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Hamster escaped, any tips?

ButchCJG

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Dec 23, 2004
Messages
51
I just noticed that our Hamster is not in his cage. Somehow he escaped!

We actually have one huge cage which houses a disabled guinea pig and then inside is of that is the hamster's cage (an aquarium). So, little Bert not only escaped his own cage, but also this outter cage too!

We've had him 9 months and he had never gotten out before. Then last week we noticed him out, sleeping in the guinea pig cage. We couldn't figure out how, but we put him back. Now he's totally gone!

Any tips on where to look? Unfortunately we have 2 cats, so he might not have much luck if he goes crawling around too much at night. The cats have seen the piggies and hamster in their cages and are not at all interested, but if he's running around wild that might change!

I realize that he's probably sleeping somewhere right now, but I have no clue where to look, what room he is in, etc.
 
I've had hamsters escape before. I have usually found them near food. Like in the pantry in the kitchen. But I can't tell you where yours is hiding. Put some tempting treats out this evening for him and keep an eye out.
 
they can get under some pretty small places. Look CAREFULLY under things like dressers, beds, couches.
 
My hammy is a real Houdini! He escapes all the time. Everytime he gets out he is in my brothers room and he crawls across the hall and goes under my bed and falls asleep there. Check in dark places. Or places that have furry things. Like stuffed animals or even somewhere bhind something on a carpet.
 
This happened to us years ago we put a small amount of food in all the rooms and kept the doors closed we could see where she was by where the food had been eaten (This helped us to narrow it down). we found her behind the tumble drier she had made a cozy next out of drier lint and old fabric softner sheets.
 
Wait until dark, then get the house absolutely quiet and go from room to room listening very carefully for any scrabbling or chewing type noises.

That's how I find our 'evil rat' when she gets out (she's a hamster that has a liking for human flesh...hence her nickname - can't even remember the 'real' name my daughter gave her 3 yrs ago)

We have two hamsters, EvilRat and Sandy. Sandy is a teddybear and is extremely sweet. Evil is the polar opposite. They are both running on 3 yrs old and seem to be better than ever. Evil has calmed down a bit in her geriatric days - she no longer actively attacks when you get near her, but still is not interested in being handled AT ALL...
 
I had two hamsters as a child, one always escaped and my parents blamed ME!! But anyway...I always found him hiding in a corner, one time he'd chewed the carpet so bad I got grounded lol little bugger! All I can advise is that you check the corners in every room, behind the TV etc and also in the backs of any speakers you may have free standing on the floor as there are often holes in the back and they find their way inside! Good luck, I hope you find your hamster safe and well
 
Sometimes you can catch a hamster by filling a deep container with shavings and put some cheese or other strong smelling food in it. Make some steps upto the container with books so the hamster goes in but can't get out again. I would do what Furkidsmommy suggested first though and find out which room they are in so you can shut the cats out. I found one of my hamsters by waving some cheese near a hole and she came out.
 
We've had several escape and never actually lost one completely despite the house being full of cats and a dog. Make sure the hamster can get back to it's cage or set the cage out on the middle of the floor. Hamsters will always try to return to their cage if they can find it. 2nd look where there is not only food but good bedding material. 1 was found in my sister's bathroom where it had made a nice nest out of toilet paper. Live mouse traps work for catching small hamsters such as dwarf without injury or using the deep container like a bucket with food and a ramp. Dunno if I'd use cheese. Not a good hamster food and they have excellent sense of smell so just a handful of regular hamster mix will usually attract them just fine. Hamsters have very poor depth perception and will often fall off ledges when they smell food. They go up a ramp or steps, lean over the edge of the bucket, fall in, and can't jump out.
 
mine used to do that, look under your bed or near wood things.
 
Maisiepaisie said:
Sometimes you can catch a hamster by filling a deep container with shavings and put some cheese or other strong smelling food in it. Make some steps upto the container with books so the hamster goes in but can't get out again.

That is perfect,
when i was little mine got out and my grandpa saw him and chased him under the broken dishwasher moved the dishwasher found a hole stuck his finger in it and when the hamster bit him he pulled it out with his finger
 
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Oooh, you won't like this. The hamster I had when I was little got out for the second time and vanished. Then we noticed some of the fibreglass wool insulation was poking out by the radiator pipe in the wall. on closer inspection it looked like the hamster had disappeared into the wall. Then one night we heard scratching coming from a pipe box on the wall near the cooker (the brand new, freshly tiled wall in my parent's kitchen). After getting a couple of tiles off and making a hole in the box, my Mum shone a torch down and saw the hamster, wedged in between the pipes. It was so lucky it wasn't where the drill had gone through to get the tiles off. Anyway, my Mum managed to get him out at last. She literally had to lever him out with a chopstick, and when he finally came free he was flicked up out of the pipe and my Mum caught him. (Seriously, you couldn't make this stuff up!) He was so scared and dusty, but he was ok, poor little thing. I would lisken very carefully for scrabbling or scratching noises in your walls.

My hammy died of a massive overdose of chocolate drops. I gave him what the pack recommended and the vet reckoned he had stored them up and then eaten them all at once. We had no idea they were bad of course. R.I.P. Chipper.
 
check the drawer on your stove. I had a hamster i named bandit (aptly named i must say) and he always would escape. I found he had a stash of food in the drawer under the oven in our stove...that and behind the fridge. hope it helps! Let us know what happens!
 
Watch your sub pump if you have one! Cover it until you find it. One of my hamsters that I had as a child escaped from it's new habit trail cage (worst cage ever invented.) I went off to elementary school and my older sisters and mother searched high and low for her. The last place they looked was the sub pump. She must have fallen in and drowned. It still breaks my heart thinking about it.
 
Furkidsmommy had a good idea about closing off rooms and putting food in each one to narrow it down. That's what we always did.

When I was a kid, my hammy got loose and fell into the return duct to the furnace. Luckily my Mom was able to reach up inside and grab her before she fell in. Man, I loved that little hamster *sigh*.
 
When my son had his hamster Chucky, we had to go on regular "Chucky hunts" because she chewed out of every cage we had until we put her in an aquarium. My suggestion is close to the others, close off rooms and put food in each one. Check for evidence that she's been there...missing food, little presents and so on. I'll cross my fingers you find her before one of the cats does. Mine don't care much for the pigs when they're in their cage but the second they're running about the cats have to go in another room. They've never hurt them and have fallen asleep on the floor next to them several times, but they stalk them, and I don't trust them not to do anything. Cats are cats and instincts take over when something small and furry is running about.
 
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