# Lost ratty! :(



## Tootz (May 7, 2011)

Hi everyone, 

Im at my wits end and Im feeling absolutley distraught! Last night I moved the rat cage into our bathroom because my 3 girls (Thelma, Marilyn and Delilah) were being extra hyper and keeping me awake. However in the morning, Delilah and Marilyn had escaped. Delilah was found scurrying about on the landing but Marilyn is still no where to be seen and we've been searching for 10 hours.

My worst fear is that she has managed to get up onto the toilet, slipped in and got stuck in the u-bend. I feel sick. I did put this to the test and put Delilah on the pipe behind the toilet, which is the only way she could've climbed up, but the pipe was too slippery to get any grip. Marilyn is not as adventurous as her sister but i just dont know where else she could be. We have turned every single room upside down, and im pretty sure she would've come out by now as she only usually hides for 10-15 minutes. 

Ive been in tears all afternoon because I have a horrible gut feeling that my poor little Marilyn has been flushed away. Any ideas on what i can do?


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## Monroe (Mar 26, 2011)

I'm so sorry that Marilyn is lost! 

I can't think of anything beyond maybe putting treats on the floor & maybe that would lure her into the main rooms. I'm not sure about the piping thing..


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## Frodowisebrandytook (Mar 26, 2011)

I am so sorry! Loosing a rat can be one of the most frustrating and upsetting experiences a rat owner can face.

I would suggest camping out in each room of your house for an hour or two when the sun goes down. Mine always become more active at around 10pm and they start making a rucks. turn off the lights in the room and just sit and listen like you have never listened before. It is boring as anything, but if Marilyn as much as brushes against something you will hear it and you will know she is in that room.

My rat Conrad spooked and jumped off the sofa one morning and ran under it before I could grab him. I then spent 3 hours trying to coax him out to no avail. Then, I tried jacking up the sofa on a step stool and forcing him out but he ran up into the upholstery and stayed there for another 3 hours. I called a friend over and we carefully turned the sofa on its back and I began ripping out the upholstery to get to him. Imagine my shock when he was not there! I could not figure it out. I had not left the room for 6 hours and I had the door closed tightly. I then started turing the room upside down, then the rest of the house for yet another 3 hours. No luck. finally my husband came home. I was so upset and frustrated that I just went into our bedroom and cried. My husband is a classically trained pianist and has a masters in music. To say that his hearing is good is an understatement. He can hear a pin drop a mile away and tell you the angle at which it feel. He spent an hour in the sofa room just listening. Conrad never moved. so I would never have been able to hear him, but my husband could just make out his breathing. Conrad did not have a URI or anything either. THATS how good my husbands hearing is! We found him scrunched up in the arm rest of the sofa, even after ripping out the sofas guts I did not see the tiny opening where he had squirmed in. We then used a yard stick to push him out into my hands and I rushed him back to the cage.

It took 10 hours total, and a LOT of tears!

The moral of the story is not to give up! rats can hide in the most bizarre places and often we have to wait for them to move before we can locate them. You can try putting some food out but watch it closely. otherwise she will probably just come out, get it, then stash it away and she would not have much of a reason to come out again. she will get hungry and thirsty though, so she will come out eventually to look for food and water. If you have to leave the house and you still have not found her, just put out water and enough food for her to eat but not enough to stash.

If you can, try to get some family members or friends to come to your place and each can take a room and sit. That way, you can listen to every room at the same time. If you have any reading to do then it is a perfect time for it. Just use a flashlight or reading light to see because Marilyn will probably be more likely to come out if it is dark.

I would not worry too much about her getting into the toilet. It would have been very difficult for her to crawl up the pipes and if she had fallen in you probably would have been able to see her. She would have needed to actively swim down to the U bend to get wedged in there. 

Don't give up! Keep and eye out and try to get as much help as you can. I know it is frustrating, I know it is scary, but keep trying. Please let us know what happens. We are rooting for you!


