My hamster is trapped in a drain

Stephywhoo · 02-03-2021, 01:57 AM

I'm in desperate need of advice. My syrian hamster escaped from his cage and he is now trapped in my kitchen drain under the sink. I cannot see him but occasionally I hear him scratching. I've made a little ladder for him but I'm not sure if it's deep enough. I've also set up a little trap for him if he does come up but I'm feeling hopeless.

I've attached a file of a photo I took with my phone of the hole..😟😟😟😟

souffle · 02-03-2021, 06:35 AM

Can you drop a rope right down there so that hopefully he can get out. Does this connect to the main sewer or is there anywhere you can access it before that point. Without a plumber I cant see this being easy. Often males will come out to the smell of a female so if you can get some litter from a females cage he may climb up a rope to find her?

Ria P · 02-03-2021, 07:10 AM

I would phone a plumber or a handyman and ask for an emergency call out if that's what it takes. They have the proper tools to get into the drain.

In the meantime, i would try a rope like souffle suggested. You could attach something strong smelling to the end of the rope like a small piece of cheese so your hamster hopefully grabs it and holds on to it.

Please let us know the outcome and we keep everything crossed in the meantime.

Pebbles82 · 02-03-2021, 07:18 AM

Maybe something strong smelling at the top of the rope as well. And a plumber - unless you can disconnect and remove the pipe yourself.

Ria P · 02-04-2021, 06:54 AM

What happened to your hamster? Did you or a plumber manage to get him out?

Stephywhoo · 02-05-2021, 07:51 AM

Sorry for not updating sooner! But we got him out! I cannot even begin to explain how happy I was to hold him. He was pretty deep in the hole but there was water at the other end which was preventing him from escaping into other pipe networks. We tried to approach from that end but the water was deep due to the amount of rain we had the last few days. Tbh that worked in our favor...otherwise he would have most likely disappeared for good.

We bought an endoscope camera to see him clearly and we did attach a piece of cheese at the end of it. He was about 1 meter or more underground. He followed the scent and eventually did climb up the mesh ladder. We quickly snatched him up and placed him in his holder. He was a little muddy and definitely scared but he's doing just fine now.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions and we did call a plumber and RSPCA but we managed to get him out before they got to us. He was under there for 2 days. I'll attach a photo of him after the rescue.

Ria P · 02-05-2021, 08:01 AM

I am so so happy to hear this! You must be absolutely over the moon to have your hamster back with you.
Best news of the year and thank you for the update.

souffle · 02-05-2021, 08:04 AM

oh my that is amazing - well done for keeping at it and so glad you have him back

Pebbles82 · 02-05-2021, 03:29 PM

Brilliant! Thank you so much for updating us. I am impressed as well - where did you get an endoscope?!

Stephywhoo · 02-05-2021, 06:51 PM

We bought the endoscope at a DIY shop called Toolstation. Thankfully they had it in stock. It was affordable and a life saver in the end.