Hamster Escaped – You Have to Do This Now!

It happens again and again that hamsters escape. Catching the fast and shy rodents again is anything but easy. With our tips and tricks, you will be able to locate your hamster and get it back in its cage.

It can happen to any hamster owner: Despite all your vigilance, the hamster escapes and you lose sight of it. Even if it’s a shock, it’s now time to keep calm! With hectic movements and chaotic behavior, you will probably not find the shy hamster at first. Be sure to act strategically and without rushing to find and capture your lost hamster.

Hamster away: This must be done first of all

If the hamster escaped, you must complete the room in question. If you are not quite sure which room the fast hamster is in, you should close the doors of each one of them – this way you narrow down the room in which your hamster is located and can focus your search.

So that nothing can happen to your hamster, you must also close all windows and ideally unplug all cables and put them away. It also makes sense to store sharp-edged and pointed objects. Burning candles must be blown out.

Also, after making sure your hamster isn’t there, block off all entrances behind and under furniture using books, binders, and boards.

Find escaped hamster

If you are not yet sure which room your hamster is in, you should place tasty treats such as raisins, peanuts, or apple quarters in every room (whose doors are kept closed). If you return to each room after a while, you will have the answer: Your hamster is in the room in which there are no pieces of food.

You can also try to be very still: you may be able to hear your hamster gnawing or pawing to locate him.

Catch the escaped hamster again

Now that you know where your hamster is, you need to be careful in catching it. It is essential to avoid unnecessary rushing through the room – this will stress out your hamster! Instead, you can catch your hamster very cleverly.

Even tame hamsters may not be easy to grab or lure in such a situation. Now is the time to try a live trap: Line his carrier with litter from the cage – lean a small ladder or board for your hamster to climb up. Treats will lure him up and he will gently flop into the box.

You can also fill a bucket or bowl with sufficient bedding. Place a tea towel over the bucket and lean a ladder or board against it. If you place tasty treats on the step, your hamster will follow the food track and finally fall into the padded bucket together with the tea towel.

A live trap from the pet shop is also an alternative: your hamster is also lured with food here – if he gets the piece of food, the door closes behind him and you can put your hamster back in its cage.

For advanced users: catch hamsters directly

With the help of books, folders, and boards, you can reduce your hamster’s freedom of movement in a sensible way – provided you know where he is. Now take a cup, or a cardboard tube sealed in one place and put treats in it.

Now approach your hamster and carefully place the cup near it. Since you are so close to the hamster here, it is especially important now to keep calm and avoid hectic movements.

Sit quietly next to it and wait until your hamster is attracted by the smell of the food – and finally crawls into the cup. Now you can lift the jar and let your hamster back into the cage.