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Original poster

Our hamster has vanished into thin air

48 replies

girasole · 21/11/2007 16:37

Our new hamster was in his cage on Sunday night when we went to bed but by Monday morning he had disappeared. We didn't miss him until Monday evening as we assumed he was asleep in his little house (he usually sleeps all day).

The door of his cage was not open so we can only assume that he squeezed out between the bars. My DH thinks this is impossible but he doesn't have any other ideas about how the little guy might have escaped.

We have looked everywhere we can think of, and have left out food in all the downstairs rooms for the last couple of nights, but to no avail. There is no sign of him at all. He hasn't touched the food we left out and we haven't heard any scratching sounds.

It's not looking good and the kids are naturally upset. We've only had him a couple of weeks but he was very tame and they loved him. Any suggestions to help find him?

OP posts:
bubblepop · 24/11/2007 23:23

hiya check the airing cupboard

theslownorris · 24/11/2007 23:37

Have you looked under the washing machine? A friend's hamster disappeared and then her washing machine stopped working. They tipped it up and the hamster had been in there and chewed the wires. (Thankfully the machine was the only casualty!)

Original poster
girasole · 25/11/2007 00:06

Hi everyone, thanks you so much for all your very helpful replies. I am definitely going to get to work checking out all your suggestions. I am at some of the places your hamsters have turned up.

We haven't tried the humane mouse traps yet because the hamster hasn't responded to any of the food we have left out for him so I assumed we wouldn't be able to lure him into the trap, but I will check where I can get some of them.

Sparklygothkat, it is a full sized hamster not a dwarf, but I feel I should fess up now and admit that we have form in relation to escaped hamsters! We originally got a dwarf hamster who resided very happily in his cage for two weeks and then disappeared overnight, just like the current one. He spent a week living under our dishwasher, BUT, we knew where he was the whole time as we could hear him scratching and we could see that he came out every night to take food from the little piles we had left out for him. We eventually moved the dishwasher and managed to retrieve him.

We brought him back to the petshop as he wasn't really suitable, mainly because he could obviously squeeze through the bars of his cage and escape! The very nice people in the petshop allowed me to swap the dwarf for a full sized hamster, and basically you know the rest!

So... it's late and I've had some wine so I'm off to leave out more food for the little b*gger [hopeful emoticon] and I will check under the washing machine (and in all our footwear) tomorrow. G'night!

OP posts:
littleoldme · 25/11/2007 06:20

When you find it might I suggest investing in a tank? [smile}

Fennel · 25/11/2007 13:31

We lose our hamsters occasionally, last week we lost one for a couple of days. They have always turned up in the larder. DP waits up for them, with both of the ones lost for more than a day, he waits till about midnight and then they emerge.

Another way we find ours is by watching where our cat (who is old and doesn't kill them but she watches them) is staring.

AnAngelWithin · 26/11/2007 17:00

any luck yet??

Original poster
girasole · 26/11/2007 23:51

No, no sign of the little blighter anywhere. I'm sorry to say that my renewed optimism is slowly evaporating.

We are in a semi-d and next door is unoccupied, so if he's managed to get himself in there we're b*ggered, frankly.

We're all a bit depressed about it here. To be honest, we were quite hopeful that he would have turned up by now.

OP posts:
LadyOfTheFlowers · 27/11/2007 00:00

I don't know if suitable baits have been suggested yet but the following are irresistable to them:

Ham
Cooken chicken
Chocolate
Apple
Raisins
Carrot
Biscuits
to name a few....

Leave some small hamster pouch sized pieces out and check them in the morning. You will at least know he is still about.
Bear inmind their sense of smell is not megga-ace for finding things and they can only see a few inches so the stuff still being there in the morning is quite possible - It does not mean he is lost forever! lol

Hamsters can compress to fit thru tiny gaps, especially when young.

My hamster went OUTSIDE for 2 days when I was a teenager. I broke my heart and cried for the whole 48 hours he was gone, thenhe turned up, at the back door, soaked from the rain and muddy with a bruised nose where he had fallen down the back step.
I gave him a bath in a cereal bowl of warm water and hair dried him on low heat. He was long haired so he looked like a powder puff.

Anyway, don't fret yet!

LadyOfTheFlowers · 27/11/2007 00:01

cooked chicken even?!!

moonmother · 27/11/2007 07:43

I had quite a few hamsters when I was younger.
One of the last hamsters I had escaped from her cage and we didn't find her for months,we'd long given up putting food out for her,thinking she must have got outside/died etc.

Anyway one night my Dp's were sitting watching the telly and hammy wandered out from behind the wall unit across the floor.There was a floor vent behind the unit(for the central heating),which had come loose and she'd been living under the floorboards for all that time.

She was perfectly fine,although not her original white,and lived to a ripe old age.

Don't give up yet

iampgatlast · 29/11/2007 15:15

my rat used to let herself out of her cage and back in again as she pleased. you will be amazed at how small they can squeeze themselves and slither through any tiny tiny gap

can you try leaving the cage on the floor at night with the door open?

hope you find him!

MrsCarrot · 29/11/2007 15:19

We always had hamsters when I was little and they were always disappearing.

One 'boy' vanished shortly after we got him and was found behind the aquarian with a nest of babies.

smartiejake · 30/11/2007 20:20

We lost a hamster once who disappeared down a hole in the floorboards under the bidet. The bidet came out and we hafd We though we would never see her again. We left her cage open near the hole and three days later we found her asleep in her bed at the top of her cage!

fifisworld · 06/12/2007 10:52

Has your hamster turned up???

southeastastra · 06/12/2007 10:57

mine disappeared never to be seen again. maybe they've been abducted by aliens.

bethoo · 06/12/2007 10:59

i thought hamsters were vegetarian!

Hulababy · 06/12/2007 11:06

Our gerbil managed to escape out of a glass gerbilarium! They nibbled through the air hole (only plastic bit) and eventually got it out. No idea how they managed it - it was supposed to be gerbil proof. The people at Pets at Home were rather bemused. Have a replacement gerbilarum ow but they are at it again - have moved it so airhole is right up against a flat wall so they can't get out again!

However we managed to find our gerbil using sunflower seeds. Not sure if same for hamsters, but gerbils love these seeds as their special treat apparently.

We tried the humane mouse traps but they didn't work. Gerbil managed to get to the food without setting off the trap until after he was back out!

Hulababy · 06/12/2007 11:07

Agree with leaving his cage on the floor so he can get to it, with fresh bedding - many do return "home" eventually.

dingdongmummylinonhigh · 06/12/2007 11:11

years ago my dd also had a hamster which sadly died,i buried it in the garden and put a big rock on it to stop anything digging it back up,days later someone told me it probably wasnt dead it had just gone into hibernation !!! i felt awful for months and still think about it now.

nappyzone · 10/12/2007 21:54

any sign - i am gripped....

RyanSHamster · 05/04/2020 23:19

"Silly idea but look behind the fride & freezer. They like warm places and it's v toasty behind there" This actually worked! He went missing on friday night / saturday morning (4-4-20) And we found him nearly 48 hours later (5-4-20) We moved the fridge and as we were putting it back something fell off the top (some cereal) so we had to pull it back out and then i saw my cute little syrian. Im so glad hes back but he does have a limp on his front paw Grin Grin

Nitewotch · 25/06/2024 21:53

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

Abc1weabc1 · 26/06/2024 00:05

Mine went under the floorboards. I got him back setting up a bucket trap. The first night I caught a mouse. The next night I caught the hamster

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