Recently I've been trying to work with two very skittish, under-socialized young rats. The other night I had the male in my hood and was letting him and my neutered male hang out on the couch with me while I watched tv. Unfortunately, I fell asleep and when I woke up, only my big boy was still around. The little guy is not on or IN the couch, I checked both. I've set out his cage and food, and I've tried to entice him out with a buddy. However, even after working with him in the short amount of time I have, he's still terrified (like he leaps up and frantically tries to get out of the cage when I so much as walk by). He won't take food from me and he doesn't like to eat anything but blocks yet anyway. I don't think he's going to come out when I'm home. He hasn't been neutered yet because I wanted him to have a little more size and be a little more confident about me handling him (in case of neuter abscesses). He's about 6 weeks though 

I'm confident I'll catch him eventually, but I'd like to do it before he finds his way back upstairs were I have 10 unspayed females (although, granted, 4 of them are probably too old to conceive). The prospect of 6x12 is not a pleasant one and something I have nightmares about.

I'm 90% sure he's hiding in the kitchen. Suggestions on how to catch the little jailbird rat?

Call around (animal control, SPCA, Humane Society) and ask to borrow a humane trap meant for a mouse.  I don't think you'll catch him on your own, so you might need to be sneaky about it.  And try to close as many doors as you can so he can't wander.

Even though its not the greatest idea.. Move the girls into a room with one door.. Seal it as best as you can for the time being (towel tightly rolled under the door).. Or.. Heck.. Get one of your girls out (possibly one thats in heat)  and try and lure your guy out that way.

Oh yes, this is quite a pickle  Which is why I don't DO boys pre-neuter.

Thank you for all the suggestions and ideas. I was wondering if he'd fit in a large humane mouse trap because I intend to get one anyway (I have 6 mice and those silly african soft fur rats, so I thought getting one would be a good idea). Guess I could hold it up to his sister and see if she fits 

Right now I have his cage open on the floor next to the kitchen sink and the fridge. I THINK he's been in there because the blocks I put in this morning are gone (this is assuming the dog wasn't crafty and snagged them). And thankfully, the girls are in one room and I've been keeping the door shut but he'd have to be extremely brave to go up the stairs and down the hall to get there, and he's none too bright to begin with, but I'll roll up the towel. And, finding a girl in heat shouldn't be too hard... Jitterbug was thumping the crap out of the others last night, so she's a good bet.

And no kitties, everyone in my family seems to be deathly allergic to them (all the more reason to get one IMO, no invited visitors). My dogs would let him run across their faces and not blink.

This worked when I need to trap mice. Make sure you have something SOFT inside the bucket though since it needs to be 3-4 feet tall.

If for some reason he moves rooms or what not, here is what I did to find my rattie girl years ago.

I put a dish of water and food in each room, but only put a certain amount of food in the dish. I put 12 sunflower seeds in each dish.

Anyways, make sure to keep all the doors shut, bathroom door, bedrooms, etc. And like mentioned above, put towels under the doors in needed. When he/she gets hungry, they will eat the food, and then you will know which room he/she is hidding in.

Now, if the animal is friendly enough, you can just look for him/her a bit and then you will be able to catch them.

If the animals is not that friendly, get a small humane trap (buy or borrow) and set it in the room where the food is decreasing. Put a peanut, or something else really yummy in the trap and wait.

Meanwhile, discontinue putting food in the dish, but continue with the water. The animal will, again, get hungry and hopefully go into the trap.

Although, my rattie was too smart for the trap. She when around to the outside of the trap, then reached, and reached for the food. She finally got it and set the trap off. It scared her, so she ran. I heard the trap shut, and went in to see if she was in it.

The trap was empty, no food, no rat. I look around the room and find her standing on her hide legs, seeming to grin and say, "Haha, stupid humans!".

Good thing you don't have cats! I had/have cats, and thankfully she was still okay!

Godd luck!

Good luck! Does your rattie have something in his cage that he really feels secure in, like a house, or sock? Maybe leave it out near to where he is..maybe he will slink out from under where he is hiding and go into it?

Hah! One of my new girls was in the same position for exactly 24 hours. We waved some slices of turkey around on a fork for her but she was quicker than us and grabbed them. She finally came out to visit her sister on top of her cage and we slammed a large box in front of the entrance to the kitchen and chased her around for a good five minutes before we trapped her behind a box.

Is he small enough to fit in one of those mouse traps?  I can find those easily in NE. 

Have you tried Home Depot? They carry Hav A Hart products here.

If you really can't find anything online or locally, I could always buy one for you and ship it to you, and you could reimburse me via Paypal- always happy to help prevent the girlies from getting preggers 

I have heard good things about Hav A Hart. Never needed one thankfully, but family members use them with success.

Well, I caught the bugger this evening. I set up his cage in a way where I hoped it would snap shut and lock him in. It didn't do that, but it did clank shut and alert me to his presence. So I pretended that I couldn't hear him kicking around a plastic bag and continued to play with his sister on the couch. Then I snuck up, cut him off from the hiding holes, and trapped him  Mr Teak has been reacquainted with his cage.

This is, of course, AFTER I ordered a trap online  But that's okay; I'll be prepared for next time.