Pet Forum / Mammals / Rats / May 2004

If she's used to taking treats from you, you should be able to just
sit quietly in whatever room she's in with some smelly food and lure
her in that way.  If she's nervous of you, try setting up her cage
near wherever she is.  The food, water, and familiar smells will
encourage her to visit, and she may stay long enough for you to close
it back up.

Of course, the first step here is figuring out where she is.
(1) Close every door in the house.
(2) Stand very quietly in each room in turn, listening for sounds of
movement.  Don't forget closets, if their doors have been open.  Try
this in the evening, when she's most likely to be running around.  She
may be asleep during the day.
(3) If you can't hear her anywhere, try leaving out a bit of food in
each room.  Keep the doors closed until something gets nibbled.

If all else fails, you can buy or construct a live trap.

I've been rather lucky in that none of my rats has ever gone missing.
They've never broken out of their cages until they've been so bonded
to me that their first action is to come find me and see what I'm
doing.  I have had untrained rats hide behind furniture, and get shut
in the closet without anyone realizing, but at least we knew pretty
much where they were.

--Theresa
http://tiger_spot.mapache.org

Theresa's advice is right on!! If your rat is semi tame, then when you find
which room she is in, put her cage down on the floor. Does the rat have
another rattie companion? Hearing the rattie may bring out the fugitive. If
she doesn't have a buddy, then I would suggest when finding the little
sweetie, you go and get her a rattie friend of same sex so she can feel more
secure and comfortable. Rats are very social animals and need other rats.

Hi Theresa and Joanne,

Many, many thanks for your quick and expert replies. We really were at our
wit's end on what to do (my wife isn't sleeping properly, she's so upset!),
and your advice has given us hope. We'll make a renewed effort to catch the
rat again this evening.

I'll let you know if we have any luck.

Derek

#

chocolate

Oooh! Oooh! I prepared myself for just such an incident long ago- If you
haven't done it already, do a walkthrough of your house and identify
every possible way out.  Be creative, because you know your rat sure is.
  Check all of your Window screens to make sure one hasn't been gnawed
through.  Like others have said, the best way to draw him/her out is
with food.  Here is my 'never ever failed me plan' (for when you get
him/her back): I conditioned my rats to recognize the sound of me
shaking a box of yogurt treats.  Whenever they hear it they come hauling
a.s outta anywhere they are hiding. It's also loud and distinctive (like
a big rattle) so they could hear it even if they were in another room.
The key is to shake the box everytime before you give them one, and to
only give them one on occasion. Rats are very fast learners so I
wouldn't be surprised if they instantly associate the sound with a treat.

At this point, all you can do is make a tempting meal and play the
waiting game (or do what I did before I figured out the treat trick and
tear the house apart).  Keep an eye out for tell-tale signs the rat has
been around.   Someone else mentioned that you should sit quietly in a
room and listen- very sound advice (no pun intended) .  You will hear
them after awhile.

To catch a rat one must think like a rat ...<nibbles chocolate drop,
scratches ear with foot>...  She's in your sock draw.

Has he turned up yet??
Another place to look is the little "hole" under the sofa....for some
reason, they all have one at one point or another.........
hope he turned up ok tho'.

Sue

Whenever one of my rats have done a disappearing act I find the best way to
find out where they are is to listen for any rustling etc.  You usually find
them in the places you wouldn't think of looking.  One of my boys used to be
gifted at accessing drawers and cupboards you wouldn't have dreamt of
looking in.  You would find him in there snuggled up asleep.

Think about places that could have been chewed through, such as underneath a
sofa or armchair, many rats disappear into sofas!  We've had to tear the
bottom of an armchair off to rescue ratties before.

Strong smelling foods, like tuna, are good for enticing rattie out.

Good luck!

Tracey