The hamster escaped!

[krhm]

:eek:

Now what? We've set some "traps" (books stacked to make stairs, leading to a rubbermaid bin with food in the bottom). We set oddly shaped piles of food (so we'd know if they had been disturbed) in the rooms we could close off. (Drat those open floor plans!) Any other tricks?

And any happy outcomes? Poor DD1 is crushed, and blaming herself. I'm certain the hamster didn't make it upstairs, but there are 6 rooms on the main floor, and heaven only knows how long the thing could live in the basement, happily subsisting on crumbs in the playroom.

At least we don't have a cat anymore, or I don't think I could sleep tonight!

[KristiB]

I had hamsters as a kid and they'd go down the vents.

They can make themselves pretty flat too so he could be anywhere. Maybe get one of those traps at target where the mouse-or in this case hamster goes in and a little door shuts behind him? They end up caged.

[Kathy B]

Some friends did the thing you described and put food in the bathtub with some way for it to climb in, but not out obviously. They recovered theirs during the night. Good luck! (And be sure you look down before you turn the shower on! :p )

[mcgeiger]

There are humane mouse traps that inflict no injury (ie just trap with a rotating door). That may work ....???

[mbrogier]

My gerbils escaped a few times. When the house got quiet while everyone was watching TV with the lights low the gerbil(s) would come back. Eating popcorn did help. We had a cat, but the gerbils didn't interest him at all.

[Cookin4Love]

Our gerbils escaped several times. They would always go up into the box springs of the kids' beds. WE could hear them in there chewing, then lured them out with food. :) There's definitely hope.

[krhm]

It's been 36 hours, and there is no sign of it. None of our little piles of food were touched last night, so we're leaving those doors closed so we know where she isn't. The "trap" in the playroom didn't work either. When everyone gets home this afternoon, we're going to check again, and if there's still no sign of her, we're going to go check out those humane traps at PetSmart. But 36 hours...yikes. Maybe I'll put down some water dishes today before I leave for work.

This is so hard, because we were all attached to it, but DD1 is especially taking it hard!

[Beth]

Good luck. The escape potential and two cats are why we have never had any of the little critters.

[newtricks]

Our hamster escaped (actually think my 5 yr old ds let him out by accident but we don't talk about that) and never came back unfortunately.

BUT, had lots of friends tell me about hamsters that were gone a long time - months even - and then were found again. Usually in walls.

I guess our Fluffy was just desparate to escape my kids! (they were really too young for one - my 5 year old gave him swimming lessons in the bathroom sink. :eek: :mad: :confused: :o

[Sookie]

I remember when our hamster escaped. He went behind the stove and found a little opening there and the next thing we knew we could hear him running behind the walls. All I could think of was "OH NO, he's going to chew on wires and we're all going to burn up!"

A few days later I found him in the kitchen sink (I was soaking a big, greasy turkey pan overnight) swimming in greasy water. We dried him off and put him back in his cage; but, alas, the end was near. Pneumonia maybe?

DS was so upset we held the obligatory funeral in the back yard. We dug a hole and put the little shoe box with Fuzzy inside in the hole. DS apparently didn't think that was good enough, so he reached in his pocket and took out a quarter and threw that in the hole with Fuzzy. He was so cute, only 6 y/o. DH and I had a hard time staying somber...afterward we were kind of hoping a money tree would grow.

[Sarah428]

When I was little I had a hamster that escaped and we found him a few days later in the guest bedroom, which we didn't heat during the winter. Fluffy was "a little stiff" and we assumed dead. We put him in a box and buried him in the backyard. The next week my mom went to the library to get a book about hamsters before we got another one and read that "hamsters hibernate in a way when the temperature drops so if you think the hamster is dead wrap it in a towel and attempt to warm it up first". I still think about poor little Coco being buried alive :eek: :(

Good luck finding yours and you might just have to warm him up when you do.

[Kay Henderson]

Last week, my brother was preparing a photo display for my mother's funeral. At one point, looking through pictures, his face lit up. "My hamster!" my 52-year-old brother shouted joyfully.

I guess my point is that folks get mighty fond of their little friends, so I hope you find yours quickly!

Kay

[MKSquared]

I guess my point is that folks get mighty fond of their little friends, so I hope you find yours quickly!



I was able to hold it together, only snickering through this thread, until I read this sentence. To hear a hamster called a little friend (http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?threadid=30748) ... to find one (and quickly, at that) ...

[VictoriaL]

When I was a kid, we had a number of hamsters (Sidney, Sarah, Sally, Seymour). Sidney was our only escapee. He went into the cold-air vent and slid down to the furnace. Luckily it was summer! I was in our basement rec room watching tv and heard scratching. Since it was during the day and my Dad wasn't home, I rescued Sidney. Using some of Dad's tools I pulled apart one of the "arms" that was on the side of the furnace, freeing the very grimy little creature. Dad was not as joyful about the rescue as the rest of us were... ;)

I hope that your hammie shows up, healthy, very soon.

