Baby rat hiding under cabinet

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ennie

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I just got two 5 week old babies a few days ago. Today I started trust training with them out of cage in the bathroom thinking it was a safe place. It had been for my previous adult rats, however little Arya found a small hole in the built in cabinet and has been hiding under there for hours. I can hear her moving around and have even seen her stick her head out a few times, but have had no luck getting her. The cabinet is bulit in and the only way to access her is to completely take it apart which I'd rather not do as it's in an apartment I'm renting and I don't want to accidentlly hurt her.

If it was an adult rat I was bonded with I wouldn't be too worried as I know they'd come out soon, but Arya is still scared of me. I don't know what her favorite treats are yet (though I left a few options by the hole to tempt her) and she's not yet willing to accept food from me, which makes it even harder. Any ideas to get her out?
 
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oh it's so scary when they do this!
I've got a girl who keeps taking off on me and hiding. It's quite the hassle getting her back again

I'd close off the bathroom, as you've probably figured out, lol so she stays in that room,
then I'd put out a small cage or a carrier, something she can go into, that has food, water and any thing that might smell like her, say a hammock she's used or a bit of fleece,
anything at all with her scent on it
cover it so it's nice and dark, the way they like things, and then wait.
she will have to come out to eat and drink eventually.

It's great you know where she is and can close off that room, it's much harder when a rat is loose and you don't even know where they went.
But it's still scary and frustrating waiting for them to come out of hiding

don't worry, she will come out, she will get hungry and thirsty

Just be sure she has to come out far enough for the food and water, that she can't run back into the hole before you can close it off and/or close her up inside a cage or carrier

good luck and let us know when you've got her back safe and sound in her home
silly girls!!!
 
The cage is a good idea. I will get right on that. She hasn't been with me long enough to have any particular attachment, but I will put in her used shavings to help with smell. The one thing I wish I could do is temp her with her sister Tribble, who I know she loves, but that would mean leaving the cage door open and then two missing rats. Maybe put her closed cage in the bathroom next to the smaller open one? It's worth a try.

I'm worried though since I haven't seen or heard her in hours. I live in an old apartment built over a 100 years ago, so I'm worried their could be other holes she could escape out of and leave.
 
oh dear, yes it's hard when you live in an older bldg.

I would think she may be sleeping now, if you don't hear her gnawing on anything that's a good sign that she's not trying to chew a hole and escape to China or something

I have used other rats to lure a rat out and that worked too.
You leave the cage closed and not too close to where your girl is hidden, you want her to come all the way out and not have a chance, or at least have a reduced chance, of running back to that hole before you can block it off

(speaking of that, have a heavy pc of cardboard, or coroplast or something similar that you can use to immediately block access to the hole she's gone into)

this assumes that you'll be there when she comes out, which kinda means pulling up a bit of the floor and maybe camping out in the bathroom with a good book and her buddy in a small cage LOL
it's not exactly how most ppl want to spend their evenings, and if you've got others who need to use that bathroom.......... :/

when one of my girls got loose and I finally located which room she was in, I closed off that room, and camped out, putting a bowl of water and some food out where I could see them but still in a bit of a hidden spot along the wall, where she'd feel safe to come out to.
before long, she was at the bowl drinking. by this time she'd been lost in that room for over 24 hrs and was quite thirsty.
Now I knew where she was, I blocked off that corner and made a barrier with these large cardboard presentation boards I have to make a rat play pen out of, and put a small cage inside that, and waited... and waited.
eventually she came out and got into the cage.
My first attempt to close the cage before she ran back out of it again failed LOL but the second time worked

Another time she got loose I didn't even know she was missing til I found her trying to climb up the outside of my new rat's cage, two girls she had met but wasn't living with yet. I was lucky and grabbed her up before she ran off, but the other rats were a good lure to get her out in the open.

Anyway try to stay calm, I know it's hard not to worry but she's gotta eat and drink so she'll come out eventually.

good luck!!
if you're like me, you'll be celebrating like crazy once she's been found and put back with her buddy!
 
Well, the good news is that all the food left in the cage in the bathroom was gone in the morning. Bad news is still no sign of her. I camped out for half the day and nothing. Any suggestions for a injury free trap?
 
I've tried two different types of humane traps and she's repeatedly removd the bait, but not gotten trapped on both. I've tested it out several times and it is set correctly, I just have a genius rat on my hands. I have a carpender friend coming over today who's going to help take the cabinet apart. Hope it works!
 
Finally caught her! 13 days in the cabinet. My friend wasn't able to take apart the built in cabinet without destroying it, so that ended up going to naught. This evening I kept hearing strange noises like something was getting scraped but assumed it was my new neighbors. Suddenly Arya comes out from under the stove (wall next to bathroom) and makes a run for it. She must have dug a hole in the wall! She ran into my roommates room and hides under his bookshelf. Well, the bookshelf could be moved just enough to create access and as he blocked her path with an ironing board, I reached in and grabbed her. I have quite a few bites and scratches on my hands, but she's back!

She's so much smaller then her sister Tribble even though they are the same age. Lack of food. I'm going to schedule them both a appoitment with my exotic pet vet tomorrow just to make sure all is well. For now I have Arya in a seperate cage next to the main one to give the girls a chance to get reacquainted. They both seemed happy to see each other so I'm hopeful it won't be a problem.

Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you for all your help!
 
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wow she's put you thru the wringer, eh?
so glad and relieved that she's been found and is back "home"

hope the vet check goes well

silly girl! now stay put Arya, you're giving us all gray hairs lol
 
Excellent health report at the vet. While she is definitely smaller than her sister all of Arya's proportons are good with no sign of dehydration or starvation. All good news. It was funny though since everyone there wanted to know the story of how I caught her as I'd called a few times asking for advice. Only seven weeks and already has quite the reputation.
 
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