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Original poster

Lost the hamster

83 replies

HopefulFor2020 · 27/10/2019 23:09

We got DS a hamster last week after he had done months of research on how to look after them etc etc and now I've bloody lost it!!

He only had it 2 days before he went to his dad's for the weekend and was looking forward to starting to 'train' it over half term now that it's had a few days to settle in. I went out this morning and when I got back it was gone. I think I left part of its cage not quite closed (although it was still loosely close when I got home so must've closed behind him) when I went out.

I've searched the house with no sign and now left the cage on the floor so he can get back in easily with some treats just inside. Anyone know what else I can possibly do? DS is back tomorrow and is going to be utterly devastated when I tell him. I've been crying all evening because I feel like a terrible parent and awful pet owner! Massively hormonal at the moment and keep thinking of this poor little creature alone, lost and hungry 😢

OP posts:
Majorcollywobble · 27/10/2019 23:14

Have you checked the edges of the room for droppings?
Also one we lost when I was a child made a home in the base of the sofa . You might find it when it gets quiet at night .

aweedropofsancerre · 27/10/2019 23:15

My hamster escapes all the time and always heads to my bedroom under my bed. The last hamster before this one moved its bed into my DS drawer. You need to get the torch out and check under the beds and anywhere he can sneak in. I sometimes take some food and leave it out and see if it comes out

ChicCauldron · 27/10/2019 23:15

Put small containers of food down in every room and shut all the doors. They are nocturnal so tonight it will come out and tomorrow morning you can check where food has been taken from. This will at least narrow it down, otherwise listen for rustling tonight!

Bunnybigears · 27/10/2019 23:16

Borrow a dog, they will sniff it out and generally not eat it.

CurlyhairedAssassin · 27/10/2019 23:18

generally not eat it.

generally????

Original poster
HopefulFor2020 · 27/10/2019 23:19

Haven't seen any droppings anywhere at all. I'm sleeping downstairs on the sofa (well, I don't think I'll sleep much) so hopefully I'll hear any shuffling around. I've checked under and behind all furniture, all downstairs drawers and under cabinets in the kitchen. To be honest upstairs is a mess with a lot of very tempting hiding places so I haven't checked thoroughly but I'll be having a very good tidy in the morning if he doesn't appear tonight (even if does!) and hopefully I'll find a makeshift hamster bed in a pile of T-shirts or something

OP posts:
PixieDustt · 27/10/2019 23:19

This is going to sound so stupid but are you sure it's not the in the cage they really bury themselves sometimes.
This is not patronising btw

Bunnybigears · 27/10/2019 23:20

Well I cant 100% guarantee the dog wont eat it!

Original poster
HopefulFor2020 · 27/10/2019 23:22

@PixieDustt I spent about 10 minutes hoping I was just being a bit dense and gently moving bits of bedding. Made DP do the same even though he's terrified of the poor thing! He's convinced it's lying in wait and will nibble his toes while he's sleeping. Not gonna lie, I kind of hope he does. I'll know where he is then!

OP posts:
SingingMyOwnSpecialSong · 27/10/2019 23:23

If it is not too big to fit you could try a humane mouse trap. Don’t replace it too soon. My brother lost one after our neighbour left it in its cage on the doorstep after she had been taking care of it for a week. It turned up about three weeks later, totally happy, on her doorstep. I got the new hamster.

Getoffmylilo · 27/10/2019 23:25

Ours used to go behind fridge, it used to steal stuff to build a bit of a nest behind there so try leaving some shredded newspaper/straw in each room as well and then do as ChicCauldron says, shut all the doors and see if any goes missing over night, at least you might manage to narrow down which room it's in.

PixieDustt · 27/10/2019 23:25

@HopefulFor2020 oh :(. Haha true least you know where he is then!
I would try places you wouldn't even think about.
Behind tv cabinet/tv (if you have one)
If your curtains touch the floor he could be under there.
Laundry basket?
Washing machine?

Itslookinglikeabeautifulday · 27/10/2019 23:27

Ours was like flipping Houdini - in the end we got a tiny padlock for the cage door because it would somehow alway manage to get out. So you may well have shut the cage fine. Ours burrowed itself into the sofa too on one of its (many) expeditions so that could well be a good place to look.

dogcrazy · 27/10/2019 23:29

My mum spent many days and nights searching for my lost hamsters. They always turned up. One was found burrowed in the side of her mattress Grin. Leave the cage on the floor with food in.

