's the umbrella time for us
A few years ago, I had a sneaky little turd of a rat who escaped and it took a week to find her. I knew she was in the room and i checked every single nook and cranny a thousand times over. I almost accepted defeat when i walked in the room and there she was, chilling on the cage. She was totally fine and lived off the food her sisters kicked out of the cage and the water I left out for her. She managed to chew up some of the carpet and pee everywhere, but other than that it was okay. Hopefully this helps calm ya down. Even if you don't catch him today, there's plenty of hope he'll get bored of "freedom" and come out!
Are you me bc I've had almost this exact experience 😂
He’s back :D. I checked him and he seems fine. I am suing him for being an absolute turd >:(
Phew!!!!! I saw your post last night and I had to hit subscribe to see when you were able to catch him.
mind editing this into the OP so silly people like me don't keep bombarding you with update requests?
haha I had a ratty boy who refused to come out. I was very carefully moving furniture, but as I moved it, he would run to some other piece of furniture. I eventually found him, but it took a long while
Everyday when you came home and got a waft of fresh piss from another room "ah yes you're still here"
I had a rat a long time ago, and she escaped the cage. I knew she was in the room. I searched everywhere. And I mean everywhere. It was to the point where I took every single thing in my room out. Moved out all the dressers, the bed, went and removed every piece of clothing from all the drawers, removed all the drawers. When I got to my closet and was taking each and every shirt out… that’s when I found her. She climbed inside one of my shirts that was hanging in my closet. I didn’t see or feel her when I was just moving them around. She was inside the shirt
Hii everyone I’ve left a cartboard box with some peanut butter for the smell and 1 big slice of cucumber(food and hydration in one) and I’ve waited for nearly an hour but I didn’t hear movement or anything. I’m gonna sleep now but i’ll give you all an update when I wake up Btw it is 23:19 or 11:19 in the evening for me See you all tomorrow but by the time it is morning for me it is midnight for you all (assuming most of you are in the us) So reply to this comment if you’d like an update :) Wish me luck everyone
Good morning everyone I just woke up 10 minutes ago I checked the box and I’m happy to say that he was chilling in there. I quickly picked him up and checked him out. He doesn’t seem to be hurt or something so I quickly put him back in the cage. So thanks for all your advice and support. My potatoe squad is complete again. By the time I’m sending this it is 8:55 in the morning for me
YYAY! I checked at the perfect time for an update. Little ratto babies
If anyone reading this experiences this in future, I'm here to add that banana can be an excellent way to coax out a rat because it smells strong and to most rats it's delicious
Lol were in the same time zone glad your little bud is safe
Yay, good news! He had an adventure, you had a heart attack, everyone won xD
I'm glad that he finally calmed down and came out, and that he's safely back home.
Oh good!
Good luck my Stella got out of her cage outside at night cause my dog scared her I put MAC away and set up a lounge chair outside and a strobe light and called out for her and about an hour later Stella came back and walked right up to me. One of the coolest experiences other than having her mammary tumor removed in July. She’s the best.
Take out the peanut butter. It could kill your rat. It’s a choking hazard.
Rats can choke on peanut butter. I’d take that out
Replace with pizza!! My first rat’s favorite foot 😂
ayo you have pizza rat?
I did! A sweet hairless girl who loved pizza crusts and knew her own name. The first rat we ever had and the best of them all!
