How to find a lost hamster

Have you ever found yourself wondering how to find a lost hamster? Hamsters will seize any opportunity to go on a house-wide adventure. Thankfully, there are a few things you can do to make your quest for your missing hamster easier. Stay calm – they may be tiny, but hamsters aren’t as hard to find as you might think. By following our tips, you’ll be reunited with your furry friend in no time. 

Why did my hamster escape? 

It’s helpful to understand why a hamster would want to leave their cage in order to make a plan to find them and to prevent future escape attempts. Hamsters will usually try to escape from their cage for the following reasons: 

• They aren’t comfortable in their home
• Their cage is in a noisy or stressful environment
• If they feel they don’t have enough space 

If you think one of the above reasons may have contributed to your hamster wanting to seek shelter elsewhere, it may be time to upgrade your hamster’s cage. A cage with more room will make your hamster more comfortable. Choose a cage with wheels to easily relocate your hamster to a more quiet spot in the house without jostling them.  

Hamsters may also take advantage of an unsecured or loose cage door, so reinforcing it with clips or other safety features may be helpful to prevent future breakouts. 

6 Tips to find a lost hamster

Many hamsters can be found once they’ve left their cages. The most important things to remember are to be patient and calm – your hamster likely hasn’t gone far. 

1. Don’t look during the day 

Hamsters are nocturnal by nature (meaning they sleep during the day and are most active at night). During daylight hours, your hamster will be curled up in a cozy sleeping spot and will want to remain there all day. Unless you stumble across them while cleaning under furniture, you’re not likely to find your hamster during daytime hours. 

2. Bring out the treats

Leave your hamster’s favorite treats in corners of the room (or rooms) where you think they may be and check to see if any get eaten. Bananas are a great treat to try and tempt them with. You can also place treats inside of a small shoebox or other cozy quarters with some snooze-worthy bedding during the day. This will help encourage your hamster to venture into your makeshift home to take a nap. Check your treats periodically throughout the day for nibbles or maybe even catch a glimpse of your elusive pet. 

3. Turn the lights off

You may be able to encourage your hamster to move around if the room is dark. At nightfall, turn out the lights and sit quietly with a flashlight ready to turn on if you hear your hamster in the room. 

4. Become a secret agent and look for paw prints

Sprinkle flour or cornstarch across doorways or in front of any assumed hamster hiding spots. Your little friend will pass through the powder and leave footprints on the other side – giving you a clue as to which direction they went. 

5. Stop and listen

Hamsters make some tell-tale sounds like squeaking or snuffling. Listen carefully in a quiet room to see if you hear any of your pet’s sounds. If you left crunchy treats out as bait, listen for the little grinding of teeth or food pieces dropping and hitting the floor. 

6. Get high-tech 

If you have security cameras or baby monitors, set them at floor level to see if you can catch your escapee on film. If you’re able to narrow down your hamster’s location to one or two rooms, set up multiple cameras to catch different angles. 

Finding their own way home  

Sometimes hamsters will come back to their cage on their own, so try leaving their cage on the floor with the door open, with a fresh supply of food, and your wanderer may return. Eventually, they’ll get hungry and appear when you least expect it – so it helps to be prepared. 

Escape-proof your cage 

The best way to avoid having to track down a lost hamster is to prevent escapes from happening in the first place. But there’s more to escape-proofing your hamster’s cage than just reinforcing the doors. Hamsters need to feel safe and secure in their home, with plenty of room to burrow and explore. The Qute Hamster Cage by Omlet offers lots of space both for sleep and play, and has owner-friendly features that make taking care of your hamster fun and easy. 

Placement of your hamster’s home is important. Set up their cage in a location that’s free from drafts and noisy daytime activity, but that’s also in a common area so that they feel like part of the family. The Qute hamster cage is designed to look like a modern piece of furniture that blends in with virtually any home decor style. 

Bring them out for supervised play 

Let your hamster enjoy time out of their cage by providing them with a playpen full of hamster toys. Make sure the playpen you construct or purchase is suitable for the size hamster you have. Smaller breeds of hamsters require smaller bar spacing than larger breeds. Get creative and make a maze for your hamster from cardboard boxes or paper tubes, or construct an obstacle course from wooden blocks or other hamster-appropriate household scraps.  

Omlet and your hamster 

Like all of our pet products, Omlet designed the Qute Hamster Cage to bring you closer to your pet. The Qute cage is easy to clean, goes with any home’s aesthetic, and will make your hamster feel safe and secure – never needing to feel the need to seek out other housing arrangements. It’s easy to avoid hamster escapes and enjoy interacting with your furry friend when you have a Qute cage. 

This entry was posted in Hamsters