How Can I Find My Escaped Hamster?

I have a young hamster and she has escaped. I have tried to find her with food traps but she isn't responding. What can I do now?

Many hamsters and gerbils escape every year, and surprisingly many are also found again. Even if a couple of days have passed since you lost her, there’s no need to give up hope. Remember that your hamster probably sleeps for most of the day and in that case if she has found a very good hiding place there is not much hope of finding her during the day. A widely used trick is to leave her hamster cage open in the room where she escaped. This should contain her soiled bedding and cage substrate so that it smells of her and should also contain food and treats that she likes. She will probably be hungry and possibly a little stressed so her own cage may represent a safe hiding place. It is therefore possible that if follow this advice, you will wake up one morning to find her asleep in her cage again.

I do not want to falsely raise your hopes though, so if it has been some weeks since you lost her without site, it is unlikely that this advice will work. Having said this, it is not impossible that you will still find her.