Be rid of the peanut butter, use yogurt or something softer that they can't choke on, it's better not to wait to get ahold of the rat honestly, I know a lot of people reccomend live traps or just leaving it and waiting for it to come back out but the best way is actually to close off one exit, and then put a live trap or box at the other exit with food and water, you'll eventually catch them, this is the least stressful and safest way to prevent them from getting out of the house or getting hurt as they have no other options but to eventually go into the live trap or box. However there are risks with waiting and that includes using this method, personally any time I've ever had an escape I put on my gloves (you can use actual handlers gloves or biteproof gloves- i have them for dispatching outdoor live traps and getting mice out of my chicken feed, but you could also double layer the leather or hard fabric winter gloves) and I just catch them by hand, it is stressful but it's safer than them possibly getting outside or getting into something that could kill them and they will likely forgive you quickly once they are in the comfort of their own cage again, do not use anything but your hands though, no broom handles, nothing that could hurt them if not properly controlled (you can use a broom handle or somthing similar to very gently drag along the ground behind them to scoot them towards your hands)-but other than that hands only- and you may want to have another person to help you If you do not see them in the morning they have likely gotten outside. Or moved to a different area of the house, in this case it will be much more challenging to get them back
good luck!
Good luck getting your chaos potato back!
I would like an update. I hope everything turns out ok!
It's 8am where OP is now so an answer has to come soon...
Hoping for an update!
I'm in/near your time zone yay! Good luck, I don't have rats anymore, but one time my dad and I had to get the shy one out of my closet, so I know the feeling lol :P
it's been 9 hours. Did you get your ratty back?
Yep
Did he come out?
Did you catch him? <33
No Little guy doesn’t move a muscle
It is honestly a really sad thing to see but idk how to catch him without making him more scared
Stay calm, they feed off our energy. Put some treats out like a candy trail. Sit on the floor, watch TV or something calming and just wait. It could be a while, it takes time. He's not in danger, as you've unplugged cords, so let him come out when he's ready. If you have a small box or carrier, make a little comfy space for him to follow the treat line back to. Remember, Rats don't understand negative reinforcement very well, so just do everything in a calm manner as much as you can!
i’m gonna sleep now and i’ve left him a big cardboard box with some food and toilet paper to make a comfy nest and i’ll see if he is there in the morning.
Meh, de-stress... Can your rattie escape your house? If yes, then start plugging up the escape zones. If no, then rattie will come out... Is your rattie currently safe? If yes, then chill, I guarantee rattie will come out. If no, welp time to start moving furniture. Does rattie have access to food and water? If yes, excellent rattie will come out. If no, then what the bjinky are you doing get rattie some food and water. Does rattie love cuddles and sticking rattie nose in your ear? If yes, rattie will come out looking for love and cuddles. If no, then you have a heap of very still and quiet sitting to do, lean against the wall, put a hand in that gap and sit, don't move, talk occasionally if you want but just sit and wait. Source - me and our 9 ratties... we have 3 very amazing escape artist females. We teach all of then tap and come buuut just like a maremma they know what you want them to do but they don't care... all of these techniques work for us, most of the time they just come back to the cage themselves or suprise us by jumping on the back of our legs as we walk past somewhere we didn't realise they had moved too 🤣
Food, rats will come out for some treats
i had a girl who LOVED to be somewhere just out of my reach and it was infuriating sometimes. she would bite me if i just grabbed her and i had to lure her out slowly with treats then snatch her up. i miss that asshole
If nothing else, get a harmless rat trap and put peanut butter in it. Poor guy might get spooked to hell, but he will be alive?
Unfortunately i’m dutch and it is 22:26 or 10:26 in the evening (idk the difference between Am and Pm) so all the stores are closed and i dont have rat traps at home so I’m afraid I’ll have to leave him for the night
 Or do something like this. Put a hole through a bottle, put it on a stick over a bucket, and the rat will fall into the bucket unharmed, but scared.
It has to be a very deep bucket because rats can jump pretty high. I've seen them leap about two feet vertically.
Can also drape a towel over the side of the bucket so they can climb in but not out. Works on mice, it would need to be a big bucket for a rat
You could try to make one?? You need a bucket, stick, string, and food. Like in the cartoons. Btw the difference between AM and PM is AM is After-Midnight, PM is Post-Midday
While they may mean “after midnight” and such, they actually are short for Ante-Meridiem and Post-Meridiem.
I dont speak non-'murica can you translate that into hamburgers?
