Losing a hamster can be a troubling experience. Hamsters can hide anywhere, and you may not know where to start looking for them. However, don't panic. Staying focused and strategizing to find them will make your search even more effective. Luckily, there are several ways you can find your hamster.
Step
Part 1 of 4: Finding Hamsters
Step 1. Think like a hamster
Searching from a hamster's perspective can keep your search focused. For example, hamsters are very curious animals. If given the opportunity, he will explore everything around him. Chances are your hamster isn't trying to escape, he's just seeing something that sparks his interest.
- Hamsters love food. Hamsters may go to the kitchen because they smell food.
- Hamsters are nocturnal animals. You probably won't find a hamster during the day. Perhaps, you will be successful if you start the quest at night.
- Hamsters are timid animals. While your hamster is likely to find a dark, warm place to hide, he will most likely return to a familiar place, such as his cage.
Step 2. Inspect the walls and doors of the house for cracks and crevices
As your hamster escapes, it may find cracks or gaps to enter. Use a flashlight to look for gaps in walls or doors that your hamster might be passing through.
- Cracks or crevices are usually found in old apartments or houses.
- Hamsters may get stuck trying to get through cracks or crevices. If you can't get it out, consider asking an animal control service for help.
- You can try listening for scratching on walls or doors to find out where the hamster is hiding.
Step 3. Search everywhere
You may have to look under, inside, between, behind, and on the sides of everything in your home. If you feel like this sounds like an uphill task, it is. Hamsters are small animals and will make their way through any small space that can be a dark, warm and safe place to hide.
- It helps to start the search from where you last saw it.
- Consider searching from room to room to make your search more organized and efficient.
- In the kitchen, be sure to look inside, under, and behind all cooking utensils.
- Don't forget to check bags, shoes, and boxes (including tissue and shoe boxes).
- Bags or clothes baskets attract hamsters because they can be dark and warm places to hide.
- Bookcases, sofas, mattresses, and chairs are other possible hamster hiding places.
- Since hamsters can be anywhere, the list of things and places to check will seem endless. Check every possible place for the hamster to hide, then think of another hiding place.
Step 4. Restrict the access of your other pets
Of course you don't want your cat or dog to find your hamster first. When you're done looking for every nook and cranny in a room and are sure your hamster isn't there, put your other pet in that room. Your other pets may not like being confined to one room, but doing so will help the search process run more smoothly.
When you're looking into another room and you're sure your hamster isn't in that room, you can give your cat or dog looser access
Step 5. Keep the door closed at night
Due to their nocturnal nature, hamsters are very active at night. Keeping the door closed will prevent it from running from room to room while you are sleeping.
Leaving the door closed may not be as helpful in areas that are more open, such as the kitchen or living room
Part 2 of 4: Using Food to Find Hamsters
Step 1. Choose a treat that your hamster likes
If the search doesn't work, try leaving a treat to lure him out of hiding. Choose treats that are good for your hamster, such as fresh fruit, nuts, and seeds.
- The hamster may be a little thirsty, depending on how long it has been hiding. Skip snacks with a high water content, such as grapes, cucumbers, and seedless apples.
- Peanuts and raisins are also good treats for hamsters.
- Cut the treats into smaller pieces to make it easier for your hamster to eat them.
Step 2. Leave the snack overnight
You have a variety of options for leaving snacks. The first option is to put the treats in a small bowl. You can also place the treats on newspaper or foil, which will make a sound when your hamster eats the treat.
- Place treats in various places your hamster might be hiding.
- If you decide to stay up late, you can sit by the newspaper or foil. The sound of the hamster will help determine the area where the hamster is hiding.
- If possible, tie a long string around some treats. If your hamster takes the treat to its hiding place, you will be able to see the string sticking out.
- Count the number of treats you left out so you can determine if your hamster has eaten them.
- Be aware that leaving snacks in multiple places at the same time will make your search more difficult to narrow down. Hamsters may move from place to place to eat snacks.
Step 3. Sprinkle flour or starch around the snack
Like footprints in the snow, hamster footprints can also lead you to their hiding place. Make sure not to sprinkle too much flour on the floor. If it's too deep, you won't be able to see the hamster's footprints.
The further away the flour is from the treat, the more likely you are to be able to track the hamster's movements
Part 3 of 4: Catching or Trapping Hamsters
Step 1. Keep the hamster cage on the floor
The hamster may want to return to a familiar place. Place the cage in the hamster's hiding place. Putting some treats in the cage will lure him out of hiding and back into his cage.
Placing the cage sideways on the floor will make it easier for the hamster to enter. However, keep in mind that he can still get out of the cage if he wants to continue his exploration
Step 2. Keep a shallow bucket or pan on the floor
If catching the hamster in a cage doesn't work, try trapping it (humanly, of course). Place a bucket or pan on the floor in a room where your hamster might be hiding. Put delicious treats inside to lure hamsters.
- The buckets and pans should be shallow enough to reduce the chances of your hamster hurting himself, but not so short that he can climb back out again.
- Use the book to make a ladder to the top of the bucket or pan. Books should be small so that your hamster will have no trouble climbing them.
- Once your hamster has climbed onto a bucket or pan to get a treat, it won't be able to climb back out.
Step 3. Check the cage or trap in the morning
You may be surprised to find your hamster sleeping in its cage the morning after you left the cage open. If you set a trap, you might find him sleeping in a bucket or pan.
If he is neither in the cage nor in the trap, consider moving him to another possible hiding place and try again
Part 4 of 4: Preventing Hamsters from Escape
Step 1. Examine the bars of the hamster cage
The bars of a cage made of wire can bend or come loose over time. With enough persistence, your hamster can get through the wide gaps between the bars. Check the bars as often as you clean your hamster's cage (once a week).
You can try to correct any oddities in the bars of the cage. If you can't do this, you can buy external wire and attach it to the outside of the cage
Step 2. Check the hamster cage door latch
This is especially important for wire cages. To keep himself busy, your hamster will try everything he can to get the cage door open. Visit a local pet store for a padlock to keep the hamster cage door locked securely.
Step 3. Secure the roof covering of the hamster cage
Hamsters can use their noses to push against the top cover of their cages. Instead of placing weights in every corner of the enclosure, which can interfere with air circulation in the crate, consider purchasing locking clips at your local pet store.
You can place a locking clip at each corner of the cover to keep it closed
Step 4. Glue the hamster's plastic ball cover
If you like to put your hamster in a plastic ball so it can roll outside of its cage, you may need to glue the ball cap on. Plastic ball caps are usually just a peg going into the gap. Hamsters may entertain themselves by nibbling on these pegs from time to time.
- Over time, the pegs may loosen and the ball's cover may open while the hamster is still in the ball.
- Use a lot of tape on the hamster ball cap, especially where the plastic ball connects to. You'll need to glue the ball cap each time you put your hamster in a plastic ball.
Step 5. Cover cracks and crevices in your home
If your hamster escapes from the cage, covering cracks and crevices will reduce its hiding place. Your hamster can still hide in many places, but you can reduce the number of places it can get into and where it can get trapped.
Tips
- If all of the above don't work, you may have to wait for the hamster to come out of its hiding place.
- Don't be discouraged if it takes you a long time to find your hamster. Over time, it will come out of its hiding place, especially when it feels hungry.
