Loose snake and hamster at same time :0

[babbaloo99]

What are the chances???? We just got two new dwarf hamsters and one little bugger was able to squeeze out through the little bars on his cage. While we were looking for him, I hear my husband scream like a girl in the computer room. Unbeknownst to us, my amel had escaped from his cage and was roaming the lower book cabinet.

Since he had been so active lately due to breeding season (searching for a mate) somehow, he pushed the screen lid off and got out. Well, he's back home but I haven't seen hammy. My snake doesn't look any fatter, but it was a young hamster so it probably wouldn't leave a lump. The snake is in a separate room the the hamster was, but I know they can travel around quite a bit. The good thing is, my snake hasn't eaten the last two feeds because he is so actively looking for a mate. The bad news is, if he ran into hammy, he most certainly would have eaten him as he used to eat live when I first got him.

Anyone have advice on catching the hammy?

 

[carol]

A lot of local hardware stores sell live rodent traps that cause no harm to the rodent. Peanut Butter is very attractive to them. Also if you have an indoor cat, pay close attention. My cat is very efficent at finding loose rodents. Good Luck! I hope you find him.

 

[Tyger9791]

i'm curious as to which will be found first...the hamster or the snake. or will it be both....

i would try the live rodent trap for the hamster. i had a pair of gerbils that were great escape artists. i always kept a live trap on hand just in case. and it worked everytime. definitely bait it with peanut butter, for some reason, they cant resist it. hopefully the rodent will show up first.

 

[dionythicus]

Slightly :-offtopic but I think you'll appreciate it.

We had a somewhat similar incident years ago when we were kids. In the middle of the night my mother hears this thumping on the stairs and hears my middle brother's voice as he's trying to be quiet and not wake anybody up. My mom comes to the top of the stairs to find a teddy bear hamster hurtling up the stairs with the cat in hot pursuit and my brother chasing the cat! The hamster was caught by my brother, not the cat, and put away and the cat went out for the rest of the night. When my mom relayed the story to our doctor, to whom my brother went for allergy shots (due to cat and hamster allergies), he told my mom she blew it! She should have let the cat get the hamster, my brother would have been so upset he would have gotten rid of the cat and she would be free of animals and allergies!! The hamster and cat stayed until they passed awayfrom old age and my brother kept on with his allergy shots, but its always been one of my favourite stories to tell.

I'm glad you got your snake back and I hope you find your hamster.

 

[Slippery Ernie]

I caught a missing hamster once by putting a ramp up to an empty aquarium. Then I made a food trail up the ramp and put some food in the aquarium. The next night I had my hamster.

 

[babbaloo99]

Hey, thanks you all for the great advice and story. I think I'm gonna make some type of food trap for hammy or get one at the hardware store. I'm a little nervous as my once active snake is now laying on his warm side of the viv as if he's just had a meal. I'm gonna watch and see if he's on his typical poop cycle following a meal.

In the meantime, I'm gonna keep looking for hammy. The first time, we found one under the TV entertainment center all balled up on top of a cassette tape that was under there. I almost mistook him for an old sock until I saw it breathing! The other one my husband found in the middle of the night. He made it all the way into our bedroom and was rummaging in some paper. When my husband turned on the light he came shooting out and almost gave him a heart attack! Unfortunately, I didn't realize how they were escaping until the last one escaped again. I found online that they can really squeeze through those bars. I would have never thought!

 

[marty.warwick]

I hear my husband scream like a girl in the computer room.

When my husband turned on the light he came shooting out and almost gave him a heart attack!

:roflmao: I couldn't help but giggle when I read these bits, I'm sorry but tell your husband to get a grip! :grin01:

 

[babbaloo99]

I couldn't help but giggle when I read these bits, I'm sorry but tell your husband to get a grip!

I know, I cracked up. He's a manly man, and swears the animals don't bother him, but he's never wanted to even touch them. I have to give him credit though, when the hamster came shooting out across the floor, he did snatch him up after leaping about 2 feet in the air! :grin01:

 

[sumguy]

I've been careless the last couple months securing my lids and have had 3? snake escapes. Lucky me they always hid under the heaviest, most awkward pieces of furniture to move. Haven't had any escapes from my two mice colonies. I keep baited traps nearby just in case. Don't want to be responsible for releasing mice into the apartment complex.

 

[diamondlil]

If the peanut butter doesn't work, try chocolate spread, it's how we used to trap our psychotic hamster so we could clean him out without losing fingers, using a humane mousetrap

 

[babbaloo99]

I found him!!!!

Whew! I am sooo relieved. Last night I put out some peanut butter near his cage on some crinkly paper and I kept getting up whenever I heard something. About the third time, I about gave up thinking it was just the other hamster digging in his cage. Then the lost one came popping out from under the couch. Other than being really thirsty and pretty mad about being back inside a cage, he is doing very well. I had to laugh though, he was looking for a way out any way he could already. I almost got a picture of him hanging on the bars of the cage trying to chew his way out. Thanks everyone for the advice!!!!

 

[Tyger9791]

yay! thats awesome!