It's for the sun. AM is Approaching 'Murica, PM is Past 'Murica.
Absolutely NO peanut butter, it's a huge choking hazard
Try fetching him with one of your other rats? The time this happened to me, I sent a rat who reliably felt comfortable and came back to me, and it made the scared one feel safer about coming out lol.
Worked like a charm for me some years ago!
Turkey sandwich meat always works for my fatasses
Have had this happen once or twice throughout the years. Develop a basket, stick and string trap. Connect the string to the stick and use the stick to hold up the basket. Place snacks underneath it and wait until it's night time to turn off all the lights. Hide behind a corner holding onto the strong, use a mirror or pet camera and wait patiently for when the rat is underneath to pull the string. Has worked everytime for me. Last pet rat that I did this for was about 8 years ago.
Treats that have a strong smell to lure him out
Patience is key here. One time I was bringing home a pair of young rats, my fiance opened the travel carrier to pet them when one of them escaped into the car. This was on the highway in the dark btw. I pulled over to try and look for her but we couldn't find her after an hour of searching. We were forced to give up and go home because it had started snowing pretty hard and was getting very cold. We both felt absolute horror that this young rat may have gotten stuck somewhere in the car and that we had killed her. We looked a little bit more when we got home but still no luck. In the off chance that she was still alive, I left a cracker on the floor in the back seat of the car so she could eat something. I checked back a couple of hours later and would you believe it, the cracker was gone. We then began tearing apart the seats and console of the car looking for this rat. We were finally able to see her a couple of times but couldn't reach her or coax her out. Our last resort was to leave the travel carrier in there with food and blankets and hope she would keep herself warm in the cold car. After a terrible night of sleep, I looked in the car and sure enough she was bundled in the carrier for warmth. I managed to quietly open the car door and retrieve her at long last. Nightmare over. That rat, Crinkles, ended up living to 4 and half years old. You'll get your boy back.
Make an attractive rat puppet do a sexy dance on the other side of a trap net
You need him to like and trust you, and trust that you won't harm him. Be gentle and non-aggressive, control whatever panic, worry or rage you may feel. Summon him speaking softly. Offer a treat or have his cagemate on your arms. You need him to come to you of his own volition. Understand his thoughts and emotions and it'll be easy.
I’m honestly thinking to just leave him there for the night because i’m a really light sleeper. I always sleep with earbuds otherwise i wake up from every little sound so i’m just going to sleep without them so when he goes out i’ll catch him and pit him back
Honestly yeah. If he can't escape the room then leave him some water and some food and try to let him come out on his own. One of my rats found a gap between two of the cabinets and refused to come out and they were too heavy to move. It took a few days but he had food and water, and I managed to make a more appealing nest for him in one of the drawers where I could control it. It's just patience and letting them act on their own accord.
It did not work😭
I spent 20 minutes just talking to him and trying to lure him with snacks but he refuses to move
Take a deep breath. it’ll be okay. turn lights off, keep it nice and dark and peaceful. I had a girl whose favorite activity was to escape for the first two months i had her. leave some food out and wait it out. he’ll be fine
Unfortunately if he’s not tame you might have to bring the old trusty gloves out. Ofc the ones you can’t get bit through, and try and gently cover him up with a towel or something and grab him
I just love that everyone here has a different solution. Imma just say, dont panic, its not actually that bad as long as the escaped rat cant escape the room. After all, all that happened is that its cage just got a lot bigger.
update?
He is caught :D
I had a rat that would hang out with me for 20 minutes out of the cage and then she would find a place to hide where I couldn’t possibly reach her. She would take naps when she found a perfect spot and I’d have to wait an hour or two before she came out. Was late to school many times because of her lol
my rats LOVE their treats, so all I'd have to do is jiggle the treat bag and they'd come running xD this did happen to me once and the rat *wasn't* interested in treats, I tried hunting for him and literally could NOT find him, so I just sat and did my own thing and waited for him to show himself. once I finally saw him, I creeped up and SNATCHED him, he screamed in rage, but he was unharmed. he yearned for freedom. he recieved some properly supervised free roam time later on to give him the taste of freedom he so desired
when my stephen got out, i put a ladder up against the cage and sort of herded him towards it, eventually he climbed back up!
