Save a rat from a glue trap?

[CZroe]

OK, so it's a hamster and not a rat, but the trap is meant for rats.

My out-of-state niece is on the phone freaking out about her pet and I need to know how to safely free it. Water? Solvents? Hair trimmer? What will do the trick? Aren't these supposed to be non-lethal traps? How are you supposed to be able to free a rat from one of these?

 

[SketchMaster]

Olive oil, use Q-tips to apply it around the feet.

And tell her to watch her fingers, the hampster is in a panic and will bite anything.

 

[IronWing]

Just pull it off slowly, trying not to rip body parts off. The hamster may not live anyway. Sticky traps are lethal and a particularly cruel way to kill things. Snap traps are much quicker. Sorry that this post may sound harsh, but this is the reality of sticky traps.

A solvent might work but may also poison the critter. Maybe try a citrus based cleaner.

 

[WHAMPOM]

De-solv-it, multi-purpose remover.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Yep, very slowly pull it off. I'd suggest that every time she gets a little bit of the creature loose, put some paper or something under it so it won't get re-stuck.

 

[Capt Caveman]

I would place the hamster and trap in a shallow pan of warm soapy water. Try and work each paw from the trap.

 

[coldmeat]

fork?

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: ironwing
Snap traps are much quicker.

If they hit right...a lot of times the victim just dies from it's nose / mouth getting clipped off.

 

[MegaVovaN]

imo kill the hampster...nothing will be right with it after this

 

[tasmanian]

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: ironwing
Snap traps are much quicker.

If they hit right...a lot of times the victim just dies from it's nose / mouth getting clipped off.

They still die faster then the sticky traps.

 

[Alistar7]

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, enjoy.

 

[d33pt]

i bet more than its paws are stuck to the trap...it probably rolled around

 

[alkemyst]

most glue traps are designed to be non-poisionous and non-damaging (ideal for people with other small pets or kids).

Some can be freed with just water. There should be no reason the hamster is terminal because of this.

I would start with water and then possibly mineral oil or isopropyl alcohol on swabs.

 

[Iron Woode]

Originally posted by: Alistar7
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, enjoy.

just like grandma used to make.

:Q

 

[MegaVovaN]

Originally posted by: Iron Woode

Originally posted by: Alistar7
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, enjoy.

just like grandma used to make.

:Q

If the trap is toxic then gg

 

[her209]

Why is she letting her hamster run around glue traps to begin with?

 

[CZroe]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I passed what I could onto her and last I heard, they had it free (not sure what worked). She said it was sticking to itself and she was worried about whether or not it could breathe when its lip gets stuck or something (assuming that it's nose could be blocked with glue or something). All I could do before leaving work was suggest using sawdust or something to stop it from sticking to itself, so I hope that helped. Thanks again guys.

Originally posted by: her209
Why is she letting her hamster run around glue traps to begin with?

I'm guessing that they discovered a mouse and then the hamster got loose. When I was a kid, one of my hamsters could open the vertical sliding cage door if you didn't latch it. She probably didn't even know it was loose or else she would've taken up the trap.