Thanks for the advice, will do. I put 3 pieces of cheese by the trap and one piece was gone, but no hamster in trap. I will keep the bedroom door shut and place small water bowels in a few places for happy to drink from. Next time I am going to put the cheese further in the trap and some cheese by the trap as well. I do not have a bucket as of yet but I will place seeds near the trap and in the cage as well. Do i need to buy a bucket? I have totes though, they are high, tall I mean to say. Can i use the totes instead of bucket? I have a lot of books I can use as steps into the tote.
My dwarf hamster escaped how do I find hammy?
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Yes a tote would do instead of the bucket 
. That has always worked for me (with one exception - a large Syrian who managed to escape the bucket trap!
Do you have a 12”ruler? If not something similar size - a piece of wood or plastic- that’s the bit that hangs over the bucket from the top book so they walk on it to get the cheese, it tips up and they fall in the bucket/tote.
With the traps - yes only put the smelly treat/cheese inside the trap at the far end - if you leave any outside the trap he will just take it and not go in the trap!
They have a very keen sense of smell so the cheese is to tempt them inside the trap or onto the ruler on the bucket trap. The seeds are just to guide them to it. Eg a few in front of the trap and the cheese right inside at the far end.
Likewise with the bucket trap - a trail of seeds up the books to lead him to the top where he’ll be drawn to the smell of the cheese (which will be right on the end of the ruler overhanging the bucket). He’ll start to walk along the ruler to get to the cheese and it will tip inside the bucket with his weight. You could put a small towel in the bottom of the tote so he has a soft landing.
. That has always worked for me (with one exception - a large Syrian who managed to escape the bucket trap!Do you have a 12”ruler? If not something similar size - a piece of wood or plastic- that’s the bit that hangs over the bucket from the top book so they walk on it to get the cheese, it tips up and they fall in the bucket/tote.
With the traps - yes only put the smelly treat/cheese inside the trap at the far end - if you leave any outside the trap he will just take it and not go in the trap!
They have a very keen sense of smell so the cheese is to tempt them inside the trap or onto the ruler on the bucket trap. The seeds are just to guide them to it. Eg a few in front of the trap and the cheese right inside at the far end.
Likewise with the bucket trap - a trail of seeds up the books to lead him to the top where he’ll be drawn to the smell of the cheese (which will be right on the end of the ruler overhanging the bucket). He’ll start to walk along the ruler to get to the cheese and it will tip inside the bucket with his weight. You could put a small towel in the bottom of the tote so he has a soft landing.
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I have a tote with hammy inside. Is the same tote I am going to put the escaped hamster in. is that ok to do? I have another hammy in the tote, which is bigger than the cage I bought. The tote has bedding so he will have a safe landing. I will add books to top of tote. I will place a towel over the tote. I do not have a ruler though. I will also place cheese inside the trap as well. Well I know hammy ate some food. I left a small bowel of water out for hammy, so hopefully he drank from it. I gave up trying to catch the hamster with my hands, he is way too fast for that to happen.
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No dont have him go into the same tote the other hamster is in - they could kill each other - they've been apart a few days now and will surely fight to the death. It would need to be a different tote. It is just to catch him - after that, he can go in the cage and then take a breather before changing anything else.
Sorry for all the typos in previous post - I was on my phone - corrected them now.
Sorry for all the typos in previous post - I was on my phone - corrected them now.
I will use my hamster cage to place lost hammy in, once I trap him and can get him home, thanks for letting me know not to put them together. I have another empty tote I can use. I will place bedding in the new tote so hammy has a safe fall. I let you know when I catch him. I hope it is soon, they are smart and hide well.
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With a bucket trap, and the humane mouse traps, you have a good chance of catching him. He will only come out and be tempted up the books to the tote though, after dark when it's all quiet. If you're there he'll run away and hide. So sounds like another night shut in the bedroom with your kitty - but hopefully you'll have success tonight.
I think he's more likely to go for the bucket trap than the mouse traps personally, they are clever! But not so clever that they know a ruler isn't stable!
Also put a bit of cheese inside the tote as well. With my last experience of this, the hamster just jumped in the bucket to get the cheese
And didn't even walk along the ruler at all.
I think he's more likely to go for the bucket trap than the mouse traps personally, they are clever! But not so clever that they know a ruler isn't stable!
Also put a bit of cheese inside the tote as well. With my last experience of this, the hamster just jumped in the bucket to get the cheese
And didn't even walk along the ruler at all.Thanks for your help. I did a google search about keeping dwarf hamsters together and it not a good idea. I will keep them separated. i will never put them together that way I do not take any chances on them fighting. The pet store said they should be housed together but that is not the case. I did what they told me to do, but now I realize it was a mistake. I will keep one hamster in the tote and one in the cage. I do need to buy a bigger cage though, is a little small for hammy. The totes are bigger, so I will keep hammy in there until I can buy a big cage. The totes are long though, not sure of the measurements. but I want to buy a longer tote, so hammy has space to run.