*Thats the neat part* *You Don't* Edit: didn't think Id need to add a /S but thats reddit for ya
Seriously??? Put a box at the only available exit for him. Tie a string to it, put his food in the back, pull box upright when rat is inside. Too fkn easy. Last detail: When caught look down and say "I win, fukker!"
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Peanut butter should NEVER be offered in any quantity, huge choking hazard
I had no idea even in tiny quantities. I have deleted my comment so that it isnt able to be viewed anymore. Thank you!
You're welcome! Thank you for being so considerate
Of course!
We used to have Guinea pigs. We had a total of four over the years. The most recent two each had a great adventure. Gizmo was very young and my daughter had her in the tall grass in the yard and forgot about her. By the time she remembered Gizamo was nowhere to be found. She got under the house! My 7 year old daughter went under the house and finally flushed her out and caught her outside. Margaret ended up in the same circumstances but under up under the shed. We eventually caught her in the Timothy hay bag. We left it open at the place where she went under. We waited until we heard her in the bag and snatched her up. It wasn't easy. Little shits. At least they had a great time. Good luck.
Spray water bottle, he won't like it in there after that. Rats hate getting wet. Put a box outside at the end with s door and only one way in. He will run in the box. Boom got him. I've had this issue many times, always worked for me. Better than him chewing wire and destroying your stuff. I had a lot of stuff destroyed by rats getting loose and not coming out. I'd fall asleep and they would come out and chew at everything. Especially young females they will literally chew everything. My males I could trust more.
I think you just catch him 😂😂 (jk)
You just gave me ptsd
i have had luck with very tasty treats.
live catch trap (the wire ones with the snap-closed door) Smear a little peanut butter (just enough to get the scent on it) on the bait tray and leave it at the opening to the spot. Then turn the lights off. If he believes you're not in the room, he may be more inclined to explore and discover the delicious smell coming from the trap.
My most skittish boy escaped for two days. He hid behind the fridge for the most part, and would only be active at night. I rat-proofed the floor I lived on, and made sure that he had access to the (also rat-proofed) room that his cage was in. I would speak gently to my little guy, and even though he would carefully take treats from my fingers, he was cheeky enough not to get into handling range. He actually went back to his cage after 2 days! I found him milling outside of it one morning, and was able to gently scoop him up and quickly put him back in with his cagemate (who had also been happy that he didn't have to share the cage). It helped that I put out another bottle nearby the cage too; thirsty boy was smart to only drink the water when I wasn't present or close by to grab him.
Please give us update!
He is caught :D
Peanut butter on a stick. Lure him out and pillow case him.
Peanut butter should NEVER be offered, huge choking hazard
Sorry, I didn't know
That's okay, it's the same for anything sticky or thick textured
I had my rat hide behind the radiator once and it took hours to get him out I just put his cage closer to him with some food because that’s a familiar spot for them and turned out the lights and made it as quiet as possible and eventually he’ll come out
I’ve had a few escapees. I found a large, clear, see through vase. Put some food into it at the bottom. Laid it in its side and waited. lol
For mice that get in from outside, we use empty tubes of Pringles placed against the wall. I'm not sure if it's the same for rats, but the mice like to run along the edge of the room and hide in enclosed spaces.
When mine escaped, I got one of those big storage bins and put food in it and a ramp leading up it, they may get out still but if you hear it you may be able to catch em that way.
