Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Has anyone ever had a rat get loose that got into snake tubs and caused damage to a snake?

If there was an open & easily accessible bag of rat food, what are the chances the rat would choose a snake over their food?

snake rooms keep them warm, walls with insulation they can get into will keep them safe and hiding, they seek water even more than food...set a bowl of water on the floor, a corner is good...and go get a bunch of traps.....Victor rat traps....not the chinese crap ones......bait well and bait them solid...set them all over along the walls and between racks...anywhere a rat will roam.......I have mouse traps set all the time, but don't let the rat traps set due to the fact that a snake will get hurt or killed in them if a snake gets out......I also use conibear body gripping traps...I set them all over the place when I drop a rat or a small goes nuts and jumps from the cage before I can grab it.......I hate that...another reason I use smaller rats......

good luck.....fear house damage more than snake damage....

they will chew water lines ,electric lines, freezer tubing...anywhere they hear running liquid.....all in the search for water........yes a big male rat chewed and ruined a freezer here once....he grew to full size before I even knew he was in the cellar.....got in as a small hopper then grew and couldn't get out the little hole he got in with...
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..J Yohe ....

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I personally don't see it very likely that the rat would try to get into the tubs but it is a possibility. Rather then leaving a bag of food I would just get a rat trap. You could for for a dead or alive trap depending on how much you care about the rat. Also just keep and eye out under your cages they tend to follow the walls.

matt

I had one get into my washing machine. He chewed up three water lines before trapping himself in the drum.

They won't attack your animals, but you do not want a rat loose in your home.

I have cats and a repeating rat trap to catch any escapees.

jyohe is right, they will look for water more than food. However, when baiting your traps don't bother with food (at least not in all of them). Rodents spend MUCH more time looking for appropriate bedding and nesting materials than they do foraging for food.

Plus, "baiting" the traps with things like string, cotton, and other soft fibrous things will make it much more likely that you will catch the little guy since he (she?) will have to tug on the material and will be more likely to set off the trap. Don't bother with cheese (it will most likely go bad before he takes it), peanut butter is a waste also (they can lick the trap clean without setting it off).

I usually tie a piece of fuzzy yarn to one trap (much more effective than it sounds). I will also rip apart a cotton ball and "thread" that through the bait area. If I am going to use any type of food stuff, it is usually dog food (since most of my past escapees have stolen more food from the dogs than went for the bait) if not dog food, try sunflower seeds (still in the shell). Whichever type of bait you go with, be sure to wedge, tie or mold it around the bait area of the trap so that there is NO WAY the rodent can remove it without setting off the trap. If they take the bait, they should also have to take the trap.

they're correct about cheese and peanut butter

I personally use ear corn...a slice of the whole ear, dried corn.......I take a slice of it...basically it's cob with kernals of corn all the way around when you lay it flat....take Victor rat trap and the bait area has a point on it...bend upward...stick corn ring onto this....in the yard I have caught 2 at a time...they both bit the corn and bam...still biting after the death.....LOL......

......if you want I was thinking while reading their idea....try a piece of yarn tied around in loops and peanut butter will stick well to this....

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..J Yohe ....

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I don't see an escaped rat or mouse trying to get into your snake cages. If they have a hole big enough to get into the snake cage, the snake has a hole big enough to leave.

All the other suggestions are great for trapping any escaped rat. Live traps, sticky traps, or kill traps, are all options. Just check them once a day at least. Though the big rat kill trap I have, it makes so much noise when it releases (and the rat jerks around in death throes) I typically know when it goes off. (then again I live in a one bedroom apartment so never that far away from anything)

Live traps are best if you have other animals or young kids running about the house that may hurt themselves if the contact a kill trap. Check Live traps more often though, a rat can die of thirst in those things if unchecked for more than a day.
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PHLdyPayne

i cant see a rat trying to chew a hole in a cage just to get in. so i would say you are safe just use traps. i have had a mouse get away before and it chewed on the cable and i had to re do the heat in my rack and i have had mice/rats get out and go into the rack and poop in it but never inside the tub
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reed&Sunny at www.ReedsDragons.com & www.KillerEnclosures.com

Thank you for all your advice. One rat down, maybe 2 more to go.