Escaped hamster!!!

Question
MAYDAY.My female eropean blck bear hamster chewed a hole through the screen at the top of the cage and escaped.I dont think that she could of made it out of the house but the door was open so she could of left the room.Our house is small tho,so i put a box of bedding and i made some eggs with cheese and put it in the box.i also put her cage on the ground with a ramp going uip tto the topp of the cage.also put a container in the hallway with the same stuff in it.And i put a plate of food on the floor of the room im always in.Now,is there anything else i can do.do u have a idea of how i can catch her or trap her sumhow.Please help!

Answer
Hi Mike!

Uh-oh.  Escaped hamsters can be difficult to find.  Remember hamsters are nocturnal, so she will most likely be moving around the house at night.  Probably she has found a good place to curl up and sleep the day away right now.  

First of all, if you have any other pets in the house (dogs or especially cats) please try to remove them to place of the house you have already checked and know to be hamster free, or kennel them if you have a crate.  One of the biggest causes of escaped-hamster death is being caught by a canine or feline member of the household.  Also pick up any glue traps, fatal snap-style mousetraps, or ant or rat poison you may have around your house.  You wouldn't want your hamster to find any of those things.

Check any dark, small spaces you can think of:  In your closet, under your bed, in hall closets, in cabinets, etc.  Use a flashlight, since she is black it will be very easy to overlook her without one in dark, small spaces.  Try not to move any heavy pieces of furniture or appliances until you know for certain that she is not in the way to be squished when you do.

Leave your homemade traps where they are:  They just might entice her to come out.  You can also try a bucket with a towel in the bottom and a few slices of fresh apple (very fragrant) on top of the towel, and make a "staircase" of books or magazines leading up to the bucket.  The towel is for a cushion if it works and she goes to get the apple and falls in.

If you haven't found her despite your searching by this evening, have a hamster catching party.  My brother and I used to have "hamster catching parties" frequently, as when I was very young I had a HabitTrail style cage with the tubes.  The problem with those is that the tubes very often came apart at the connectors, and loose hamster would be the result.

Hamster-catching parties should involve a few select people you know and trust, who can remain calm and quiet, and not get excitable and yell or make lots of noise, or not look where they put their feet.  Brothers, sisters, good friends and parents make good hamster-catching party people.  :)  A few more trusted pairs of eyes is always a good thing when trying to find a renegade hamster.

Get a few movies, turn most or all of the lights off, have flashlights ready, pop some popcorn, and sit down to watch the movie(s).  (With the sound down low.)  The reason you want it very dark in your house is because she probably won't venture out into places where it is very light.  The reason you want the sound low is so that loud bangs or other movie-sounds won't scare her.  (Better to not watch action-flicks during hamster catching parties.)  Every so often, pause the movie and make a check of the room and hallways using the flashlights.  Start at the perimeter of the room - hamsters don't have very good eyesight and they tend to "hug" walls and baseboards as they move around, it makes them feel safe.  Very rarely will they dart out in the middle of an open room, and if they do, they're going to be extremely quick about it.  Have one person check one room, one person check a hall, one person check another room, etc.  You can designate rooms before you start the movie.

Another thing to try:  Buy Have-A-Heart traps.  Your local pet supply store or Southern States type feed store should have them.  (Some garden centers have them too.)  These are safe, non-fatal traps that are like wire cages.  You bait the trap, and when the hamster goes in the cage, they release a spring that closes a door, and they are trapped inside until you come to check the trap.

Good luck, I hope you find her!  Please tell me how it ends up.