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Imagine for a moment that it’s a normal day and you head over to your rats’ cage to bring them treats — and you discover one of your rats is missing. Oh no! Now what?
This is a situation that you’re likely to encounter at least once or several times as a rat owner. This can happen if you have a skilled escape artist, a poorly designed cage, a faulty lock, and even because of human error. No matter what the cause, these things just happen sometimes. The goal is to find your rat quickly and safely.
Stay Calm And Take Precautions
You’re probably frantically thinking: how long have they been missing and where are they now?
First, don’t panic! I know that’s not necessarily easy, but there’s no reason to freak yourself out just yet. Your cutie is most likely just hiding some place dark, trying to stay out of sight.
Second, take off your shoes if you aren’t already barefoot. Anytime your rats are on the floor, you need to be extra vigilant about where you step. Stepping on a rat can lead to severe and sometimes fatal injuries; shoes increase that risk.
Lastly, move any other pets in the house to an area you feel confident your rat is not. Roaming cats and dogs will only create more problems and dangers; the same goes with young children. Be sure any young children are safely distracted in another area while you’re rat hunting.
Rat Behavior Outside Of The Cage
Depending on your rat’s personality and how likely they are to respond to their name, you could try calling them and see if they appear. My girl Leeloo was always getting out of her cage. I only had to call her name, though, and she’d come excitedly trotting over, seemingly out of nowhere. Not all rats are this amenable or fearless, however, so don’t take it personally if yours doesn’t comply. They are likely too scared and will stay put.
Rats that are not used to free ranging can be curious about the boundries outside of their cage, only to become fearful once they are on the floor. And that’s when all their wild instincts kick in. They will likely explore and move about along walls rather than out in the open, and they will look for dark, covered hiding places. They may also wait until the room is dark or completely quiet before attempting to move again.
Identify Their Location
Inspect the most obvious areas first, such as around and under the cage, and any furniture in the vicinity. Next, search for small nooks and crannies. These include under appliances, holes under cabinets, or in chairs and couches. Don’t underestimate the size of an opening a rat can squeeze through either, because they are mini contortionists. If their head can fit, then that space is fair game.
Look through piles of clothes as well, or anything on the floor. Pay attention for signs of chewing or rat poop. And don’t forget to sit quietly for a moment and listen for sounds of rustling, chewing, scratching, or anything that isn’t normal for that area of your house.
As you go through your home, close off the rooms you’ve thoroughly checked to limit where your rat can go.
For more details about loose rats, check out my article “Free-Ranging Pet Rats: What Every Owner Needs To Know.”
Catching A Stubborn Or Scared Rat
If you’re able to locate them, great! If they are too afraid to move but you can reach them, gently pick them up and bring them close to your body while telling them what a good rattie they are. And NEVER, EVER grasp them by their tail to pull them out.
But what if you can’t reach them and they won’t come out when called? First, close off or block access in and out of that room. This way, if they go into flight mode, you don’t have to chase them through your house, just that room. Then get one of their favorite treats to entice them.
If that doesn’t work, grab one of their cagemates and hold them close to where the rat is hiding. Smelling a friend can actually be quite reassuring to them.
Years ago, we took in two cats for several months. My boys Ari and Finn, who were petrified of them, suddenly leapt off my shoulder one day in a state of fear. Ari ran to his cage, but Finn ran under our stove and back behind a cabinet. I immediately locked up the cats, but after several hours of trying everything I could think of to coax Finn out, I decided to get his cagemate Delphiniums. He had a way of comforting the two scared brothers and was completely unfazed by the cats’ arrival. Having pulled the bottom drawer of the stove out, I could see Finn peeking out from where he was hiding and his ears immediately perked when he smelled Delphiniums. I had planned to just hold the old man to lure Finn out, but he greedily scrambled out of my hands to grab some of the treats under the stove that I was using as Finn-bait. The scared rat immediately rushed out from behind the cabinet and began dancing around his friend. Once the old man was done with his snack, Delphiniums obediently came to my calls of his name, with a much calmer Finn in tow.
