HELP! Recovering an escapee : FOUND!!!!

[Jay]

Hi folks, less than great news to wake up to on a Monday morning; Cake has pulled a jailbreak. No idea where she is or where she could be, but does anyone have any tips for recovering an escaped ham?

My biggest worry is that she's manages to get underneath the floorboards but I really hope she hasn't. :(

[CPalmer]

The usual advice is to make a bucket trap. Put something delicious smelling in a container too high for her to climb out of like a bucket. (cucumber, peanut butter etc. Plus substrate for a soft landing, and a house to curl up in) Then make steps out of books to get up to the rim and fingers crossed she takes the bait...

Depending on how tame she is, you could also keep watch... Make piles of sunflower seeds etc in a hammy ball, and scoop her up if she climbs in.

Good luck x

[Thin Lizzy]

I hope you find Cake real soon.

[Jay]

Still nothing, no sign of her. We're now convinced she's gone under the floorboards and ran off, there was no sign of her over night, all piles of seeds left untouched, bin traps empty. Didn't hear any sounds of hamster feet.

I'm fearing the worst, I think Cake is gone for good. I'm actually heartbroken, we had her for just over a fortnight and we loved her very much.

[Thin Lizzy]

Don't give up! Can you get under the floorboards to check for her?

[CPalmer]

seriously don't give up. :) Hammys can go for weeks and then turn up. Keep the treats out and fingers crossed

[Thin Lizzy]

Like CP says, they can turn up, so stay positive and keep the treats and water out.
Got my fingers crossed xx

[Jay]

Thanks folks, I'm trying not to give up hope but it's very hard. We're in a flat and she could in theory be anywhere in the building. We'll ask the neighbours to keep an eye out.

[CPalmer]

it's an old trick, and messy. But you could also put flour on the floors and see if you see tracks?

[Jay]

We've done that already I'm afraid, there were no tracks anywhere this morning, which means she didn't come back up last night. The hole seems to go quite far down as far as we can tell (we're on the first floor) and it's at an extremely awkward spot (under the sink) so we can't actually see down there. I've put the cord of my dressing gown down the hold to see if she can climb up that, but short of tearing the whole wall out I'm at a loss.

[Piebald]

There is a vid on making the trap if it helps
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkB7nUtQoKM

[Jay]

Well, we might have good news. Come home to an RSPCA note saying that a hamster was found in my downstairs neighbour's house, it can't just be a coincidence! Waiting for the RSPCA to call back but I think she's alive and well!

[Willow Wisp]

Phew that is really fantastic news, you must be so relieved, bet you can't wait to go and collect her :)

What cage do you have, maybe one of us will be able to help with how she managed to escape, to make sure it doesn't happen again :)

[Jay]

Relief isn't the word, I'm over the moon. I'd feared the worst!

I know exactly how she managed to escape, I underestimated her jumping ability and she chewed her way through the lid of our bin cage. Decided that screw it, I get paid on Friday, I'm splashing out and getting her a proper cage that's bigger and more escape proof, but tonight we're going to spoil her rotten.

What a big adventure for such a tiny ham!

[souffle]

woa that was very lucky :) Hope she is OK and glad to be home! What a worry! We want to meet her now!

[Jay]

Well, she's home, safe and sound! The RSPCA did a check over and she seems in good health! When she came back she was sooo groggy and tired, we've put her in her old Rotastak cage for tonight and she's gone straight to bed. I've ordered a new, massive (and hopefully secure) cage from Pets at Home which will be picked up tomorrow. So much relief!

[CPalmer]

hurray!!!! :D Happy newssss

[Piebald]

Yay! Funny I was reading another thread about some one who thought they had a mouse in the wall but it was a hammie! Tame too obviously some one's pet.
Did you get the story about how he was found?

[Jay]

The story goes like this:

Cake made her daring jailbreak at some point on Sunday night/Monday morning. She chewed through the mesh on the top of her bin cage and disappeared. We're pretty sure she got under the floor via a hole where the kitchen sink plumbing goes. From there, we can only guess that she went through the walls and down into our neighbour's cupboard under HER sink, where she was found sleeping in a freezer compartment that had been taken out of the freezer for defrosting.

Neighbour calls the RSPCA, they collect her and leave a note, I call them and after a couple of days frantic with worry we're reunited with our little one. She's been scolded a bit and spoilt rotten now, think she feels a bit sheepish and I doubt she'll want to make a break for freedom any time soon.

We've bought her a Hamster Heaven cage which it going to be picked up tomorrow. Hopefully this one will be more escape proof, and if she DOES get out we've blocked the hole under the sink.

[Jessicake]

This is Cake a week before her jailbreak!

[Rempanda]

Hurray! Glad you got get back! It's amazing the amount of trouble and worry these little critters can cause! Hopefully she'll get on better in her new cage

[Josie]

Glad she is home safe and sound :mad:

[DrKMcK]

It's such a wonderful thing that you got her back! Her photo with the cupcake paper is perfect for a hammy named Cake! :-D I do hope she stays where she belongs now. A hammy owners heart can only take so much,. :-)

[Thin Lizzy]

Jay and Jessiecake,
So happy for the both of you that Cake has been found alive and well.
Also, good on your neighbour and the RSPCA.
Do you know your downstairs neighbour well?
Such an adorable pic of Cake.
She's quite the explorer.

[Jessicake]

We knew her to say hello to in passing but we're not on first name terms! We got her a card and some tulips to say thank you.
Thank you everyone for your kind words! Cake is very settled again now. We can't wait for her new cage :)

[Thin Lizzy]

She'll be please with that king gesture.
Good to hear Cake has settled after her escape.

[Piebald]

Aww what a sweetie! Hope she isn't of a mind to repeat her adventure! The new home should be helpful.

[BrainGirl]

What an adventure story! Glad she was found quickly and reunited with you:)

[Pebbles82]

Nice it all ended happily! She certainly does have an impish look about her! Just make sure the tubes are well fastened in in the hamster heaven! Tape them if necessary! It has a good big secure door on it (I have the Mickey 2XL which is the same door) and I fasten it on the second rung in so it's tight shut, there's a bit of a gap if fastened on the first rung. But do make sure she can't push those tubes out of their holders!