# One escaped rat and one escaped gerbil (!!!!)



## Daniel (Jun 24, 2013)

I could use some help here before I freak out.

I was gone all of last night until this afternoon, and I had my roommate look after my rats + gerbils. All I had asked him to do was to look after them, since they were both watered and had full food. I am not sure what happened (since he's at work now), but I come home to find the gerbil's tank lid off (with just one of two gerbils in there), the rats cage door open (with all rats gone). I was able to find 2 of 3 rats (Kairos and Tux were under my desk), but Apollo is still missing, as is the white gerbil!!! I have torn apart my room, moved all the furniture, and I am not seeing either anywhere. There are alot of places and holes that they could have escaped through, possibly even have gotten into the rafter area (I have previously lost a mouse in that way). The hole under my bed room door is big enough for a rat or a gerbil to get under.

So I am hoping that someone here has had this problem and can help me bait them both (though I realize 1 of 2 is a rat, the gerbil shouldn't be much different?)? I am about to freak out if Apollo isn't found, he is the life blood of the cage and the most active one!

I can't believe the stupidity of my roommate?! What was he thinking? 

I am about to tear apart the utility closet next but that will take some time, I could use some help


----------



## Voltage (May 15, 2013)

I'd be more worried about Apollo having himself a gerbil snack. The odds of you finding your gerbil alive are probably going to be very slim because rats kill and eat smaller rodents.
I've never lost a rat before so I don't have any personal experience advice. But don't forget to look both high and low. Rats love to climb and you would be surprised the places they can get to.
Leave out really smelly yummy foods like tuna. You can also use one of his buddies to help find him. If he is holed up somewhere eating that gerbil though it may be awhile before he even considers coming out.
If you have a travel cage fill it with yummy stuff and leave it out somewhere.

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Rats are practically incapable of getting lost. They can however explore for quite some time before turning up. I saw my girls last night when I had some cheesecake around midnight and Max popped up around 7:00 AM. They are asleep now in their secret hidey holes and will turn up this evening. So I'd recommend cheesecake, apple pie or anything sweet and aromatic to bring them home. I also might note that when my current girls are bedded down in their hiding places they won't come out for anything until it's time to get up. Try calling your rat, try baiting it out with yummy foods that it can smell, then pretty much wait until around dusk or sunrise when it will be more active and hungry for it to find you.

I'm pretty sure my part wild rat would have killed and eaten any gerbil she found on sight, but I also know most of my other rats would not have. But they may have played with it or scared it off. I don't worry about rats coming back, and I've even had a white mouse that came back, but I don't know enough about your rats or gerbils in general to give you advise there.


----------



## Gannyaan (Dec 7, 2012)

Apollo should turn up, don't worry !!! As for the room mate .... He's got some explaining to do. 

Gerbils might be a bit harder to catch, but not impossible! Just keep an eye out and be patient . My girl hid in the mattress box, and didn't come out for hrs .... 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Daniel (Jun 24, 2013)

OK later tonight I am going to put up a plate with some melted ice cream on it (I don't have any cakes or anything). 

I spoke to my roommate about 10 min ago - this is real great - he said that he thought I wanted to let them 'freerange' - which he thought he understood was just me leaving the cage open and then just letting them go all over the room for hours and hours! (previously he told me he didn't want them off my bed?) And he had this BRIGHT idea that my gerbils freeranged with the rats! (I haven't started to freerange them yet because they are still not totally comfortable with my hand) But he could only grab one of them, or both the gerbils would be lost now. I never told him they were to be freeranged by him.

So Apollo and the white gerbil have had about a 12 hour start in getting lost. I haven't heard them or seen them yet, no evidence of them either (poop, food mess). They could be anywhere! If they are able to get into the utility closet, I may not be able to find them  (there is a hole where they could possibly get outside there through the rafters). Kairos seems to be wondering where his brother is...I don't like this.

On the bright side, both the gerbil and Apollo are white. So they should stand out.


----------



## ratsaremylife (Nov 5, 2013)

Stupid roommates. I am never having one... Heard TO many bad stories on here about them. Good luck finding them. Keep us posted.


----------



## Daniel (Jun 24, 2013)

Bad and good news - I found the gerbil under my closet dresser - dead.  Looks like Apollo may have gotten him like you guys said he would. I will update this later if I can find any other sign that Apollo is still around - there is no where else to look in my room now.


----------



## ratsaremylife (Nov 5, 2013)

Awww. Poor guy. I hope he didn't suffer...


----------



## Daniel (Jun 24, 2013)

ratsaremylife said:


> Awww. Poor guy. I hope he didn't suffer...


Me too, but at the moment I am pretty livid instead of sad. This is the height of stupid things he could have done (RM, not the gerbil). 