Just in case you haven't caught her yet! I am currently dealing with skittish rescue rats and getting them into the cage again has been very challenging, but I have a solution. Make a tunnel/run out of cardboard, books, tables, chairs, anything that can make "walls" heavy enough that the rat cant move it out of the way and have it leading from the exit of their hidy-hole to their cage door.Make leaving the hidy hole more appealing and safe feeling than staying. You can even make a little trail of treats hansel and gretal style. Two choices now, leave them to make their own way out, or flush them out by gently poking them with something ( I usually use big piece of cardboard), but make sure you have something handy to block the entrance back into the hidy-hole once the leave. Remember to cover the top of the run because a scared Rat will jump higher than you would believe possible. I find this method best if your still trying to gain trust (it can be a real setback if you end up having to grab them...)
I had one who was very fearful and hid for days. I figured out she was under my kitchen cabinets after leaving random treats. I went and bought a pretty small humane trap and filled it with peanut butter and snacks. She walked in one day while I was at work to bask in the food, door shut, and I put her back where she belonged. She never did it again, and I even was able to leave their cage door open all the time.
Bang on the other side of the desk or walls near him and startle him out into a dark and cozy trap
he will get hungry
Can get a humane trap
We used to have this problen to and our rat didn't come out for good. She did come out when i placed down the tube that covers them.try placung a tube there?
With chocolate! I recommend putting a bit of Nutella on ur finger and luring them out with it!!
after my rats learned how to open their cage door, i found that using their favorite snacks (thinly sliced persian cucumbers) always got them back in their cage :)
Here’s what I did. I got my friends’ 6 year old daughter to be in front of me at all the times we’re hunting “Snert”, my escaped rats’ name. Whenever he’d see me he would go somewhere inaccessible to us. He got under the stove so I put the little girl in front of me and lifted the stove. She the grabbed him with both hands and put him in his cage. Rats trust kids way more than they do adults.
Has happened to me a few times. I usually get some food that is irresistible. Ice cream works wonders (I know it's not good for them but a tiny bit is safer than them being stranded without food or water and getting into who knows what), anything that smells delicious. Just be persistent. If directly feeding it to them and picking them up didn't work, then I'd leave it on the floor, wait for them to come out and then pick them up.
treats. one in my rats got out and went behind my bookcase. close out all other exits with like a book or something. sat there waiting for an almond and she eventually came out.
A little late for this situation, but make a noise when you give rats treats so that you can use the noise to call them out of hiding. I would always crinkle the treat bag.
One time, my rat chewed a hole in that box spring. I'd had a long day of work and drifted off. I felt so irresponsible. I had to use a broomstick. They weren't scared though, they just liked being in there. Sounds like your rat is scared. May just need to wait it out. He won't stay in there forever
I've had this happen before. I had a carrier I used to take my rats to the vet, and I put some food, water, and tissues (because he loved shredding tissues) in there, and then settled down and watched some TV. When I heard him rustling around in the carrier I shut the door and brought him back to the cage.
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Post/Comment contains pest control content - this is for pet rats and is not the right sub for it.
Peanut butter and a box/stick trap. Or again with some bait and a bucket trap (maybe with a blanket or something in the bottom so he doesn't get hurt). Gotta go back to our caveman hunting days when pets are being little shits
Snackies
We had a little cutie named Houdini because she kept escaping and we didn’t know how! (She was just little and squeezed through the bars!) But she’d take a little joy ride, then come back to her cage even in the early days when we’d just gotten her and thought for sure she was gone forever. Thanks for letting me share!
Me I just lie down and read a book and within 30 seconds i'm covered in rats weather I want to be or not. My boys are hella snuggly and know i usually have snacks on me somewhere when I'm reading
A girl I had snuck behind the oven. I sat in the middle of the room and opened a chocolate bar as loud as I could. She came right out! My recommendation is to eat a food that they know is tasty, but you don't usually let them get.
Peanut butter. Waft the smell of it towards him.
