How To Capture An Escaped Hamster
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You go to feed your hamster and suddenly stop short. Where is the little monster now? You poke through all of the bedding, but your beloved hamster is nowhere to be seen. You could panic or you could go about making plans to recapture your prodigal hamster. Take deep breaths - not only will your brain need the oxygen, but it will help you calm down.
Before You Set The Trap
Before you set up the hamster trap, you want to avoid hurting your loose hamster accidentally in the meantime. Here are some tips everyone in your family needs to do until the hamster is safely curled up in his cage again:
- Shuffle your feet instead of walking normally, so you don't accidentally step on Hammy.
- Make sure all the door inside your home firmly propped open. If you do have to open and close a door before Hammy is found, do it very slowly, in case Hammy is in a tight spot.
- Get all chemicals, cleaning supplies, mousetraps or art supplies off of the floors and (if possible) all put away.
- Check under all cushions and mattresses before sitting or lying down. Hamsters like to burrow in all kinds of cozy places.
- If you have any terriers or cats that are free-roaming, either keep an eye on them or shut them up in a room where you are sure the hamster isn't.
- Make everyone who comes into your home to follow these rules until Hammy is found.
- Shut the windows.
- Leave the cage door open - he might decide to come home on his own.
Setting The Trap
You will make a humane hamster trap with objects you most likely have hanging about the home. You will need:
- a large bucket or Rubbermaid Tote at least two feet deep. Make sure the lid is OFF.
- a tasty treat the hamster can't resist. Peanut butter on a cracker is recommended.
- a thin layer of bedding using some from the hamster's cage
- a way for the hamster to climb up the side of the bucket - it could be placing the bucket against a chair, leaning a long wooden plank or ruler on it, but some obvious path needs to be leaned against the bucket.
The aim is to lure the hamster into the bucket. A fall of a couple of feet will not hurt a full grown hamster. Once they are in, though, they will not be able to get out. They will look rather annoyed, though.
One of the best places to put the trap is the bathroom or kitchen closest to the room where the cage is normally kept in. Hamsters are always on the lookout for food - and water. Even a few droplets of water on a tile floor may attract your prodigal hamster.
The Waiting
Now comes the hardest part of recapturing your hamster - the waiting. Try to keep breathing deeply and keep your hopes up. The odds are good that your hamster is still in your home. Hamsters are nocturnal, so while you're worried throughout the day, he's probably found a place to nap. He will most likely go into the trap during the night, or the next night.
For more information about finding a lost hamster, check out this link. And good luck!
Film by c4h10
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Comments
Hey Rena, this one made me laugh....a while back we have a hamster we affectionately called the "bird rodent of alcatraz" She was a master of finding her way out of any cage. We finally have a system that keeps her contained. She's crazy!! She seems to mellowing some with age however : ) Now she's just called "Grandma"
Thanks for the kind words. The film wasn't made by me, but I did have a golden hamster that could slip through bars like the dwarf hammy in the film. She had to be kept in a 20 gallon Rubbermaid Tote (with the lid off). Good luck with Grandma!
that is a very good stratigy, i will follow it if my hamsters ever get out!
that is a great way to capture a hammy. I am thinking of getting one and maye I shouldn't get one with bars. LOL
I have bars! :O He hasnt gone out yet for a long long time and he gone out once but the cage door was open I think it wasnt shut tight enough becuase he likes to climb up on the door and i think he accidently got out at night. :? But he was found it elss than thirty minutes about in ten minutes! :D I am searching for ideas to find hamsters cuz my friends hamster is lost for a hole month I have a hole page full!!!! Thx for the help ;)
SQEAK!!!
I am planning to get a hammy. the strategy probably won't work at my house though :( I have a cat that kills birds rats rabbits snakes. She would kill it if it got out:(
I'm SO sad - My dwarf hamster died yesterday. I painted a small thin block of wood for the grave'stone' and I put the squishy little hamster in a box. I buried her right outside my house. She was so twitchy and paranoid. She ran away from every sound not made by her. She was called Yuki, since it's jap for snow and it was snowing when I got her. I'm planning on getting another one on the first day of summer. -I hope I don't almost drop the box open outside again- Your 'hub' is very helpful. I'll be sure to use your advice if my next hamster gets out. I'm planning to name her/him Haku.
~ Nami Kohodo
My hamster Oliver opened the cage door even though I closed it AND taped it.(he is a strong hamster) He escaped I think yesterday night. Today the cage door was opened and Oliver was no where to be seen. I searched for him everywhere but I can't find him. he has an injured leg and I am very worried. Is there an easy and a helpful way to capture Oliver?
i dont know how my hammie got out
it is a mystery as i always padlock my hammies cage.
also i was away on hols.
?????
once my hamster escaped her padlocked cage.i think my brother freed her though:(.we found her 30 min later ^_^ (thank goodness).
i'm planning to get a hampster soon and hope this advice will help!!
my hamster is missing and were trying this right now, the darn little thing!
my name is answer
I lost my hamster she's been gon for 1 day and i'm scared because my mom has rat poison in her closet.
My hamster is missing and ive got your traps all over my house
P.S. Good luck with grandma
this morning I lost snowball (she got her name cuz she's 100 percent white). We found her chewing on the wii system cord. Good thing we found her before she zapped herself.
Don't use words the meanings of which you don't know. Everyone seems to have missed the point of the parable of the prodigal son's return, or never have actually heard it at all. To refer to the prodigal son as having returned makes the word sound like it means missing, lost, or run-away. However, it is in fact that he has lost his way in the lord by being prodigal, not that he is prodigal by having lost his way in the lord. He is not prodigal because he left, he is prodigal because he wasted all his inheritance.
Prodigal (adj.): Rashly or wastefully extravagant
Syn: profligate, squandering, lavish, munificent, overgenerous.
fuck
my hamster escaped and my dog found it put it in his mouth emptyed it bak into the hamster cage wwithout harming it lol my dog is sik ands its an american bull dog terrier:)
My hampster has escaped twice. The first time from the plastic ball -after that I always tape it-. The second time his wheel broke and he escaped by removing a plastic cap on the roof of the cage.
In both cases, he has entered openings in cabinets that were not obvious to us unless we see from the ground. We heard him in both cases. The first time I caught him around 4 AM after leaving him plenty of food all over the place. The second time I cut a cabinet wall and grab it.
Preventive measure: check in your kitchen, study room, or living room for any small hole in cabinets left by the builder.
Tools I used: drill, thin flash light, wire hanger (to hang the flash light and enter it through the hole), and iPhone (to check with camera if hampster was inside a compartment).
my hamster has got out of the cageb and he is no werte to be seen
oh no i have not found my hamster
two hamsters escaped three days ago, found your atricle today and set the trap at 5pm. First one was caught at 7 pm and waiting for #2 to show up. Used peanutbutter and popcorn, works great. Thanks
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha whats she doin?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
mine has opened the lid on the cage somehow and went behind the washer but when we went to get him he ran behind all the drawers and now we cant get him any help on this please?
send it to my email: liamandkarl@hotmail.co.uk
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teddarling says:
2 years ago
Such a squirmy guy you have in the video. Of course that's a nice looking fellow that you have at the top there.
Thanks for the information and the video. I always thought they somehow got out through a door left open. Your video really opened my eyes.
Ted