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Original poster

Hamster is trying to escape

29 replies

hhss · 30/08/2020 23:50

Hi,
I have had my hamster for 2 weeks. He lives in the hamster heaven cage.
2 days ago, I accidentally didn't close the cage properly before I went to bed - I closed it but there was a small gap - but apparently big enough for him to squeeze through.

We then found him the next day by laying out food on the carpet.

Anyway, ever since he got back in his cage, he is climbing the bars, biting and trying to squeeze through the gap he got through last time which obviously he can't now as it is closed properly.

He never did this before - he loved running on his wheel, coming out for cuddles, going through his tubes ect. But now he is not interested and just has been climbing the bars for 3 hours. Whenever, I open the cage door he starts climbing up and trying to get out.

Will he get over this? Or has the taste of having the whole living room floor made him always want to try and get out now?

OP posts:
Thirty2andBlue · 30/08/2020 23:55

Sounds like he enjoyed his little trip out! I once had a rat (her cage mate died so she was alone) and j used to leave the door of her cage open pretty much all the time and she made herself a nest under the sofa! She had loads of hammocks, little house etc in her cage but preferred her homemade nest most Smile.

RobynsMama · 30/08/2020 23:57

Do you have a Syrian hamster? The cage you have if I’m thinking of the right one is big compared to others that places like pets at home sell and above the UK minimum but your hamster might need more space. You can consider “free ranging” your hamster at night, there are sort of play pens you can buy online that your hamster will have more space to run around in. Also please check the size of the wheel as a Syrian hamsters wheel should be at least 8 inches but bigger if you have the space. A wheel that’s too small can cause stress when they arch their backs to fit.

Original poster
hhss · 31/08/2020 00:12

The wheel he has is 12 inches and I took a lot of the original things that came with the hamster heaven cage out and redesigned it to be more spacious with still lots of boredom breakers, tubes ect.

I can't have him roaming around at night as I have children here so wouldn't want poop around the living room, as much as I would love for him to have all the space in the world.

I was going to look into playpens but i'll see how things go with him atm,
He was very settled before he managed to escape and now he's had a taste for it, he is determined to get out again Blush

OP posts:
Original poster
hhss · 31/08/2020 00:13

I've always had hamsters as pets so know all about the suitable sizes ect for each type of hamster xxx

OP posts:
ThousandsAreSailing · 31/08/2020 00:15

I had a hamster escape and get under the floorboards. He was free for a couple of months until I sat up one night to catch him
He was totally feral and actually growled at me. I felt so guilty because he never settled after that

Butterer · 31/08/2020 00:15

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
hhss · 31/08/2020 00:31

@ThousandsAreSailing how did he survive for 2 months under the floorboards? He must have been a true adventuror Grin
I know I feel awful having her in her cage when she so obviously is a lively one, i'm just glad she never managed to get in the walls

OP posts:
ThousandsAreSailing · 31/08/2020 00:35

I think he got dog biscuits. I started putting food out to see if he was still alive and he collected that. One night as I was about to go to bed I saw him run under the fridge. I sat there for hours until he came out and I caught him.
He was obviously happy where he was but I couldn't leave him there

Original poster
hhss · 31/08/2020 00:38

@ThousandsAreSailing just curious, how did he act being in a cage after being "free" for 2 months?
My hamster was out for nearly a hole day and he wants back out, never mind 2 months;
Hamsters are known for being great escape artists for a reason Grin

OP posts:
rosiejaune · 31/08/2020 00:45

Well it is not surprising; how happy would you be in a proportionately sized space for the rest of your life, once you'd been released from prison and knew the rest of the world existed?

Just don't keep animals; certainly not bought ones, and even rescued ones aren't going to be able to live a full life in captivity (even if it's longer than in the wild, it's certainly more limiting, and has little or no scope for self-determination).

Original poster
hhss · 31/08/2020 00:49

@rosiejaune i'd rather keep my hamster here than in a tiny pet shop cage; hamsters which have been bred as pets would not survive in the wild

OP posts:
Knittinglikemad · 31/08/2020 00:54

@hhss we have had a hamster sanctuary at one point we had nearly 40 at the same time. We found that a daily free run time seemed to settle the adventurous ones. If you can block off a big area & put some toys in & let him run about, he should get used to getting out & will start to settle in his cage. Is he a dwarf or Syrian?

rosiejaune · 31/08/2020 00:58

[quote hhss]@rosiejaune i'd rather keep my hamster here than in a tiny pet shop cage; hamsters which have been bred as pets would not survive in the wild[/quote]
Or you could stop encouraging people to breed them in the first place, by buying them.

LynnThese4reSEXPEOPLE · 31/08/2020 17:12

We used to put a towel down in the empty dry bath with some hamster toys and let ours have a good run about. Maybe yours would enjoy that?

InDeoEstMeaFiducia · 31/08/2020 17:17

We let ours free range in one of the bathrooms sometimes.

InDeoEstMeaFiducia · 31/08/2020 17:18

Or you could stop encouraging people to breed them in the first place, by buying them.

