Help! Albino rat found outside my house! Need help to trap him asap!
UPDATE EVERYONE (same night)
I went out and bought a havahart trap. Any tips?
2ND UPDATE!!: (next morning)
I CAUGHT HIM WITH THE HAVAHART! I almost gave up all hope, but then this morning as I was having breakfast I looked outside my back door and he was walking on my patio!! So i set the trap with fresh cat food, covered it with towels and waited. I just checked and HE’S INSIDE!!! Now what? 😩 I’m going to take him inside and put him inside a bin with holes, a blanket, some food and water, and a little box for him to hide in. And then I guess we’ll just take it one step at a time??
Original post:
Guys I need help asap! I’m currently outside of a bush, waiting for this rat to walk into my makeshift trap.
We found him outside today in our garden hose holder.. with a dead frog. He stayed despite us looking and coming/going, with a clear exit path so we figured he must be domesticated.
He is fully albino with red eyes. Upon further research by my mom, she insists that these types of rats are usually owned by someone.
While trying to trap him earlier we found him fighting with a frog.. he was winning. Pretty ferociously as well, chasing the frog. Which leads me to believe he may have killed the one in the garden hose holder….
How do I trap him? I think he must belong to someone right? I live in the suburbs, so if he *is* domesticated, his owners can’t be far. I’d like to try and help him.
My mom and husband aren’t as interested to help me catch him, so it’s just me. And it’s dark outside.
I’ve got this makeshift trap where I’ve tied to secure it, when he walks on the cardboard it won’t shake. I put wet cat treats on it, and put tons of food inside the bin. The hope is obviously that he’ll walk up it, see all the food and hop in. The problem is.. with me trying to trap him for the past hour with cheese and crackers.. I think he may be full already. He has shown a lot of interest in the box and even went inside when I tried the “tip it over when he walks in method” but I just couldn’t get to him fast enough.
He’s currently hiding in our neighbors bushes, she saw me standing outside her house as she drove up and when I tell you the lady looked at me like I just murdered someone 😩 I explained the situation to her and she said no worries.. we have traps around for them. GASP! I then explained I believe it’s someone’s pet, and I’d like to try and catch it to help it. She then says she’ll call the exterminator tomorrow. 😩💔 after then making it clear to her: I don’t want him dead, I would like to save him. She hesitantly agreed to let me keep the trap out overnight.
What can I do guys? I really don’t wanna just leave him out here. We have alot of cats that spend a lot of time ourside, and there’s tons of birds that may hurt him.
Pic of trap added! It’s getting cold outside tonight and I’m worried about this rat! Please help