If you’re unable to wait your rat out, do a quick rat-proofing of the room to ensure their safety while you’re gone. Then set up a smaller cage (leaving the door open) on the floor with food and water, along with something cozy to burrow in that smells like them or their cagemates. The goal is to entice your rat inside. It’s also a good idea to alert everyone in your household to be on the lookout when entering that room, to watch every step they take, and to inspect any furniture before they sit down.
If you still can’t get them, and only as your very last option, there are humane traps that will close behind your rat after they enter it. The reason this is my least favorite option is because humane traps still pose possible risk of injury and mental trauma. It’s also imperative that you get one big enough for them to turn around in, and you’ll need to continually check it for their presence. Your rat should not be left inside a trap without food and water for any extended period. Meaning, do not leave your house when one of these is set up!
Another word of warning: Peanut butter is often suggested as a pungent food to lure animals, but peanut butter given straight is a choking hazard for rats. Please choose another option, preferably one that won’t spoil quickly.
Extra Tips
What if you’ve looked everywhere but can’t find your rat? One option, albeit messy, is to pour a light layer of flour around the baseboards. If your rat is moving around, then they may leave footprints in the flour. This will help you determine what room they are hiding in. Although, this works best when there’s no carpet.
Another option is tinfoil. I don’t have any personal experience with it, but supposedly leaving pieces of foil near walls as you sit silently in the room with the lights off will help you hear any possible movements.
Preventing An Escape
A good quality rat cage should already be equipped with a proper door locking mechanism. I’ve personally never had a cage that a rat could open on their own. In my home, an escape was usually caused by human error, mine specifically, but we’ll get to that in a minute.
The wrong kind of cage, though, can make escaping easier — particularly if bar spacing is too large. For instance, the typical bar spacing on a ferret cage is an inch, making it easy for baby rats or smaller adults (usually females) to squeeze through. Larger adults might be fine in a ferret cage, but the ideal spacing for rats is only a half inch apart.
Some cages have gaps around the base or pans. These, too, can be used to squeeze under by smaller rats. Cages with plastic bases are also less desirable if your rat is a major chewer and is determined to chew their way out. I encourage you to get a new cage if you’re dealing with these issues.
Houdini Rats
I’ve found that the rats most determined to leave their cage are the ones who are extremely bored, don’t have a big enough cage, lack supplies in the cage, or the rats have been allowed to free range. Most rats are scared or, at the very least, apprehensive of the floor the first time they are on it. The space is vast and filled with too many unknowns — at first anyway. Once a rat is comfortable exploring and feels safe moving around, however, then they crave that freedom.
That need for independence was Leeloo’s escape motivation. She and her cagemate, Korben, were allowed to free range 100 percent of their day before I adopted them, so Leeloo was most displeased when I expected her to stay locked up for a portion of the day. While she never learned how to open the cage door and she couldn’t squeeze through the bars, she did figure out how to take advantage of my absentmindedness.
She would wait until I opened the door and then watched to see if I turned away for a moment. Because none of the other rats ever attempted to leave, it was not uncommon for me to turn my back or even walk away for a quick moment to grab more snacks for them. I was never gone for more than a minute, but it was still enough time for Leeloo to act. Even if I was standing next to the cage, that girl knew how to move just quietly enough without me seeing or hearing her, and climb down the cage to the floor and freedom. As I mentioned earlier though, she immediately came whenever I called, so it was never an issue.
I also found that while my Critter Nation double cage locked securely, I had a bad habit of not shutting the door properly, which prevented it from latching completely. Again, this was rarely a problem since most of my rats were honestly too lazy or disinterested to care. If you’ve got yourself a Leeloo, though, double-check that the cage door is locked. And then give your unrestrained cutie some extra supervised time out of the cage every day to keep them mentally stimulated. Leeloo really enjoyed the play area I built for all my rats. Although, Korben would fling himself out of it to the floor, where he preferred to be. He was the only rat of mine gutsy enough to do that.
If your rat is bored, besides offering supervised time out of the cage, consider a cage remodel that doubles as entertainment and burns off extra energy. My article “Cage Makeover With Rat Cage Ideas” can get you started.
Be Patient
Rat escapes can be frightening in the moment but a good thing to remember is that your rat will eventually want to return to their cage/home. So even if they are being evasive, they will eventually seek their way back. But taking the right steps helps to resolve the problem safely.