I don't know if it was the gerbil or Apollo but one of them was tearing up the laces on one of my shoes in the closet. But no sign of him, yet. I was hoping to find a poop trail (Apollo is the laziest rat and will poop anywhere) but nothing,


----------



## ratsaremylife (Nov 5, 2013)

I hope you can get him back. I am worried for you. I couldn't imagine if someone let my girls out with out permission and they were loose in the house. I have my girls be lost in my bedroom but they just come back and I can find them easily. They make noise, giving it all away. I await impatiently for a response.


----------



## Voltage (May 15, 2013)

I'm so sorry about your gerbil....
I'm sure Apollo is probably curled up somewhere sleeping is all.
Hopefully he will turn up tonight.

I can't believe your roommate would do that. That is just idiotic. You'd think he would realize that they live in a cage for a reason instead of having free reign of the home. 
Rat daddy's rats have free reign of his home though and they always turn up when they want to. I'm sure he is gonna pop up when he feels like it. Rats usually do.

I honestly would let my rats roam free if it weren't for a pooping issue and the fact we have dogs.

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Voltage (May 15, 2013)

I also highly doubt the gerbil was out long enough (alive that is) to chew your shoe laces. 
Though it is possible he snacked on him slowly like in this one very disturbing study where they put a rat in with a hamster. The rat kept taking bites out of the hamster keeping it alive. 
It's really gross and disturbing. But as much as we would love to believe that our little companions are harmless, they are pretty gruesome and vicious when it comes to smaller rodents

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Daniel (Jun 24, 2013)

Voltage said:


> I also highly doubt the gerbil was out long enough (alive that is) to chew your shoe laces.
> Though it is possible he snacked on him slowly like in this one very disturbing study where they put a rat in with a hamster. The rat kept taking bites out of the hamster keeping it alive.
> It's really gross and disturbing. But as much as we would love to believe that our little companions are harmless, they are pretty gruesome and vicious when it comes to smaller rodents
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


It was nothing that gruesome - the gerbil had blood coming out of his nose, but I couldn't see any other wound. 

Still no sign of anything that is definitely Apollo, though.


----------



## anawelch (Sep 25, 2013)

The gerbil couldve definently chewed up your laces. My gerbils were escape artists and one time they got out for no more than 10 min and chewed a hole in a suitcase I had in my closet. If you ever have another gerbil escape, they like to stay close their cage and can usually be lured back by a food trail. My gerbils escaped all the time and never went farther than 5 feet from their cage. 

I'm not sure how he couldve died. Maybe a fight with Apollo or he tried to squeeze in a place he couldnt fit and had internal bleeding.


----------



## Voltage (May 15, 2013)

It's possible your roommate could have even dropped your gerbil and he suffered internal injuries.
Rats will kill smaller rodents with or without intention to eat it but you'd likely have seen wounds on the gerbil. I'm thinking your room mate dropped the gerbil while trying to get him out of the tank or something.

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Daniel (Jun 24, 2013)

At first, he didn't want me to let them off the bed or out of the room. (though I generally keep them on the bed still just because I have alot of wires) But the rats grew on him a bit, so he wanted to see them out. The problem is the gerbils weren't supposed to go out with the rats (something he didn't understand), and they weren't supposed to be out for hours upon hours. 

In actuality, any of the rats could have done something to the poor gerbil. When I got Kairos and Tuxy back in, they'd been out for 12> hours. But it's also possible something else happened to him; I noticed that he got into my gun supplies drawer (chewed through the back of the plastic drawer, which is at the bottom), which has lubricants/oils/chemicals/oily gun parts in it, but I guess that wouldn't explain the blood coming out of his nose?

At any rate, I've put out bait for Apollo in the kitchen, the living room, and in my room. Let's hope he comes out because I have seen/heard NOTHING since I got back. 

The problem is that Apollo has always been the leader/adventurous one. Curiosity seems to have got the best of him, because his brother and Tux didn't even leave the room.


----------



## anawelch (Sep 25, 2013)

The chemicals couldve caused internal hemoragging which means blood could leak from his nose.


----------



## trematode (Sep 8, 2012)

Are you sure it's blood and not just polyphrin?

Sorry to hear about your little guy 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Daniel (Jun 24, 2013)

Ok some good news. We cleaned in the utility closet, and we saw signs of rat poop. They were near the trash can, so he may have gone in there for the food. But he doesn't seem to have touched the bait? It's good that there was a sign he is here, but that he didn't back into the main area of our place worries me.


----------



## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Oh no! I just read this  I hope poor Apollo is found soon. Try to see if you can't make the bait in live traps and have the apartment on super doper clean lock down so it's the only food he can find. 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Daniel (Jun 24, 2013)

nanashi7 said:


> Oh no! I just read this  I hope poor Apollo is found soon. Try to see if you can't make the bait in live traps and have the apartment on super doper clean lock down so it's the only food he can find.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Yes I am sorry you found out about this so late. I was actually going to PM you tonight. 