Nah. I like having them as pets. They're cute. We buy pedigree hammies. They're adorable. Lovely company.

growinggreyer · 31/08/2020 17:21

Mine would come out on an evening and roam about but would tire eventually and want to go back home. One night I forgot about him and he came and sat on my foot to remind me. They are lovely creatures and quite intelligent for their size.

Babdoc · 31/08/2020 17:30

I don’t understand why anyone would want to force a living creature to spend a lifetime in solitary confinement in a cage. What pleasure do you get from inflicting such misery? And as rosiejaune points out, by buying them, you are creating a market for breeders to keep supplying more.
If you want to keep a pet, why not have a cat, which can range freely via a cat flap, express all its normal behaviour such as hunting, only stays with you by choice, and is largely solitary by nature. No caging or cruelty is involved, and if you take a rescue cat you are not encouraging the breeding of more.
My neighbours kept a poor rabbit alone in a hutch for its whole miserable existence- their DC rapidly tired of it, and I think it was a blessing when it finally died, never having known social contact in a warren or the pleasure of burrowing or foraging. So sad. And so unnecessary.

altiara · 31/08/2020 17:42

Is he trying to push the door down? I used to use a sandwich bag tie to tie the cage door next to the bars.

InDeoEstMeaFiducia · 31/08/2020 17:43

@Babdoc

I don’t understand why anyone would want to force a living creature to spend a lifetime in solitary confinement in a cage. What pleasure do you get from inflicting such misery? And as rosiejaune points out, by buying them, you are creating a market for breeders to keep supplying more. If you want to keep a pet, why not have a cat, which can range freely via a cat flap, express all its normal behaviour such as hunting, only stays with you by choice, and is largely solitary by nature. No caging or cruelty is involved, and if you take a rescue cat you are not encouraging the breeding of more. My neighbours kept a poor rabbit alone in a hutch for its whole miserable existence- their DC rapidly tired of it, and I think it was a blessing when it finally died, never having known social contact in a warren or the pleasure of burrowing or foraging. So sad. And so unnecessary.
Syrians are solitary animals. They cannot live with other hamsters. Rabbits should not live alone, or guinea pigs, gerbils and some breeds of hamsters.

Cats can be expensive to keep.

If you are not vegan, you are also complicit in cruelty to animals.

pigsDOfly · 31/08/2020 17:53

In the past I've had hamsters and guinea pigs, not at the same time, and have always given them lots of time out of their cages to interact with the family and generally have a wander round every day.

I'm not keen on having caged animals but if you do keep them they really need to be handled and interacted with.

Syrian hamsters are solitary creatures, Russian dwarf hamsters and guinea pigs should be kept with others of their kind.

TimeIhadaNameChange · 31/08/2020 18:01

I've looked after a friend's hamster a few times and when the cat was our would let it run around the lounge under very close supervision. I would airways keep within a few inches of him so he couldn't get up to mischief. The only exception was when I let him free in our hall add the cat was in. Carry insisted on going out so I went to catch the boy but couldn't find him anywhere. Eventually heard noises coming from the large bag of cat food! Cat walked past without shivering a whisker! 🤣 (She's always been used to having other animals (rabbits, guineas and a snake) roaming in the house so she's given up trying to catch them! 🤣)

user127819 · 31/08/2020 18:03

If he's a Syrian the Hamster Heaven is a little small for him. It's more of a dwarf hamster cage. The Savic Plaza from Pets at Home is excellent for Syrians. The novelty of a new cage and some new toys may help to "reset" him and help him forget about being out of the cage. Some people have the plastic storage grids from Amazon made into a playpen though others find their Syrians dislike the restriction of a playpen and need to be roaming in a room for a hour or so a day.

Soubriquet · 31/08/2020 18:11

I had a hamster escape once but she was more than happy to get back into her cosy cage.

I would look at maybe getting a bigger cage if he keeps trying to escape.

You can never have a cage too big for a hamster. The bigger the better really

MitziK · 31/08/2020 18:23

@user127819

If he's a Syrian the Hamster Heaven is a little small for him. It's more of a dwarf hamster cage. The Savic Plaza from Pets at Home is excellent for Syrians. The novelty of a new cage and some new toys may help to "reset" him and help him forget about being out of the cage. Some people have the plastic storage grids from Amazon made into a playpen though others find their Syrians dislike the restriction of a playpen and need to be roaming in a room for a hour or so a day.
It's still a bit shit for them, though, as they don't have the access to dig as they would in the wild. Our one (brought in by the DTwatCat from God Knows Where, but as he couldn't climb walls, I presume the Hamster did) had a McGyvered aquarium to dig in and then a multilevel living quarters very securely attached on top.

Lars still spent a lot of his time critiquing DP's instrumental prowess - she didn't mind him playing guitar, but had a very low opinion of the bass (all direct inputs, so only the sound of the strings vibrating, not ampilfied sound) and would sit up at the top corner nearest him, pulling faces.

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