Hamster got stuck in glue trap

Razzy · 02-28-2017, 01:02 PM

I don't know how my hamster got stuck in it, and I didnt even know I had some around in my apartment.

I luckily found her and used vegetable oil to loosen her. I thought she was dead but she's acting normal and eating,moving, and drinking.

Her fur is really stiff though, is there a way to get her fur back to normal. I feel so bad for her.

Drago · 02-28-2017, 01:12 PM

To get oil out of fur, you can rub a bit of chinchilla sand on her until her fur gets back to normal. Keep a very close eye on her though, if she starts seeming lethargic or off at all, you need to take her to a vet ASAP. Another note, kind of off topic and I know you mentioned you had no idea about the traps, but I'd recommend trying to find them all and remove them. Mice and rats become stuck, starve to death, or die of dehydration and that is incredibly painful. The same thing that happened to your sweet little ham can happen to them! I'd recommend taking the traps out completely OR if you must rid of them, try using humane live release traps and release the mice at least a mile away from your residence or buy instant-kill traps so they don't have to suffer before they die. I hope she feels better soon, and let us know how she's doing!

Razzy · 02-28-2017, 01:17 PM

Thank you for the advice.

I woke up in the middle of the night to use the washroom and stepped on the glue trap. Luckily i didn't step on her but I'm so confused as to how she ended up out of her cage and stuck on this trap. She lives in a detolf with wooden lids on top.

I have regular playsand, will that work? And how do i go about putting it on her? She's tried rolling in her sandbath a couple times, she's pretty normal but she just looks really dirty like someone used hair gel on her fur. She has a healthy appetite still and drinks water. I just don't wanna stress her out more but I do want to clean her.

She's a tiny bit sticky herself and I want to clean her with water but I know hamsters usually don't like that.

Drago · 02-28-2017, 01:30 PM

That's such an odd situation! I'd check all over her cage to prevent the escapee from breaking out again. Oil doesn't come off well in water and oil can't be broken down easily with water, so sand would really be best. You can always put her in the bath or put just a pinch of sand on the oily areas and rub it in, but make sure to get it off afterwards otherwise it can irritate her skin. If you have any other questions, please ask

Razzy · 02-28-2017, 01:36 PM

I guess I'll let her do the rolling in the sand then? I'm really surprised she's acting so normal after being stuck on the trap for so long (I'm assuming). She even still likes to climb onto my hand and get petted without a fuss.

Thank you for your quick replies. Is there anything else I should be doing? She's eating/drinking normally.

I've taken out most of her toys and only left a acorn hide, her sandbath, and some food. I'm keeping a close eye on what she's doing.

Pebbles82 · 02-28-2017, 02:16 PM

I am wondering if it might be worth taking her to the vet for advice on how to clean her fur. The glue trap stuff is very sticky and I can't see it coming off easily. My Grandmother once had someone stick chewing gum in her plaited hair and ended up having to have her hair cut off. Is there anyone else in your apartment? It sounds like someone put a glue trap down and it was so attractive to the hamster it motivated her to escape.

souffle · 02-28-2017, 02:58 PM

It seems the way to get these off is with vegetable oil and detergent which really wouldn't be good for a hamster

Don't use sand as it will stick. I might try trimming off the stickiest fur with scissors but leave enough to keep her warm. I'd call the vet though and ask advice.

Razzy · 03-01-2017, 03:46 PM

She's acting normal now, i'm still traumatized at how i found her, she looked really bad.

She's still active and eating and drinking water, some dry blood on her body a bit. I noticed she seems to be eating/hoarding a lot and drinking too (or maybe she's always done this and i just didnt pay attention to her as much as I am now after her accident).

Pebbles82 · 03-01-2017, 04:00 PM

It must have been scary. Any idea how it got there? It would be a good idea to have her checked over by a vet maybe. If she is grooming and trying to lick the sticky stuff off it could be affecting her tongue and/or making her more thirsty.