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KTyne

KTyne

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 23, 2010
Messages
501
Location
New Westminster, BC
So I was afraid I would have to make a post looking for tips on how to trap a little whiley rodent. :p

I just got home today after being away for a few days at my boyfriend's place and last night my mom texted me saying one of my African Soft-Furred Rats had escaped. Apparently my brother who was looking after all of the ratties had forgotten their cage door open by accident and the next day when he went to check on all of them again he noticed that one of the ASFs was gone!
My mom and him searched all over the basement and couldn't find her so they gave up for a while. After a few hours my mom went back downstairs and saw my cat staring at the corner of the room under a dresser in hunting mode and noticed the little terrified girl in the corner! She got my brother and they tried to catch her (after putting the cat upstairs) and didn't succeed. She had climbed into a hole in the wall. Thank-goodness that part of the wall only went a few inches before hitting a beam or she would have been gone!
Well this morning when I got home I thought since she'd been out of the cage for about a day and a half she'd be hungry and really thirsty so I got a cracker (one of their fav's) and a little dish of water and put it by the hole in the wall where she was hiding. I sat patiently, gave her a little bit of water on my finger tip which she licked off and that got her to come out for the dish! Well after that she ran for it and it took a bit of time but I caught her by putting a bowl over her lol. Every time I grabbed her she would squirm out of my hands and take off!

Anyways, this weekend has been an adventure. My brothers puppy has gone into heat for the first time a week before she is scheduled to go in to get fixed and then we have the escape!

Just thought I'd share. I know you guys must have similar stories with your kids. :p
 
Lucky you and lucky rat! I get nightmares of losing my kiddos in the apartment walls. *Shudders*

*Grumblegrumblegrumble* My Alice recently discovered that the floor is not made of hot lava. Usually when I get home, I open the CN cage and let the kiddos play on top of it while I do chores around the apartment. Thanks to Alice, I now have to actually supervise - otherwise, she'll swing down to the floor and take off.

Even during snack time, I have to do a head count before closing the CN doors. I'd open the cage, give everyone a treat, close the cage ... and discover Alice prancing down the hallway 30 minutes later. The little sneak would be the first one to snag treats, then slip away while I was distracted by the other four kiddos. She knows her name, but does she come when called? NOT A CHANCE! Whenever I spy her enjoying unauthorized out-of-the-cage playtime, I say "Aaaaaalice!" ... and then she hunkers down in ninja-crawl mode and scurries away faster.
 
Sheesh! What a trial! Makes for a good story though, right!?! :giggle:

When we got our first girls they were 6 1/2 weeks old... it took us a few days to get the hang of "catching" them when it was time to put them back in their cage... but, I think the ASF's are even smaller than a 6 1/2 week old, right? Sounds like you had a few :gaah: moments! hee! hee! Glad you finally got her back safe. :D
 
Lol jeez... I'm glad my three regular ratties don't know how to escape from the table top where their cage is! Lol.
I definitely had a couple moments where I thought we were going to lose her again and she was going to slip away and find another place to hide!
ASFs are a bit bigger than a mouse, but not as big as a 6 and a half week rattie I don't believe. At first I tried to grab her with my hands a few times but she'd just slip right out and run away again!!
 
I had a breakout about a month or so ago. It was a few weeks after I had gotten my most recent rat Josi. The previous owner had always kept her housed in a lab bin, though she had out time on a big chair and foot rest combo. But you'd think she'd have been super happy in her now way bigger home that's not all poorly ventilated. But no.

I have a "frankencage", the bottom's a big rodent cage, and I took off the top door and connected a bird cage. The bird cage had the doors that slide up and down, and they don't latch. I didn't really think it'd be an issue, I had seen them pull it up a bit before, but as soon as they let go to check it out, it dropped back closed. Well I guess Josi just forced her nose through the bottom so the door was resting on her and squirmed out in the middle of the night. Thankfully, I had gotten up to pee, as I was settling back into bed, I hear this scuffling sound. Ignored it. Heard it again. Figured it was sound coming through the walls of a neighbor or something. Heard another scuffle sound in a different spot, now I'm really curious but also really tired. The sleepy voice in my head is all "It's nothing dude, get comfy, nice warm bed...", then, the distinct pitter patter of ratty feet running across a flatted box in the corner I keep to black out the light in my window if it's bad. I shoot out of bed and thankfully gave Josi enough of a startle she just kinda froze in place and I got her.

I'm super lucky she followed the closest wall from her cage and wound up in my room. If she had crossed the hall into the kitchen she probably would've been gone. There's several spots under the counters that are open to the structure of the building. If she'd have gotten back in the walls...
 
Gah! I'd be so stressed if my rats escaped from their cage and wandered off around the house. Not only because there is a lot of places to hide but because I have a cat who would probably want to eat them, and two of our dogs who DO want to eat them. :S
Definitely lucky that she decided to visit your bedroom instead of explore elsewhere!
 
KTyne said:
This is an ASF.

http://img1.classistatic.com/cps/po/101 ... c6_27.jpeg

That is the size they are full grown.

*Edit- they need more protein than a regular rat and are about a third the size. They are not as domesticated so usually they aren't as able to be handled. Oh, and they are usually not kept as pets, they are more often bred for food for snakes because of their size. :|
Click to expand...
Thanks!
Is it the same as Natal? Looks like what are called natal mice here..
 
Heehee!! I accidentally left a small side door of the rat cage open one night (it's a large bird cage so there are little doors to put their food bowls in) and Rosie being Rosie realised this one night once we had gone to bed and about 1/2 an hour later, my boyfriend sat bolt-right up in bed and said there was a rat in the bed. I totally dismissed this because about every couple of months he has this recurring nightmare that there is a big spider in the bed. We have to turn the light on, check the bed and then re-assure ourselves (read reassure frightened boyfriend) that there is no spider in the bed and we can go back to sleep. But he was adament on this particular night that there was a rat in the bed. So I turned the light on and low and behold, there was Rosie in all her glory, held up in his hand shining under what was the reading lamp of my bed light like she was a little superstar; staring at us like 'what are you lookin' at'.
So funny!!

Btw, the ASF's are cute, I've never seen one before.
 
I don't know what I'd do if I lost my Chuck in the apartment! He stinkin hates me, but loves Joe :heart:

Glad you got her back in the cage :)
 
PitLuvs said:
I don't know what I'd do if I lost my Chuck in the apartment! He stinkin hates me, but loves Joe :heart:

Glad you got her back in the cage :)
Click to expand...

Chuck hates you??? Not possible. There is nothing about you to hate sweetie. :cuddle:

He must have some other ailment that prevents him from showing humans affection.

The poor, little, fuzzbundle. Give him some frosting and call me in the morning. :wink2:
 
I'd be a little surprised if I woke up to find one of my rats in the bed with us, lol. Silly ratties <3

And I'm glad I got her back too! She was terrified while we were trying to catch her but then she spent a good long time being comforted by her sister once back in the cage, lol. My ASFs will let me pick them up (to put them in a box during cage cleaning) and they'll let me pet them but they don't like much more than that, lol.
 

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