New pet rat care?

[somedamnnhippie]

One of my elderly rats passed away two days ago, so I got a new cage mate for my other rats. She's very small and when I went to feed them, she ran away and actually slipped through the cage bars. I just spent the last half hour chasing a tiny rat through my apartment and now, I'm scared my cage may not be right for her. I'm hoping she will grow and become the size of the others, but what can I do to help insure her safety for this point forward?

[dustybiker]

Don’t chase her. Put a little peanut butter on a spoon and take some time sitting calm and wait. Start earning her trust. Let her come to you. (I had lots of fancy rats, hamsters, chinchillas and some growing up) they all came when called. Knew all kinds of tricks.

You’re going to need a safe cage for her until she grows.

[somedamnnhippie]

Thank you. This is usually what I do. I only chased because she escaped unexpectedly and needed her to get back to safety asap.

[dustybiker]

Gotcha

[Sparkie460]

Put a wire netting around the cage so it can't get out. Make sure the holes are small enough that it can't squeeze through

[somedamnnhippie]

I'm keeping her in a smaller cage for the moment and will be picking up wire netting for animal cages tomorrow to alter my current set up

[Sparkie460]

Just make sure the holes are really small so it can't get out. You can use zip ties to secure it to the cage

[exitseven]

get a tiny collar and a tiny leach and tie the rat to the cage.

[exitseven]

Thanks for the MHO😎

[KasiKesh]

You can trap her