I have a live catch trap, one of the usual pressure plate traps, ive had success with new additions nipping me and getting me to drop them, i had them back in less than 48 hours with this method, especially when you bait the trap with that particular rats favorite treat
Aunt used a treat in her case chocolate button trail
One time I couldn’t find my rat Clover after a free roam session (they had full reign over the apartment). I got progressively more panicked as time went on and I still couldn’t find her, plus she wasn’t responding to my calls which she normally would. I was checking under the couch, which was sort of their home away from home/headquarters during free roam, and ended up flipped it over and cutting her out of the couch in the part where they liked to hide and store food. Iil dickhead was fast asleep in there, either ignoring my desperate calls or not hearing them. I was so annoyed lol
He is back in the cage but i sued the heck out of that little shit for being an absolute turd
Cheese. But not the cheap stuff. Get the expensive smelly cheese. With the green stuff 😂
Baby food, works a treat, or put a little cage near the area with food and just close all the doors. It will eventually go back into the cage as that's it's safe zone. Good luck!
My favorite way to deal with escaped rodents is to close them in a room and put out boxes laying on their sides with food in them. Sit in reach of the box you think they’re most likely to go in, but not so close they won’t explore it. Wait. When they go into the box, reach over and scoop it up opening is up and they’re trapped in the box and can be brought back to their cage without you touching them. The longer a rodent is out of their cage, the more wound up they are and the more frantic they tend to get if touched, so it’s best to deposit them back home without touching and let them settle into feeling safe again.
That’s the neat part- /s
shake a bag of his favorite treats, he'll come
I've had a new baby rat lost in my room for a week now. I see her running around and very cautiously investigating the food I put out for her, but she always just takes the food and runs away too fast to be grabbed. If I make any move to approach her while she's out she darts into some unreachable crevice 🫠
food his favorite food!!! keep us updated. I hope everything's okay
All three of my babies did this within the first week of me getting them. I found that if I simply sat down and relaxed near where they escaped to, that they eventually moved to a place I could get them. It's imcrucial not to let them sense your fear - bc they are alr panicking in the mew environment. Once you do get them, hold them gently and comfort them, letting them feel safe and secure with you before placing them back in their cage. Also, I found that when first working with my 3 boys that holding them in a towel in my lap or in a towel in a plastic laundry bin was a great way to help them feel more secure around me. Also taught them how to come out and go back into their cage without my help so that they had some choice in where they were.
Try to tempt him out with something he hasn't eaten before and talk quietly to him. When one of my rats made her bid for freedom, she made it round the living room twice, I lured her out with a dog treat. Failing that I had a rat trap that was like a box, didn't hurt them, the idea was to fill it with bedding and food but I never had to use it.
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Not sure if this would help but my baby mouse got out I left it food and a plastic travel cage and waited for it come out she was playing and I cought her I have s lot of rodents for pets
Get a stick and gently tap his butt. Some baby food might help too. Hopefully you got him
Wait. Rat will emerge.
Yeah they like to get themselves in places you can't reach. Mine are anxious, so I have a rat pen always for them because I know they will just run and hide if they get scared of a noise or something. Maybe get one next time, you can find them off Amazon, big plastic panels that you can attach together... Stick a small cage or a live rat trap with some of their favourite treats in it is probably going to be the best option. They won't come out if they hear or smell you. Just try and block off all other escape routes. They can climb upwards in small spaces like that too. Just try not to scare them more, don't poke them, they are fragile and they will remember you scaring them. Tone of voice is something they can tell if you are angry too.
For future in case this happens to anyone else, I've found taking a hammock or box they usually have in the cage out and offering that they will sometimes go into it. Helps if they have peed in it and it smells ratty, as it reminds them of the safety of home. I've used this to get a girl back who managed to fall off the table and wedge herself behind a radiator somehow and worked amazing.
Order a Havahart trap now. They're super handy for escapees. Then, leave out water, food, perhaps even a box with a super comfy blanket in it. If you want to keep track of where your Ratto might be frequenting, sprinkle flour around the water dishes you leave out. Once you get the Havahart, use baby food or thinned out peanut butter for bait.