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

if you mean stuck INSIDE the workings of the toilet? I doubt it very much. When a rat jumps/falls into a toilet bowl, you will hear a loud splash over and over as they try desperately to jump out. My lids are always down just in case now.

I would advise getting down on hands and knees and looking/feeling for any openings under counters, cupboards, etc in your bathroom, to make sure she didn't get into the walls. Failing that, put out food to determine she's still around like a very thin smear of PB on toast...

Do you have any other animals (dogs, cats) in your home that might be making her want to hide?


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## Tink_JCF (Mar 31, 2011)

I am very sorry to hear about your lost rat! I hope you find her soon! I know that my are little treat hoarders, so just shaking a bag of food or treats makes them go nuts. You can try that out and see if she comes out.


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## Tootz (May 7, 2011)

Thank you for all the replies. Thankfully we found the little escape artist....

In the toilet pipe! We spent nearly 12 hours looking for her and I was getting so upset because I had a horrible feeling I just wasnt going to find her because it is so unlike her not to come to me, or to stay put for that amount of time because she's so inquisitive! 

Luckily, my mum was in the bathroom and noticed the toilet level had dropped in the toilet bowl and was sort of splashing about a little bit, so straight away we got my dad to take away the loo from the wall and take off the big pipe at the back and by some sort of miracle, there she was sitting in the toilet pipe! She was a little bit wet and scruffy but otherwise not phased at all ;D I was soooo relieved when my dad pulled her out, I honestly thought she was a goner. 

She must have somehow (god knows how) climbed up onto the toilet, slipped in, swam under the water and through the u-bend and just sat perched on the dry bit of pipe. Whenever the toilet was flushed, which was about 2-3 times yesterday, she just hung on for dear life. My mum reckons the water level had dropped because she was scooping the water up with her paws trying to figure out a way to get back out, which also explains the splashes of water in the bowl. 

She had a good wash though, lots of cuddles and some of her favourite 'low fat' yoghurt when she got out  So happy! Definitely a lesson learnt for me here, always keep the toilet seat now when ratties are about.


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## Monroe (Mar 26, 2011)

I'm so happy you found her! She's quite the beautiful rat! 

I can't believe she was in the toilet pipe.  Oh goodness, what rats will do...


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## Tink_JCF (Mar 31, 2011)

So glad you found her! What a story to look back at and laugh though


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## Annahra (Apr 7, 2011)

That is absolutely terrifying--I know there's no way anyone in my household would be prepared to take apart a toilet! Good cautionary story for people who let the rats play in the bathroom.


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## shooper (Feb 22, 2011)

Sooo happy for you! Glad your baby is safe now.


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## HowlsOfAngels (Apr 9, 2011)

Wow, crazy lil' ratty. Glad you found her safe and sound. 

Sewer rats have ben known to swim up pipe and get a breath at a point in the pipe where it bends in a certain way that traps air and messed up as it is there have been studies done that rats will swim for 3 or 4 days straight before giving up.

Instincts may have played a part, lol.


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## ratjes (Mar 26, 2011)

That means she dived to get in that pipe? Thank goodness nobody flushed it. Good for you to trust your gut feelings.


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## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

How scary. Glad she is okay, and that is something I would see on Animal Planet lol.

You should submit her to rat of the month, that is one heck of a story!


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## ratchilla (May 12, 2011)

It's almost unbelievable! I'm so glad you found her, I can't believe she dived and swam under. I'm trying to picture it and I didn't know there was a spot in the pipe that a rat could hide like that. Amazing.


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## smesyna (Nov 22, 2010)

I don't know what's with rodents and toilets...I've found mice in my toilet twice  Anyway, that is an amazing story, I'm so glad she is okay.


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## Alethea (Jul 14, 2010)

I was almost afraid to read the rest of the story. I didn't want to find out that she got flushed down the loo or ended up hurt or worse. But I am so glad that you found her! That is some kind of miracle that she didn't end up getting flushed out to the sewers. She really has a new lease on life now! How amazing. :3


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