Yesterday, Mark's daughter was over, and I wanted to show her a snake feeding. So I did, and that is not the issue..
I apparently did not notice that the one rat I left in the feeder's cage, her lid was not on right. So she got out.. I noticed about an hour later. My intuition said "she's in the cupboard!" Said cupboard being full of junk; nothing harmful and no caustic substances. The way the tanks are, the escapee ran across their lids and into the cupboard. It is filled with junk, like a few empty small mouse cages.. a cat carrier.. It was late and I did not feel like searching.. so I shut the cupboard before going to bed.
Today, I found the little brat in the cupboard. Nope, she did not starve overnight; she had a nice bag of rat feed (I mix it and bag it in Ziplocks) but no water. She was fine when I grabbed her, and immediately gulped down water back in her cage.
I hate when they escape. I have too many things in this house that could be destroyed by a rat! So other than maybe being mildly dehydrated, she is fine. She is not a feeder but a future breeder; I am going to have to watch out!