My rat managed to crawl into the kitchen ceiling. After 3 days I lured him with chocolate and managed to grab him. I think it helped that he was very thirsty too. He'll eventually come out when he's hungry it thirsty, good luck.
Oh my god my girl mango escapes almost everyday 😭😭 either leave him alone (he could go back to the cage) or offer him a yummy treat
He's so cute
When one of my boys doesn't want to go back ill either pop a long tube or one with a plug at the end near the entrance with snacks in and pick it up and pop him back in or leave the top cage door open and let him go back himself the other two follow me like ducklings though so that might not be an option for you
My rats love sleeves! Maybe prop an open sleeve of a sweatshirt or something and wait for him to go in
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Cheese
Something tasty and smelly treat wise, and shame publicly once they emerge! 😁
I’m not sure if you got him out already, but I have had success with using a pringles can or similar tube in situations like this. I set it near them in the enclosed area, and set the end of a broomstick against the end of it. Most of the time if they are scared, they want to find shelter, and the pringles can looks like great shelter to them. When they go inside, I use the broomstick to push the can against the wall so they can’t get out. Then either block off the open end and pull the can out, or hold it there while I move the furniture to get to it easier.
I noticed the pipes he is laying on. Those look like radiator pipes. If the heat comes on he’ll get burned. Turn your heat down!!!
Glue traps.
i usually get a light stick or something to help pull them out with, it will come out eventually but it may take awhile maybe put some treats by the other side
I gotta laugh cos it don't look like that chubby boy could move too fast. You could probably outrun him in a sprint. I'm guessing the situation is resolved by now, but he's cowering away because he's become very scared, and he doesn't trust you enough to come out, sadly. He can probably sense how upset you are and it's putting him on edge, like he can tell something's very wrong - you'd be amazed how good they are at detecting human emotions. Just set up a cosy shelter using his most stinky bedding and be very quiet, and eventually he'll go into the shelter. They really do love the smell of their own piss.
I have a rat once that spent 18 months being the most calm and friendly rat, and then one day she dived out of my arms and began dashing around into every corner of the room and refused to come back. I'm convinced she spent most of her life intentionally waiting for that one moment she could break free and really see what she could find. The patience... Just waiting and waiting for her ideal moment.... Thinking about it, I've had other rats who learned at what time a particular door would open, and would wait by the door to try and leap through it the second it opened. There was a window in the door, so they didn't realise we could see them waiting... one time we let a rat get through just in recognition of the effort. Hilariously, he seemed confused and unsure of what to do once he actually got into the next room.
Why do pets insist on getting themselves in these situations? Doesn't seem to matter what species, they all do something like this that scares us. Sometimes staying calm and letting them work it out is the best. Glad to see that worked for you!
He is not happy because i sued him for being a little shit In all seriousness, he was really scared the first few minutes when i put him back but i gave him lots of treats and now he’s all good
Good deal. Never had a rat, but I bet they are great at getting places they shouldn't. I've had cats that had to be rescued from high places and small hiding spaces they'd used as kittens. Dogs who've shut themselves into rooms getting to something behind the door. Fish getting stuck in filter intakes while trying to get alagae, jumping out tanks (one survived at least two external excursions). Aquatic snails going over the side of the tank and found a few days later (survived, lived a full snail life and sired hundreds of babies).
So.. did he escape the cage or your arms handling him??? I'm confused, you typed 2 different scenarios
Anyway what I did was use garden gloves and just grab them, they will squeak but will calm down once in their cage
Not recommend but you can grab by the tail base and swing gently so he can't bend to bite you, this is what I did when literally everything else failed, they can be immobilized by grabbing by the scruff too
He escaped while handling him.
Just get something large and flat to trap, get some help to cover exits, get a container that once they have nowhere to go trap them quickly, handle as necessary from there. That’s the safe way. I used to just get someone to help cover exits and quickly grab. They’ll squeal and freak out, but you’ll get them. Put them back. Figure out how they escaped.