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Yes unfortunately pet shops do still sell them in pairs or even trios - and say it's fine and aren't that educated about it. What usually happens is - they can be fine for a few weeks until their hormones kick in and then they can fight and maim each other or one kill the other one. But even the slightest time apart and they become territorial and can't really live together again. It's much better they live separately in the first place. One of them has now had the experience of a cage/tote all to himself - he will have already become territorial and would see the other hamster as an intruder. The other hamster has become free and territorial about your flat And developed his own independence. So they are both independent minded now. They don't need company to be happy - they have human company
You're doing a great job. Fingers crossed there is success tonight.
And developed his own independence. So they are both independent minded now. They don't need company to be happy - they have human company You're doing a great job. Fingers crossed there is success tonight.
I remember along time ago I had 2 dwarf hamsters and I had to separate them because they were fighting. I will not make that mistake again. I just thought because they were in the same cage, that it would be ok,, but it is not ok, to house them together. And they are babies, so I thought since they came from the same litter and because they were together, that is would be fine. I am sure glad i have the extra totes to put my other hamster in, once I find him in a tote trap, or no kill trap, not sure where he will end up. Thank you again for all your help, will do as you say. I want to find my hamster and I will. That reminds me I should set up the tote trap for my hammy.
I just washed out with water only, the other tote. I have the books stacked up to the tote trap. I put cheese inside the tote, hopefully this catches little hammy. Should I put a towel over the tote? or just leave it empty with hamster bedding?
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If you have bedding inside it, you don't need a towel - just open at the top so he falls in. Do you have a ruler half way across the top book? With a bit of cheese on the end of that?
You can see the smelly food/cheese on the end of the ruler on this image. It takes a bit of balancing the ruler - you want it sitting far enough back that it doesn't fall in on its own with the weight of the cheese. But not so far back that it doesn't tip easily if the hamster walks on it!
You can see the smelly food/cheese on the end of the ruler on this image. It takes a bit of balancing the ruler - you want it sitting far enough back that it doesn't fall in on its own with the weight of the cheese. But not so far back that it doesn't tip easily if the hamster walks on it!
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Here's something for you to watch later while you're stuck in the bedroom tonight This is nightcam video of the night I caught Syrian Hamster Tino. He was only a baby. The first night he didn't use the bucket trap. This is the second night - I had his cage on the floor and also the bucket trap set up.
I found him asleep in his cage the next morning. When I watched the video back next day I could see he was going in and out of his cage and using his wheel. Then he finally ventured up the pile of books - you can see him collecting the seeds as he goes up (he disappears for a while as he jumped off the other side of the books and then came back round and started climbing them - so you might need to watch full screen to see him - he doesn't show up that well!).
But once he does start climbing the books, you can see him following the trail of seeds and collecting them as he goes up. Then he gets to the top and sits there for a while and doesn't seem sure what to do. I had a bit of strawberry in the bottom of the bucket as well as some cheese on the end of the ruler. He clearly decided he wanted the strawberry, didn't walk along the ruler and just jumped in the bucket! You can just see a blur as he disappears into the bucket.
The reason I found him in his cage next morning, was mystifying - but the video showed he had then ESCAPED the bucket trap (he's a big hamster) and gone back to his cage!
This is nightcam video of the night I caught Syrian Hamster Tino. He was only a baby. The first night he didn't use the bucket trap. This is the second night - I had his cage on the floor and also the bucket trap set up.I found him asleep in his cage the next morning. When I watched the video back next day I could see he was going in and out of his cage and using his wheel. Then he finally ventured up the pile of books - you can see him collecting the seeds as he goes up (he disappears for a while as he jumped off the other side of the books and then came back round and started climbing them - so you might need to watch full screen to see him - he doesn't show up that well!).
But once he does start climbing the books, you can see him following the trail of seeds and collecting them as he goes up. Then he gets to the top and sits there for a while and doesn't seem sure what to do. I had a bit of strawberry in the bottom of the bucket as well as some cheese on the end of the ruler. He clearly decided he wanted the strawberry, didn't walk along the ruler and just jumped in the bucket! You can just see a blur as he disappears into the bucket.
The reason I found him in his cage next morning, was mystifying - but the video showed he had then ESCAPED the bucket trap (he's a big hamster) and gone back to his cage!
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He might just jump in to get the cheese. It can be difficult finding something similar to a ruler! Forks and spoons would be too heavy and might hurt him if they landed on him when he fell in. What you could try maybe is a piece of thick cardboard cut to a ruler shape and size? If you have a strong cardboard box you could cut up.