For those who have had and escaped Hamster and thought it gone for good, this post may give you a little hope.
4 weeks ago I took in a Honeyblack Syrian female who was very heavy with pups. I was in doubt of a viable litter due to her young age. However she gave birth just 4 days of arriving here and was actually beginning to accept me and was taking treats from my hands a day before birthing. Named Iska she was really young to be having pups but she had many good qualities and it wasn't her fault the gal I got her from was told you could keep Syrians together.
She gave birth to 8 pups and panicked at the litter and so I had to use a spoon to collect all of her pups into one corner(how I knew how many she had). Covering her with a airy but dark cloth she seemed to settle down and began suckling the pups. However she also tried to escape the bin every chance she could.
The pups grew and I thought all was finally good with her and her litter, but when the pups were just 6 days old, I and my Husband Mike came home from Sunday night Church service, and while I sat at my PC desk catching up on HC and my FB I see my Young Kitten Joshua run in with a Hamster in his mouth. The hamster was unharmed but scared and when he dropped it it ran straight towards the wall heater Vent. Puzzled at what Hamster he had found I immediately went to the Hamster unit and none of the Hamsters that color were missing.
Suddenly my heart skipped a beat as the only other Hamster that coloring was Iska. Running into the quarantine room I found she had completely chewed off the water bottle plastic of the sipper, pulled the tube out of the bottle and made a huge hole on the side of the bin and had abandon her now 6 days old litter. I looked all through my house for her and was up still looking at 3AM. I then heard the sound of a rodent chewing IN the Plaster wall near the front door. I knew it was her, but that wall is a foundation wall and no way can you cut it open plus Hubby wouldn't allow that if it could be cut.
So I set up a bucket trap and put some Canned Cat pate in a jar lid and placed the whole trap next to where I saw her run to when the Kitten released her. I waited and checked the trap every Morning and early evening but no sign of her at all. Try as I did I couldn't save the litter even when Shamika accepted them. Shamika had just weaned her two pups and had no milk or so little it couldn't supply the needs of 6 day old pups.
After no signs of food missing, the water bottle with the same amount of water and no more sounds of chewing a week later, I figured she had died in the wall, or had come out when my adult cat was around, and all was lost.
Two weeks passed with no other signs of her. Then came the start of week three and Hubby is upstairs in the bathroom grumbling about wild mice ripping up 8 rolls of Toilet Paper under the hand sink. I never thought about it being her as all winter we had battled field mice in the walls that often found the secret stash of nice nest building TP rolls. I just figured it was the mice again.
Last night at around 1AM my Kitten bolts to a non functioning heater Vent in my Front Foyer. His tail flicks with excitement at something in that Vent. I figure it is just a mouse so let him be as he is a good mouser and one less pest in the house is a good thing. Suddenly Joshua turns to me and lets out this huge meow as if to say Human get over here I found something and you need to help me get it out(he often will poke his crinkle ball in this Vent so when he did that cry I figured "You silly Kitten have you jammed your toy in the Vent and now can't get it out?")
LOL being a good human I get on my hands and knees thinking I would see his favorite Blue crinkle ball, but instead I see a Hamster trying for all it's worth to crunch it's body up into the top of the Vent. This hamster is not in any mood to be caught and I know it is now very wild. I remembered I had a pair of Winter gloves just and arms reach away so I put on a glove for my right hand while watching to make sure said hamster can't get out of the Vent(she had no way to get in the wall at this Vent).
Oh my did I get a good idea of what a trapped wild Hamster would be like. She jumped at my hand teeth bared and bit the glove so hard I actually felt her teeth. Screaming like a mad Ham she again lunged at the glove biting each time the gloved hand came near her. She was wedged in the Vent so I had no way to get her out until she attempted to escape. I said a quick prayer that her teeth would not get through the glove and I grabbed her. She came out screaming and hissing and biting like mad and I knew if I didn't scruff her quick she would get loose.
I braved it out and grabbed her by her scruff with my Ungloved hand Praying if she got me it would not be a deep bite. She tried hard to get a hold of my hand but I had her in a grip lock LOL. Quickly placed her in a carrier cage I had out she settled down a bit. I soon had her in a solid bin with fresh water, and a good supply of food, and a Wheel. Shew what excitement.
How she managed to survive for three weeks with no major amount of food, and no water at all is only by the grace of God. She had to have found some major water source because she is not dehydrated. She is quite under weight as she had little food to eat from me. No food after a week.
I now pray she will re-tame cause the whole purpose of getting her was to use her to Benjamin to verify he is Umbrous Yellow Black, and to confirm if he carries Cinnamon or Cream as Iska is Ee Honeyblack. She has many better qualities then Benjamin so the plan was originally to keep a pup from the two as Benjamin is soon to see 21 months of age.
This was Iska on her arrival day showing her obvious baby bumps.
Iska-a.jpg
Once she settles down I'll post a current photo of her. She had 8 beautiful pups and I wish Shamika would have had milk as the last 5 pups were bigger then most pups from a young mom, and all were some form of Yellow coloring as the sire was a LH Melanistic Yellow Banded.
For those who have had a Hamster escape
She must have some real stamina to have survived so long like that though.
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