Tomorrow I am going to the farm supply place for some live traps that they use for catch and release. He didn't come out for the cupcake/melted ice cream bait that I left for him, and there is only one other place he could have gone - the rafter area but I need permission to go up in that. 

Hopefully it won't come to that. In the last week, the Hhairlesses went to their new home, and Fuzz Boy went to the same home as Parsley the day before yesterday after the lady I gave them to agreed to pay for half the cost of neutering Fuzz Boy...now Im regretting the whole thing and the rat home is so quiet. 

Apollo is the lovable rouge of the cage and I cannot imagine losing him.


----------



## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

His sisters are quite the troublemakers too. Try something more fragrant, like chicken, pizza, etc. If you've a spare cage around put a water bottle and a hide house in it with smelly bedding/ fleece. 

I hope he comes around he's too white to be a safe wild rat 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Daniel (Jun 24, 2013)

Alright. I've got 3 plates of very saucy spaghetti (their favorite - they fight over the noodles) in various parts of the house. Tomorrow, I am going to get permission to put traps in the rafters. Crossing my fingers. I've also asked my neighbors to be on the lookout for a big white fluff-ball rat with prominent buck teeth. ('Pollo has grown up to have the smoothest, velty-fur on any rat I've ever held).


----------



## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Hopefully he is as dumb as his brothers, everytime Elias gets out he goes up to the nearest person for attention. Let us know what happens! 

And is he velveteen? I've been wondering if Rex x standard could've made velveteen since the babies look like bad rexes. 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Daniel,

Although I've had my part wild rat go native outdoors for 5 months, usually after a day or so all my domestics turn up for food, skritches and play... If this rat was with you for a while and was socialized, there might be more to the story especially if the food you are putting out isn't disappearing.


----------



## Daniel (Jun 24, 2013)

nanashi7 said:


> Hopefully he is as dumb as his brothers, everytime Elias gets out he goes up to the nearest person for attention. Let us know what happens!
> 
> And is he velveteen? I've been wondering if Rex x standard could've made velveteen since the babies look like bad rexes.
> 
> ...


Yes, he ended up being velveteen. Kairos is more of a rex fuzz ball, he doesn't have the smooth fur.

Traps are out (3 of them in the rafters). They say to use peanut butter but I put some other things up there.


----------



## Daniel (Jun 24, 2013)

Well...within about 2 hours, I got 1 squirrel in each trap (including an albino!); not what I was expecting. I've cleared them and we will start this over.


----------



## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Oh no if squirrels are getting in maybe you should put traps outside for Apollo getting out  anymore clues if he's about?


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Daniel (Jun 24, 2013)

nanashi7 said:


> Oh no if squirrels are getting in maybe you should put traps outside for Apollo getting out  anymore clues if he's about?
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


I've got an old place (duplex) and yes we can hear squirrels getting in alot. I'll hear them walking above me. Any suggestions on where outside they should be placed?

I've asked people to be on the lookout. But Im starting to wonder if I will be able to get him back


----------



## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Probably shady areas tht look like nice rat dens. Hopefully he isn't curious enough and the weather motivates him to stick close. Ask your neighbors if you can set traps there too 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Sydandmason (Apr 30, 2013)

Don't have much experience on gerbils, however your rat will almost definitely find his way back


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Daniel (Jun 24, 2013)

Great news!! Apollo was caught in my outdoor trap a neighbor let me put in his backyard. I am lucky that his cats didn't get him.

But he is super spooked and acting weird. He's got some fighting wounds on him. I touched him and he jumped about 5 feet away from me. He is going into Q for a couple of weeks since I don't know what he's been through or what he got into.


----------



## JapaneseDolly (Nov 14, 2013)

Great news! Glad you found him!


----------



## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Poor baby. I'm glad he's back and I hope he has a quick recovery and becomes your baby. I would treat for fleas and mites as a precaution, saline water his wounds twice a day. I hope the gerbil bit him and nothing that could pass along bad things...


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## saratherussiandog (Aug 9, 2013)

I'm glad you found him! Well he was lost for two days that might've traumatized him a little. Also maybe the trap freaked him out if it makes a loud sound. Well, I hope he gets out of his weird state soon.


----------



## Charlottesmom (Nov 27, 2013)

I have been following this thread, hoping that you would fing both your guys, I'm so sorry about your gerbil, but very glad you found your rat. You need to get locks for the cages and have a serious talk with that roommate of yours!


----------



## Daniel (Jun 24, 2013)

nanashi7 said:


> I hope the gerbil bit him and nothing that could pass along bad things...
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Apollo heard that!

