i lost my hamster

Question
i lost my hamster last night. when should i give up on the search and how could i catch him

Answer
Hi Matt

First of all - don't give up looking for him - ever!

What type of hamster is this?  If it is a dwarf hamster you can get a humane mouse trap - these are the ones that you put food in, and when the mouse goes into it a door shuts after them and traps them alive.  If you get one or two of these, put some of his favorite food in it and leave them along the skirting boards where ever you think he might be and hopefully he'll find the trap in the night.

If this is a Syrian - then you need to trap him another way.  As Syrians wake up at night, this is the best time to look for him as during the day chances are he's settled down somewhere and is sleeping.  Start by looking for him in the room he first went missing.  Shut the door - call his name, then listen carefully to see if he stirs.  Look in all the obvious places, then in the ones that aren't obvious - i.e. hamsters can get into the tiniest of places behind furniture.  Get a long stick and gently run it under and behind any furniture to see if he is there.  Look for obvious signs of him being around - namely, poo, chewed carpet etc.  If there's still no sign of him you can do the same thing in the other rooms in the house.  If he still hasn't appeared, leave a tiny amount of food down on the floor in each room in one or two places - shut each door and block it underneath so he can't get out.  Then the following morning check to see if any of the food has disappeared.  If so, then you know which room he is in.  If you find any holes in the wall, floor boards etc - don't block these off as you might trap him the other side.  Hamsters can climb up curtains, so look for him at all levels.

If you put too much food out for him he will just store this and won't come out again for a while, so you only want to put small amounts down just so you can work out where he is.

You can set a trap for him - by getting a bucket, putting his bedding in the bottom of it and a large handful of his favorite food.  Build a 'stairway' up to the top of the bucket - you can do this with books etc.  Put a treat on each 'step'.  Hopefully he will follow the trail and drop into the bucket.  I've never tried this before, but I have heard that it does work.

Hamsters can turn up after a long time (several weeks) - so please don't give up on him.  

Good luck with this - please let me know how you get on.

Regards