Original poster
HopefulFor2020 · 27/10/2019 23:32

I think I can hear something but we're in a flat so I can't actually work out if it's in the room with me or a neighbour fiddling with something near the shared wall! I've got the light off because they're nocturnal and I don't want to startle him so I can't bloody see a thing but I'm 80% sure it's in the room. I'm not getting any sleep tonight am I??

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vickkiMommy · 27/10/2019 23:33

My brother had a hamster when we were kids. It was always getting free. Places to look are "cozy" hidey holes so anywhere that can be mistaken for a comfy hamster bed also places that could be a source of food do people eat near the hamster home? Or store food in that room. Also check under the floor boards if the hamster is kept upstairs as that was one of the places we found my brother's hamster.

Also for once it is found what type of home does the hamster have? We quickly discovered that if there were metal bars then it would climb to the hatch and open it itself . You need one of those plastic warren type homes with all the different tunnels but also make sure that you have something in there that it can gnaw on as the front teeth constantly grow and if there is nothing in its home it will eat its way through the corners and escape.

GingerRogers84 · 27/10/2019 23:38

I lost mine for a week! Found it living in a an odd sock nest under the washing machine.

When I was looking for tips on how to catch one, I read that you could put out a tempting tub/box full of lovely bedding and food that they can get into via a ramp/ladder but then can't get out of.

Original poster
HopefulFor2020 · 27/10/2019 23:41

Ok so there's a small gap between the wall and the skirting but I'm sure it's no bigger than cage bars (which are apparently Russian Dwarf proof and ours is a Syrian - the actual cage is much bigger than the RSPCA recommendation though) but I can definitely hear something in the wall on the other side of the room. Do hamsters like peanut butter and can they eat a tiny amount? If I smear a bit near the hole will it smell it and come out? Or is that a bad idea in case it's not the hamster in the wall and I'm just tempting it towards the hole?

OP posts:
UpTheLaganInABubble · 27/10/2019 23:42

Ours loves peanut butter and would def come out for it. Good luck!

Original poster
HopefulFor2020 · 27/10/2019 23:50

Ok, peanut butter bait laid with some noisy food as well so hopefully I'll hear the nibbling. I just hope it is him in the wall now! We had a rat visitor last year (not a pet rat unfortunately) and they love peanut butter too so I'd rather not invite him back in

OP posts:
PolkadotsAndMoonbeams · 27/10/2019 23:50

Bit of a long shot, but you don't know anybody (a builder or surveyor maybe?) who owns an thermal imaging thermometer/camera? That's definitely the easiest way to find them according to a friend with a real Houdini!

The other way is to do a bucket with soft towels and food in the bottom and steps (books or similar) leading up to it with food on. The idea is that they go up, fall into the bucket, hence the padding, and can't get out.

We used to put bulldog clips on the doors of ours. He did escape once or twice, but was so friendly he'd come and track you down!

Original poster
HopefulFor2020 · 27/10/2019 23:52

@vickkiMommy the cage does have bars but but the doors almost wrap around them so there's no way he could open them. It has a loft hideaway with a plastic lid that clips closed, I don't think I closed it properly this morning and he must've nudged it open and it fell closed again behind him I guess

OP posts:
Original poster
HopefulFor2020 · 27/10/2019 23:54

@PolkadotsAndMoonbeams I don't know anyone with that kind of equipment but there is some electrical work being done to the outside of the flats so it's possible the guys have one. If Hammy doesn't appear tonight I'll ask them tomorrow. Thank you!

OP posts:
ChicCauldron · 28/10/2019 08:58

I would not give a hamster peanut butter, there is no way they can get it out of their pouches afterwards.

mumwon · 28/10/2019 09:12

our loved corn on the cob! & we caught him opening the latch on his door & it was fully shut ; they have proper hands with opposable thumbs - ours went behind the (fitted) kitchen cupboards under the sink & got himself trapped next to the pipe so I put a little ladder down & he climbed out & waited for me to pick him up!, he also got stuck behind the big sideboard (image us emptying china & books to move the blessed thing), he also went upstairs across the corridor& hid under the bed, We than used sandwich bag ties on his cage door (much to his disgust) - honestly they can break out of any cage!

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