Susan in TN Posted November 13, 2015 Share Posted November 13, 2015 Any ideas on finding a pet hamster who left her cage over night? Found her in our bathroom! Actually, dh found her despite the fact that I had just been in there for several mintues. She was playing with a tweezer. :D Dd9 will be so relieved! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted November 13, 2015 Share Posted November 13, 2015 When ours escaped, we put some food out near the cage and propped the door open in case he came back to his home. We looked under furniture, beside the fridge, and in other places he might hide. We didn't find him that day, but later that night I heard him scrabbling around in the kitchen while thinking, "Please let that be the hamster." As an aside, my sisters each got a hamster for Christmas one year, and Santa left them under the tree. Unfortunately, all my sisters found under the tree was an empty cage; we found one but never did find the other. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILiveInFlipFlops Posted November 13, 2015 Share Posted November 13, 2015 What kind of hamster? The slow, bumbly kind or the crazy, zippy kind? Was the door to the room it was in closed? I would say to keep the house fairly quiet and calm for awhile. If you can manage it, have the kids spread out by room and sit and listen for a bit. Ours is the slow, bumbly kind, and she'll come eventually if I make kissy noises and talk calmly to her. Do you have some nuts or treats that she likes, particularly a kind that she might smell from a distance? You might put those out in a few open spaces and see if she'll find her way to them. Ooh, she'll also always pop up if we crinkle her food bag or a treat bag (she knows the refrigerator and gets crazy when I open it :lol:). Maybe have the kid in each room try that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILiveInFlipFlops Posted November 13, 2015 Share Posted November 13, 2015 As an aside, my sisters each got a hamster for Christmas one year, and Santa left them under the tree. Unfortunately, all my sisters found under the tree was an empty cage; we found one but never did find the other. Oh no, that's terrible!!! Ours is in a tank, partly for this reason, although I've been told they can chew through the metal mesh of the lid. Until now we've hard gerbils, and they have not been terribly persistent pets. This hamster is a very different story! She's the sweetest, funniest thing, but boy, she does not take no for an answer and will not be thwarted when she wants something. I keep waiting for her to find a way to make a break for it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted November 13, 2015 Share Posted November 13, 2015 We had escaped gerbils before. We just set out food and eventually found them. You can put a bit of flour down to see if she's coming for the food (leaves tracks). Do you have a tablet you could set up to film at night, to see if she'll come and where she's going? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneangelwaiting Posted November 13, 2015 Share Posted November 13, 2015 When I was a kid we had a few escaped hamsters. We found ours under a dresser in a bedroom. He had pulled up quite a bit of carpet in efforts to make himself a nice little nest. We also found one in the sump pump. :( So putting some water out might be a good idea if you have a sump pump. Good luck! Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane Elliot Posted November 13, 2015 Share Posted November 13, 2015 My college student took apart his built-in bed and a few walls to "rescue" our hamster. I'm not sure it was worth it. The Gruesome Pictures 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TN Posted November 13, 2015 Author Share Posted November 13, 2015 My college student took apart his built-in bed and a few walls to "rescue" our hamster. I'm not sure it was worth it. The Gruesome Pictures Yikes! I keep hoping it will decide to visit the rabbits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TN Posted November 13, 2015 Author Share Posted November 13, 2015 What kind of hamster? The slow, bumbly kind or the crazy, zippy kind? Was the door to the room it was in closed? I would say to keep the house fairly quiet and calm for awhile. If you can manage it, have the kids spread out by room and sit and listen for a bit. Ours is the slow, bumbly kind, and she'll come eventually if I make kissy noises and talk calmly to her. Do you have some nuts or treats that she likes, particularly a kind that she might smell from a distance? You might put those out in a few open spaces and see if she'll find her way to them. Ooh, she'll also always pop up if we crinkle her food bag or a treat bag (she knows the refrigerator and gets crazy when I open it :lol:). Maybe have the kid in each room try that? She's more of the slow bumbly kind. The bedroom doors were all open, but the door to the basement and upstairs were closed, so hopefully she is quietly resting in a corner here on the main floor. There are waaaaaaaay to many places for a small critter to hide! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeWillSoar Posted November 13, 2015 Share Posted November 13, 2015 My college student took apart his built-in bed and a few walls to "rescue" our hamster. I'm not sure it was worth it. The Gruesome Pictures This reminds me of when I was a kid and my brother's hampster got out. I could hear it trying to eat through the wall until it eventually did make a hole and came out. I remember standing on my bed screaming when that thing would go running through my room. :scared: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiMi 4under3 Posted November 13, 2015 Share Posted November 13, 2015 We had a mouse escape once. I found it in the middle of the night when it crawled alongside my body under the blanket then tried to crawl inside my pillowcase. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess in the Burbs Posted November 13, 2015 Share Posted November 13, 2015 ours always went to the heater. It was warm and quiet. Yes, be quiet to listen for the noise. We did put food out, but he was warm and finding crumbs to live off in the closet where the heater fan was. