Please Help

[lydiaapril]

I brought my rats home today, they are both smaller than i anticipated. They are 7-9 weeks old. I had no idea they could escape through the bars of my cage and one of them crawled under a tight space under my dresser. How do I get him out?? He refuses to come out, won’t sniff my hand that has food, and it’s getting late. If I take a video with the flash on and stuff my phone under there, I can see him in the video. I just don’t know how to get him out, please help.

 

[Kye]

Is there any chance you can get a humane live animal trap.? You can keep at trying to get him out with treats. Can you put some sort of netting or fence around the dresser that he can't get through so you can try and scare him out with a broom handle ?

 

[lydiaapril]

Is there any chance you can get a humane live animal trap.? You can keep at trying to get him out with treats. Can you put some sort of netting or fence around the dresser that he can't get through so you can try and scare him out with a broom handle ?

Thank you, after an hour and a half, I finally got him...now I have NO idea what housing to keep them in if they can escape that one. I know they will grow until they can’t escape anymore, but what do I keep them in for the time being???

 

[Kye]

Thank you, after an hour and a half, I finally got him...now I have NO idea what housing to keep them in if they can escape that one. I know they will grow until they can’t escape anymore, but what do I keep them in for the time being???

Can you send a photo of the cage bars next to something for comparison.? I (or someone else) may be able to link a cage with smaller bars. You could also get hardware cloth and cut it to size and use a zip tie or something to secure it until they get bigger

 

[lydiaapril]

Can you send a photo of the cage bars next to something for comparison.? I (or someone else) may be able to link a cage with smaller bars. You could also get hardware cloth and cut it to size and use a zip tie or something to secure it until they get bigger

Just measured it so it’s more accurate, they are 7/8 inches apart..thought they were less.

 

[Kye]

Do you have any tanks they could be in temporarily ? (I hate to ask it but it's always an temporary solution) and like I mentioned before about the hardware cloth lining the outside of it (be careful though. It bites !)

 

[lydiaapril]

No, I do not have any tanks...Thank you! I think I probably do have some hardware cloth and I will try that. Thank you for the help.

 

[Dena]

What did you bring them home in? If need be, for the night, put them in a tall tote that has small holes drilled in it, and put a lid on it. Or a tall cardboard box, that's tall enough that they can't jump out. Then, in the morning, you could go get a temp cage, and dress it up for now. That way, when they get big enough to go in their cage they have now, you'll have a cage to house in when they get sick, or when cleaning their cage, or if you get new rats and need to keep them separate until introducing them.

 

[lydiaapril]

I am just updating this! So I ordered a critter nation cage that should be here in 5 days and until then I have a makeshift barrier around their cage. It’s not very ideal since it’s annoying to keep having to set it up and take it down to get to the cage. Have also been keeping the door closed and tried to rat-proof the whole room just in case they do get out again. They are really sweet though, I already love them!