Well, like I said we don't know what happened. Though, if any of my rats would be wild enough to go after a gerbil it would be Apollo, since he is a bad boy who destroys things (sleeves, paper, towels - you name it). I've got him in Parsley and Fuzz Boy (now renamed 'Fuzzy' as I understand it - fine because I suck at names)'s old cage. 

Is the cat type flea treatment alright for rats? That I can get some of for free. He is going to get a bath tonight with warm water and baby shampoo either way, he smells like motor oil. He was so scared when I got him and it was so late I didn't have time to mess with him too much. I checked the upstairs traps this morning so I could take them away - one baby possum and another squirrel.


----------



## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Yikes!

The cat stuff is fine, I think it's like one drop of it for them.


----------



## evander (Jun 30, 2013)

Awesome!! So glad he is home!!!

Hoping his post traumatic stress goes away quickly!!!


----------



## Gannyaan (Dec 7, 2012)

Sounds like he got into it with something tough.... How long are you planning on quarantining? Poor guy... Is it cold out where you are? Poor thing must have been terrified ... 
I'd say spend lots of time around him and give him familiar things (like spaghetti!) and things he loves to perk him up.... Move slowly around him and quietly, to ease him in... Many rats like him can become skittish if you move quickly.


My PEW girl, Snow, escaped whoever last had her. She was found in an oven with cats trying to get at her and given to me after that... She is only freaked out if I move quickly. Otherwise she's a sweet love bug . I know she is super happy now, but she definitely experienced something I think, for being so skittish  

View attachment 96922

My pretty girl tries to drink my tea hehe 



Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## ratsaremylife (Nov 5, 2013)

OMG! So glad he's home! I've been following this thread fearing the worse, I cried when you found the dead gerbil and you still hadn't found him. I was angry beyond belief about your stupid roommate... Poor baby possum though. I hope he gets better, he is probably just traumatized.


----------



## Voltage (May 15, 2013)

I wouldn't be surprised if he got in a fight with one of the squirrels on his way out. 
I'm so happy you found him. Poor boy must be so scared.

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Daniel (Jun 24, 2013)

I wanted to update this - Apollo is still acting weird and he did end up having a couple of tiny tiny ticks on him (not sure from where in this cold weather?) so he's been sprayed with the flea stuff anyway just in case. He's going to be in Q for a couple weeks still. He's so jumpy with me I don't want to think what he'd be like with the other 2. 

The very tip of his tail also seems to have been degloved, which I didn't notice at first. I may end up taking him in just in case because I had a rat 6 months ago who ended up dying from an infected tail wound.

If you thought Apollo sounded bad, you should have seen this baby opossum I had to bring in the house! Yikes! What frightening creatures they are. (I almost posted about him, but I decided it was dangerous to have him for more than a day while I looked up drop ideas). I ended up having it for 2 days and took him over to a field near my old work about a mile from me.


----------



## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Deer Ticks or wood ticks, actually start out as larvae that feed on rodents for their first molt or two before they move up to deer. Usually at this size they don't have lyme disease yet. They have to feed off an animal with it before they can pass it on. So you are not 100% safe, but shouldn't panic.

The powders and sprays may not be effective, use fine tweezers to remove each tick, one by one. You will find them mainly around the eyes, ears mouth and toes. Once they are full, ticks will drop off and molt and find a new victim in your home. Change the bedding and get it out of the house if you feel ticks might have dropped off into it. 

It is very odd that you should have gotten larval ticks this time of year, they are more common in spring.

Ticks are a not necessarily a common problem for those of us with shoulder rats. But when you free range your rats in the tall grass, you get ticks and for reasons I can't explain, you usually get a bunch at a time.

We have the cupie doll and the T-shirt. 

Best Luck.


----------



## Gannyaan (Dec 7, 2012)

Daniel said:


> I wanted to update this - Apollo is still acting weird and he did end up having a couple of tiny tiny ticks on him (not sure from where in this cold weather?) so he's been sprayed with the flea stuff anyway just in case. He's going to be in Q for a couple weeks still. He's so jumpy with me I don't want to think what he'd be like with the other 2.
> 
> The very tip of his tail also seems to have been degloved, which I didn't notice at first. I may end up taking him in just in case because I had a rat 6 months ago who ended up dying from an infected tail wound.
> 
> If you thought Apollo sounded bad, you should have seen this baby opossum I had to bring in the house! Yikes! What frightening creatures they are. (I almost posted about him, but I decided it was dangerous to have him for more than a day while I looked up drop ideas). I ended up having it for 2 days and took him over to a field near my old work about a mile from me.



How's he acting now? Is he still jumpy? Any thin else ? Have you been able to spend time with him...? 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------