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILiveInFlipFlops Posted November 13, 2015 Share Posted November 13, 2015 She's more of the slow bumbly kind. The bedroom doors were all open, but the door to the basement and upstairs were closed, so hopefully she is quietly resting in a corner here on the main floor. There are waaaaaaaay to many places for a small critter to hide! I know it. Suddenly the house seems cavernous and hopelessly cluttered when things like this happen! Slow and bumbly works in your favor though. The other thing to think about is when your hamster is usually active. She's probably curled up somewhere sleeping right now, but she may be more likely to scurry around at certain times. Left to her own devices, ours sleeps all day, roams her tank for a bit around dinnertime and then sleeps again until around 10 p.m. So if you have someone who can stay up late in a quiet house, you might have more luck. Also, see if you can lift any wires away from the floor. We lost a gerbil that way :( Hamsters do chew less than gerbils, but ours is a tester and will bite on anything a few times, just to see what it is. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzanne in ABQ Posted November 13, 2015 Share Posted November 13, 2015 You could try a live-catch rat trap. Or, you could make one! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted November 13, 2015 Share Posted November 13, 2015 Since they are nocturnal, you may have a better chance at catching them in the evening. They typically hide in dark places during the day where they sleep and keep their food stash. This may mean you have to check every lower kitchen cabinet, the couch, and behind hutches and shelves. Put out food and monitor closely. That hamster trap looks like fun. :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trulycrabby Posted November 13, 2015 Share Posted November 13, 2015 Okay, as a teen I used to babysit for a little girl who lost her hamster every week or so. I would put out a shoebox on a stick, with a very long string attached to the stick, and put something tasty under the box. Then I would sit very quietly watching tv until the hamster came out to get the treat, pull the string, catch the hamster. Worked every single time, but it was always late at night and the room was dark. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted November 13, 2015 Share Posted November 13, 2015 My dwarf/robo hamster hid under my piano. My syrian hamster hid under my sofa bed. We had to corner the area, shine a flashlight in, and put food to lure the hamster out. Look for the darkest places in the house, they avoid bright areas. Now I only have a guinea pig which is easier to find if she escapes. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
need2read Posted November 13, 2015 Share Posted November 13, 2015 Do you have any pet food bags/containers in the house? Friends of ours once lost a hamster and months later found it alive in a bag of dog food in the basement. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted November 13, 2015 Share Posted November 13, 2015 Ours took over two weeks to find. The three of them were caught when the were found near the sump pump in the basement. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted November 13, 2015 Share Posted November 13, 2015 We used to set a humane trap. We put treats in a box (with a healthy layer of bedding to cushion the tumble) and stair-stepped books so the hamster could climb up to get into the box but couldn't get back out. They were almost always in the box by morning. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MercyA Posted November 13, 2015 Share Posted November 13, 2015 We found ours two floors down, hiding under the stairs in a dark corner in the basement. They can travel! I know doors won't stop mice (they just squeeze under), but maybe they are more of an obstacle for a chubby hamster. You'll have to take a flashlight and peer into every nook and cranny you can find. Live traps are a great idea, too. Good luck, and keep us updated! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted November 13, 2015 Share Posted November 13, 2015 I had a habitrail type cage. the escapee made it into our basement - with lots of tight spaces. I set up the cage like a live animal trap, so the only entrance was on top, with a tube leading to the opening from the ground - and once inside, wouldn't be able to climb back out. I put shavings in the bottom, so when it fell in, it wouldn't get hurt - and also put it's most favorite treats inside. next morning - we had a gerbil in a cage. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TN Posted November 14, 2015 Author Share Posted November 14, 2015 Found her; update in original post. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happi duck Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Yay! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trulycrabby Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 :hurray: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Yay! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILiveInFlipFlops Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Great news!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoobie Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Any ideas on finding a pet hamster who left her cage over night? Found her in our bathroom! Actually, dh found her despite the fact that I had just been in there for several mintues. She was playing with a tweezer. :D Dd9 will be so relieved! Grooming for a big date? :lol: Yay for found hamster! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MercyA Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Yay! :hurray: :hurray: :hurray: So happy for hamster and all of you! I bet she'll sleep well after her big adventure. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane Elliot Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 That's great! I'm happy for you. I'll be showing this to my family as proof that hamsters can be retrieved without the use of demolition. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.