Can rats chew out of a tub lid quickly?

Ok so this may seem wierd, but I have a prego rat that is ready to pop and no time for a proper cage at the moment. Is it ok for short term housing in a 32qt sterilite tub with it's original lid that has holes drilled in it for ventilation? I know they need alot of air flow so I would put as many holes in it as possible. I am just worried that she may chew out thru one of those holes before I get a new tank with a screen lid for her. How long might it take for escape? 12h? 24h? 48h+?

Depends on how determined she is! We had a mouse chew through a steralite tub in less than 8 hours. Thing is he didn't use a vent hole we had given it. He started on a perfectly smooth inner corner!

If she's close to delivery she's not likely to care and will mostly be resting anyways. You do want to watch though because if she does decide to chew out, you've got a pregnant rat loose in your house with a litter on the way....not a situation I'd want to have.

If you hit Home Depot you can get a small roll of 1/2" hardware cloth for that lid for about $5.00 and then another $2.00 or less for a bag of zip ties (or just use some wire to secure the mesh to the lid).

You'll have to put a lot of holes in, and I would not leave her like that for more than a couple of hours. You'll quickly see the condensation fogging up the plastic after a few minutes. I would truck on over to the home depot right away for those supplies.

I got her in a new tank already, but thanks for all of the advice! Im sure I will put it to good use eventually. Is the mesh-lid tub a good idea for breeding rats compared to a glass tank? I am just afraid that they will eventually shew thro the tub, even if they need to go thru the sides...

Thats all i have used for the past 3 or 4 months, and I have never had a problem. My ASF, mice and rats are all in sterilites of different sizes and most of my critters spend more time eating, sleeping and nursing than chewing.