ASF escape!

[broadude]

It's been and amazing start of the day!!

I went down stairs to check on everyone and noticed that there was rat food all over the floor in the rat room. I then noticed some puddles of water.

I checked the puddles and discovered that either an rat or ASF had chewed though the tube (just enough to get water not enough to flood the floor). I replaced the chewed tubing and set about discovering which of these pests had escaped.

The rats seemed fine...agiated, but nonetheless they are all present and accounted for.

I didn't think the ASF would be the culpurits (they are after all in STEEL bins)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p...ewedbin001.jpg

but..when I checked on them, this is what I found!

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p...ewedbin003.jpg

Since my ASF are semi-tame, I didn't think it would be a problem rounding them up...and it wasn't!! Looking around for something to catch them with because they were between bins (on top of the food in the second row) my eyes fell on my shop and vac! If these were rats, it would never have worked!! but thank goodness ASF do not have the body mass of a regular rat.

I used my shop and vac to suck each one to where I could reach it and dispatch it. Luckily there were only 4 in that bin and they hadn't had ratterlings yet. I couldn't feed them to my snakes because they may have gotten into the poison that was on the floors.

All's well that ends well.

[Mike Cavanaugh]

so the tubs are metal or plastic???!!!

You sucked them up with a wet vac???!!! Did they survive????

I had one escapee recently...Tried several times to catch him but he kept running into places where I couldn't reach him. The heavy dudy plastic rat snap trap from home depot and a little peanut butter did the trick in the first night. It sucked to kill and waste it... BUT hopefully the other inmates learned from his mistake!

[Ladydragon]

You sucked them up with a wet vac???!!! Did they survive????

It sounded more like the wet vac was used to suck the ASF close in enough to grab, not get sucked into the vac. although the image of a cartoon fuzz ball after being in a dryer did come to mind at first.

Those really are STEEL bins? where did you get STEEL bins from? and what do you have.. super ASF's? just curious about those bins.

[Chandler reptiles]

I came home to find a grow out tub got chewed through and best count 12 were out and about, a few were easy since they were just hanging out in the middle of the floor but a few got beneath some storage shelving...wish I would have thought of the shop vac.

[Bruce Whitehead]

The thought of those beady eyed furballs sliding sideways toward the vac... is going to keep a grin on my face all day.

Bruce

[broadude]

It sounded more like the wet vac was used to suck the ASF close in enough to grab, not get sucked into the vac. although the image of a cartoon fuzz ball after being in a dryer did come to mind at first.

Those really are STEEL bins? where did you get STEEL bins from? and what do you have.. super ASF's? just curious about those bins.

You are right, Lady...they were sucked close enough to grab. They are much to fat to go down the nozzle. Also, not having the body mass that regular rats have, they are unable to wiggle away once the nozzle gets them on the side. This lets me grab the tails.

My error...someone was nice enough to inform me that the tubs are, in fact, fiberglass! I didn't know. They feel like steel to me. (it was brought secondhand)

[broadude]

sorry..double post.

[broadude]

so the tubs are metal or plastic???!!!

You sucked them up with a wet vac???!!! Did they survive????

I had one escapee recently...Tried several times to catch him but he kept running into places where I couldn't reach him. The heavy dudy plastic rat snap trap from home depot and a little peanut butter did the trick in the first night. It sucked to kill and waste it... BUT hopefully the other inmates learned from his mistake!

Fiberglass (whatever that is).

They survived the shop vac, they didn't survive me.

It sucked big time to have to dispatch them, because this was a batch of Albinos that I had hand picked for beauty and body mass from the litters of Jon's trio and crossed with some normals (they were heavy boned). Ahhh, back to the drawing board.

[Royal Tartan]

older post I know but the image of them furries scrambling n a scratchin as they tried to out run the suction has had me in stitches here . I had a few weaners chew thru there tubs ( there in glass tanks now ) so I know first hand how hard they can be to catch .

The wife is now wondering what has hppened to her '' hoover '' lol