Houdini

[Nitrohoudini]

Hey everyone!
My nitro(male Syrian)is the sweetest little dude ever, enjoys cuddling and hanging out with us any chance he gets but he’s an escape artist. In the past it has been my own fault he’s gotten out. I went from a small cage that just wasn’t enough for him to a rat cage that he figured out pretty quickly he could fit through the bars (we even covered the whole cage in a mesh and he still managed to find ways out) to a 40 gallon aquarium with a mesh lid and he still got out. The last time he escaped he climbed on top of his hut and chewed through the metal mesh lid and was on tour the whole day in our house and managed to survive the cat and dog. In total he escaped 8 times in one month lol. I have since taken any obvious escape route away. Given him things to play with and chew on and he is still trying to find ways to escape! Even going as far as moving around things in his tank to try and reach the top and building bedding mountains! I’m normally pretty quick to foil his attempts but I was wondering if anyone else deals with a Houdini Syrian?? Or any advice on how to break him of the habit.. I assume now since he got a taste of complete freedom that’s all he wants now but I can hope for a less worrisome future right!?
Ps he has an exercise wheel and an exercise ball that he plays in often lol

[WinnieTheHam]

I'd ditch the ball, instead get a playpen. Here is a tutorial on how to make one easily. You can't properly interact with him when he's in a ball, he probably wants your attention more than the exercise. increase the amount of time you spend with him on a daily basis. Some hamsters just want attention all the time though, so unfortunately you might not be able to break his habit of escaping.