[HejazSunKat]

I'm sorry but your lost pet is making me think of the now infamous Brazilian Bikini Wax thread. :D


http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?threadid=30748

[Chefzhat]

I was able to hold it together, only snickering through this thread, until I read this sentence. To hear a hamster called a little friend (http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?threadid=30748) ... to find one (and quickly, at that) ...

My all time favorite thread :D :p I can't even think about the word hamster without laughing. :p

[Sarah428]

I'm sorry but your lost pet is making me think of the now infamous Brazilian Bikini Wax thread. :D
I think that everytime I see this thread too! :o :D

[Gracie]

Count me in as yet another person who thought of the Brazilian thread when I read the title of this one! :D

Loren

[donnamp14]

When I was in 7th grade, my little hamster, "Muffin" was recruited to be part of my science project. I was training him to go through a maze to get his food. Brought him to school in a crate and he escaped. The janitor, Mr. O'Neill, a Scottish man who I do believe is now unkindly and rightfully portrayed as a character in The Simpsons, beat my little friend to death with a broom! Then he ever so kindly brought him to the classroom, dead of course, on a dustpan. And the nun told me to stop crying after she stopped laughing.

Now that you all know one of the many reasons for my neuroses, ;) I'll tell you I did recover! Never got another hamster, though. My friend had one escape and she put the leash on her dog and had him sniff the cage and then try to find him. It worked!

I hope you find the little guy!

-Donna

[LA98]

Okay, I know this is a serious thread, and krhm, I truly hope you find the hamster for DD's sake, she must feel just awful, but....

Between reading about greasy water-induced pneumonia, being frozen but buried alive, and now the brutal broom death, I'm laughing so hard I've got tears rolling down my cheeks and I...can't...stop! :eek: :D

[Gumbeaux]

Could you use this?

http://www.havahart.com/nuisance/critters/critters_Mice.asp

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y7/bayoutitan/Trap2.jpg

[Wendy w]

I'm sorry but your lost pet is making me think of the now infamous Brazilian Bikini Wax thread. :D


http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?threadid=30748


Alas, great minds belong in the same gutter, I thought of that too.

Please don't wax the poor little guy if he should be found. :o

[krhm]

I had no idea! :D I tend to stay far, far away from anything related to waxing, so I never knew the double entendre in the title of my thread!

[mbrogier]

I laughed when I read the title the first time too. I wondered what in the world you did to the poor bugger to make it escape. :D

Now back to the real thread. Perhaps you should open the rooms that you shut off thinking he didn't get in them. I'll bet you he did get in one of them. Or at least put food in those rooms too just to check.

Is there a sibling that could have accidently killed Mr. Hamster and is too frighted to come forward? I had a gerbil that died of a "seizure" once. :( :rolleyes:

[fci5767]

I hope you find your hamster safe and well. Try your linen closet- that where they usually end up at school.

I thought of the OTHER hamster thread when I first saw the thread title. THEN I saw this headline:
Hamster, Snake Best Friends at Tokyo Zoo (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060118/ap_on_fe_st/japan_hamster_and_snake;_ylt=AoiB7L_BfFssxiCkvLGvs M.s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3ODdxdHBhBHNlYwM5NjQ-)

(Getting my mind completely out of the gutter now.)


Beth

[krhm]

We found her! This morning DD1 heard a rustling noise behind the fridge, and sure enough, when we moved the fridge, there she was!

Of course, the whole time I was trying to pull the fridge out, I was imagining it crushing her right in front of us, given the tragic end to some of these escapee stories!

Thanks for your encouragement (and the funny stories!) everyone!

[newtricks]

I'm happy for you! :)

[Gracie]

Thanks for resurrecting one of our better threads and giving us all a laugh!

I'm glad you found him!

Loren

[Wendy w]

Hooray! I'm really happy for you all.


Remember, no waxing. :p

[Beth]

Yay! I'm glad she has been found and is safe.

[Peggy]

Fabulous news!! So happy to hear the hamster was found safely and will be reunited with you DD. :)

OK - Now I feel comfortable in commenting on the resurrected bikini-waxing thread, (I felt guilty saying anything until the little furry friend was safely found). Somehow I missed that thread when it came out originally. I started reading it last night and was laughing hysterically. My DH came in to see what all the commotion was about - just told him it was a woman thing and he wouldn't understand. ;) You guys crack me up!!!!

Peggy

[Peggy]

Wierd... I posted a response, I show as that last responder on the thread on the Other Stuff board page, but my response is not at the end of the thread when you open it. :confused: Gremlins at work????

Peggy

[Peggy]

OH! There it is! Don't know what is going on with this BB today.... :confused:

Peggy

[colleency]

Yay! Congratulations on catching the little escapee!