Please help - One of my handreared rat babies have escaped while in husbands care

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TokenBlinkie

TokenBlinkie

Currently being tamed by 4 rats. ☺🐀🐀🐀🐀
Joined
Apr 23, 2022
Messages
52
Location
Yorkshire, UK
I posted their story in Member introductions.
I rescued 4 rats from being killed on a farm. They were approximately 2 weeks old, their eyes were still closed and ears close to their heads.

I've been syringe feeding them every 3 or 4 hours day and night for the first week, then the feeds started to space out, and they were fully weaned by the middle of last week.

I had been taking them everywhere with me, my life basically consists of working and homelife, so they'd come to work with me so I could feed them, then they'd come home in the evenings.

I've done all their care myself, never asked for my husband to help with night feeds or any aspect of their care - as far as I'm concerned I made the decision to rescue them so it is my responsibility to feed them etc.

This weekend I had a pre-arranged trip away, its been booked since last year, and it consisted of an overnight stay. The only thing that needed doing was to check their food and water, and to replace their bedding. I gave instructions on how to do so, advising him to place the cage in the bath (dry bath), and that it is very possible to clean the cage with them still in there, doing one section at a time and thoroughly drying each section before moving onto the next - absolutelyno reason to remove the rats from the cage if you are not used to dealing with them.


I get a phonecall yesterday morning, while I was hundreds of miles away, to say one rat had escaped while cleaning their cage.

He had decided to ignore my instructions, put a box on the bathroom floor amd the cage balanced on the toilet seat. I don't know what happened , but one rat has escaped.

I'm angry, I'm heartbroken, and a whole lot of other emotions that I don't even know how to express. I haven't left them with anyone before. I trusted him. I arrived home last night, the last day of the trip was ruined because all I could think about was the escaped rat and how to try to get home as quickly as possible and how to get it back.

I don't understand how he can be so blasé about it, he is more than happy to just leave food amd water out in the bathroom amd wait to see if it comes back. This means nobody in our family can use the main bathroom as we have to keep the door shut due to having 2 dogs and 2 cats.

I'm supposed to be at work today, but I've got an unbelievable headache, plus I want to find the rat baby. All he seems interested in is going to visit his mum, because he was meant to visit her yesterday and I told him he needed to find the rat before I arrived home.

I've made a tube out of cardboard rolls and smeared little bits of peanut butter at intervals inside. The sleeping pouch is also there, and the cage its siblings are in is also in the bathroom so that it can hear them. Also a bowl of water.

I've set up a ring camera to alert for movement. It was spotted at 10:15pm and this morning at about 8am I dangled a fork handle with peanut butter on the end and it took a little lick from the end.

The space is so tiny because the toilet is in the way, and because the toilet and bath is there, we cannot remove the floorboards.

Please help me, I've never been in this situation before. I've only had them for about 2 or 3 weeks so I don't even know if that is enough time for the baby to have bonded with me or whether it sees me as a strange huge being.

*It's just this minute been spotted on the camera, it ran around the toilet, sniffed it's sleeping pouch, then ran back and disappeared*
 
I feel your frustration and worry. He will likely stay close to his cage and mates. Where is he hiding now? Has he discovered a space where he can slip through and hide out of sight? He should see you as his 'mum' since he has seen he opened his eyes, but their wild nature makes them just want to 'survive'. Dashing around quickly makes it hard to get a hold of them. You may have to camp out with a small bucket that you will quickly drop over him if you can.
 
Thankyou for reading and replying.

Yes, it is hiding under the floorboards at the back of the toilet.
 
How old is he? I think he might be close to 5 weeks now, so he can survive on his own, but he will want to be with his cage mates. Food should be the motivator, put a small dish of his food where he is hiding, and get him used to coming out for his food. Baby food or other wet cereals will keep him hydrated. It will likely take days to lure him out far enough where you can stuff something into the floorboards so he can't get back in. Looks like you're gonna have to MacGyver something to trap him in.
 
Thankyou. Yeah, that's my thoughts, too.

I've constructed a long, slightly angles tube out of toilet roll insides, and taped them together, with peanut butter smeared inside at intervals, hopefully it will want to climb inside at some point.

The cage with its litter mates is being kept in the bathroom until the escapee is found....I'm hoping the smell and sounds of its siblings will help to make it feel less frightened.

Ironically, all 4 of them are due at the vets this Friday, to be health checked and sexed.
 
Sounds like you have a plan, a pretty good one too! Good luck on your capture. Patience is key, even though that's the hardest part lol.

Are you going to keep this wild bunch?
 
To be completely honest, not exploding with anger is the hardest part!

As for whether to keep, release or rehome, I wasn't actually expecting any of them to survive, as I'd never done this with rodents before.
A wildlife rescue was supposed to be collecting them "today", but that was 3 weeks ago this coming Wednesday and I've heard absolutely nothing from them since.

I was hoping that the vet would be able to advise me whether they would be able to be kept as pets...this would certainly help with the rehoming issue if they can.

I don't think my home would be suitable for them...we have 2 cats and 2 dogs. I never actually had the thought in my mind to keep them myself, I have a wide range of clients at work who I know would happily take them (some are ratmums themselves), so the thought of them living with me permanently was never an option - my priority was to keep them alive, I haven't even given them names so that I don't get close to them....however, after this experience, well. Its shocked me. I'm a grown woman, with 3 children, a successful business, and I have cried so much over the past few hours, out of sheer hopelessness, anger, and sadness, that I obviously must feel something for the little guys. I feel like I've failed them, that all the work I've put into keeping them alive has all been wasted because I'm scared that this missing one won't be recaptured.
 