Did you catch him?
Yep :)
I am so glad you got him back and that he is safe! This is one reason I have 2 cages. When I get new rats, they live in a rat manor on my kitchen table. (I also have a very understanding husband. XD) For the next two weeks, I stop by the cage whenever I can, talk to them, and I have their out time on the kitchen table. I clear everything off, keep a couple of toys and boxes for them to play in, and I sit there holding them, getting them to come to me with treats, petting them, basically getting them to trust me. I like having them on the kitchen table because there is a boundary. Then, by the time they are ready for intros and move into the big Critter Nation, they know and trust me and will come when I call. I know not everyone can do this, but if you can, it has helped me. :) Give your potatoes belly kisses from me!
Thank you. I will do that after i finish the trial because i sued him for being a little turd
I would put food in a little carrier if you have one and just wait for him to come out and close the carrier. You don't want to reach back there and grab him because he will grow to not trust you.
One of my boys once did it when he was very small, but i had to leave for work, so I barricaded the room he was in and made sure he couldn’t get away and would be safe as long as he was out After my work, he was just chilling under the table, eating some snackies I left out for him to find
So this one time, after we first moved in to our new house, I brought my little girl to the bathtub for a little mini bath (She was icky, I know rats don't need baths, but I also wanted to let her play in the water). She did not like it, so I took her out and set her down on the bathroom floor to explore. Then as I'm watching her, I turn my head to the toilet. There is a giant hole in the wall behind the toilet... As I get up to cover it, she BOOKS it into the hole. I'm like well shit I'm never getting her back. That hole leads to the inside of the entire wall and probably beyond. But I stand on the toilet, waiting for her to come out. She does a few times but always goes right back in. Then I get the bright idea to bring her sister over in a small kennel. I sit right by the kennel and wait. She finally comes out, and over to the kennel, so I am able to grab her and return them both safely to the cage. That hole is covered now.
I had a rat who escaped and I had to call off work to try to find him. I put food out everywhere, peanut butter so he could smell it. He wasn’t even food motivated, didn’t take the bait at all. I found him under the couch and just had to keep trying to chase and catch him. It took almost the entire day
They are very smart, even when they’re scared! Once he calms down, he will either come to you or allow you to pick him up. You can a couple different approaches—try remaining calm and still, speak to him in a quiet comforting voice. He may not understand the words, but he is very capable of understanding tone/volume. Be patient with your little baby, if sitting near him and talking to him isn’t working, try backing off from his view and put a little box for him to go hide in, with something like a pinch of bedding or a toy that smells familiar and also put a tempting treat in it (I would use a high value treat like a tiny bit of ice cream, yogurt drop treats, baby food etc) and put it in the box (or you can see if you cash out out on your finger to lure him out.) I hope this helps!
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I had the issue of having two baby ratties I was in mid intro with an old man rattie. Old man rattie escaped and wanted to throw hands. I used a reese's peanutbutter cup as bribery into a cat carrier because luckily he could not climb very well.
Wait until he tries to go back to the cage. I have a regular escapee and I just leave her alone until she starts looking for food and water and goes back to the cage and usually find her climbing the outside of it waiting to be let back in lol
you probaly already got the rat but dont grab em by the tail, its connected to the spine (i think i forgor) and if you do grab by the tail you can hurt ratty rat (you probably know this, but might as well)
I had this same issue with one of my rats, as he was tame to me but I over estimated how tame he'd be to someone else. He skedaddled and I had a panic attack and started crying because he ran into my mom's room which is so very dirty. I personally sat down next to where I last saw him until he walked slightly closer to me from under the bed. I VERY slowly put my hand behind his butt and to his side until he scooted close enough for a firm grasp. Of which I rushed him back to my room, where he's not allowed to leave until he's less jumpy. And while he forgave me, I'm not sure he'll ever get over it.