This article is from the WSSF 2013 AFRMA Rat & Mouse Tales news-magazine.

By Mayumi Anderson, CA, as told to Karen Robbins

I had a baby rat get on the floor and under the cabinet where I couldn’t get it out. After 3 days of it moving around the house and always underneath something I couldn’t get under or move, I decided to take mom and hold down there by where the baby was and the baby came right out. However, I couldn’t hold mom and get the baby at the same time, so that night I put mom’s cage on the floor by where the baby was with an empty cage containing food and water and towels inside next to mom’s cage. The next morning the baby was inside the cage under the towels and I was able to reunite the baby with mom.

Ed. Note: I had this happen to me recently with a 3-week-old rat that had gotten onto the floor the night before and I didn’t notice till the next morning. Even though this baby was used to being handled every day and was very friendly, by being on the floor it was not so sure and wouldn’t come close enough for me to get it. After several failed attempts of trying to get it out on my own that ended up just making it run behind a very large cabinet that couldn’t be moved, I decided to let it settle down during the day before trying again. I then thought of Mayumi’s tip that she told me a few months before. So that evening after everyone started to wake up, I got mom and held her by the cabinet and the baby came right out! I ended up turning mom around so the butt was to the baby and slowly moved her a little away from the cabinet so the baby would follow her out enough to where I could get it. This tip works like a charm! Thanks Mayumi!

See Lost Baby Rats II