What you have accomplished is extraordinary! These little guys most often don't make it, so this is a major accomplishment. Be kind to yourself and know you have done what almost no one would want to do. With your busy life, you made the time to save these babies, and for that you should get a medal 😊

You will recapture him; I can tell from your posts you don't give up easily! And your friends should take these adorable little beings into their homes and hearts. My wild one, Jr. is very special. Every morning he climbs onto my shoulder and down my sleeve, rides around with me in the kitchen to help make breakfast for the others. He loves me, and he is different, and I am so happy he came into my life. If you know ratmums, they should be very eager to take them in, as they are so unique and amazing!
 
Yes, I completely get what you mean. One particular little baby was starting to learn to climb onto my hand when I rested my hand into the cage, and it felt like a massive achievement!

Unfortunately the space where the hiding rat is, is way too small for me to even dangle a finger into. I'm having to kind of drape myself over the toilet to get to the hideyhole it has chosen, as the space is very narrow.

I am hoping it is captured before their vet debut this Friday. The downside is, I work very long hours (8am until 10:30pm), hence why the babies came to work with me, so the only feasible time for me to try to recapture or sit in the bathroom on lookout is overnight.

As soon as I get home tonight, I'll be back in there.
 
if you cannot wait for this trap, another time we had success retrieving the lost hamster was with a DIY "bucket trap" (see link), put a bucket your rat would not be able to climb out of, build a ramp up to it with peanut butter in the bucket. put towel at bottom of bucket so the fall is lessened. My daughter recovered the lost hamster that way once.
https://www.wikihow.com/Catch-a-Runaway-Hamster
 
Thankyou!
I've ordered the trap you recommended, it came in a twin pack and arrives tomorrow.

We have a version of the bucket trap set up using a plastic high sided box, and a 2 inch thick foam mini rat crashmat in the bottom. We have covered the foam with fabric incase it decides to nibble.

Thankyou immensely, everyone
 
This is the 3rd weekend that the rat has managed to evade capture. We have 4 humane, non-kill traps, a bucket trap, and tubes leading into the bath.
We also have a Ring camera set up that gives motion alerts.
Rat is having a whale of a time, exploring all the traps but not falling for them.

Other 3 rats have a big new cage, I really need to separate them but that would mean the 1 female being alone.

I would like to ask, if (WHEN) we managed to capture the escaped rat, would it be able to be put into the big new cage with its brothers and sisters, but, will they not recognise each other and fight?
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Yes, peanut butter, and food tidbits encased in peanut butter to make them sticky and harder to just grab and run with.
 
UPDATE.
Rat was caught this morning. It has been away fro 5 weeks.
It is now in a large plastic stacking box (box is about 2 and a half foot tall, 2ft long, 1 and a half foot wide) with a lid on.
Box isn't airtight, but lid cannot be taken off.

The little critter was understandably very distressed, I'm leaving it in the box to settle for now until I can get it sexed, I would try to get a picture of it's tail end but it is too upset and just wants to escape. It is sleeping at the moment.

The box is at my workplace, next to the cage with the boys and the lone girl that we separated yesterday.

I'm hoping the captured one is a girl so that they can go in together and be rehomed.

I feel really scared now.
Terrified of it chewing a hole in the plastic and escaping,
Frightened of putting it into a cage with the other ones of the same sex and them killing each other, and I'm frightened of getting bitten.
 
Last edited:
TokenBlinkie said:
UPDATE.
Rat was caught this morning. It has been away fro 5 weeks.
It is now in a large plastic stacking box (box is about 2 and a half foot tall, 2ft long, 1 and a half foot wide) with a lid on.
Box isn't airtight, but lid cannot be taken off.

The little critter was understandably very distressed, I'm leaving it in the box to settle for now until I can get it sexed, I would try to get a picture of it's tail end but it is too upset and just wants to escape. It is sleeping at the moment.

The box is at my workplace, next to the cage with the boys and the lone girl that we separated yesterday.

I'm hoping the captured one is a girl so that they can go in together and be rehomed.

I feel really scared now.
Terrified of it chewing a hole in the plastic and escaping,
Frightened of putting it into a cage with the other ones of the same sex and them killing each other, and I'm frightened of getting bitten.
Click to expand...
Wow finally, over a month AWOL... hopefully (s)he cannot reach any "edge" of the box (e.g. the seam between lid and box, or pronounced corners).. which gives it an idea and a starting point, otherwise (s)he will no doubt start to chew i think...
 
Thankyou for your reply!

The box has slightly rounded corners, I have lots of these boxes and have stacked the one with the rat in inside an empty one of the same type, just in case!

But, yes, you have made some very valid points, and I'm really feeling very uneasy about it all at the moment, Hence why I am eager to get it sexed and into one of the real cages!

The corners of the lid of the box can only be reached if it jumps REALLY high, and there doesn't seem to be anything that can give it anything to grip onto.
 
Are these rats wildies??? I just saw a photo and they look like wild rats to me. I wouldnt worry about intros, im sure they will remember their litter mates. Theyre pretty old now
 

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