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ohhhh... I know this is very trivial to anyone not in my family, but I was awaken by two very upset little girls this morning.
The hamster has escaped.
The hamster is no where to be found.
The hamster is reeking havock on our house.
The hamster is causing tears to flow freely and constantly. 
I'm not gonna make it through this day without finding that hamster...
Hunter, (my 11 yr old girl), got Alex (the houdini-hamster) for an early Christmas present. Part of her science studies in October was a presentation on hamsters and she spent weeks studying and showed us she could care for one. Her older sister, Katie, gave her the cage and her younger sister, Breeonna, gave her the hamster. She was so good at the presentation and showed so much enthusiasm for them, we let her have the little feller on the First of November. Even with all that, we weren't expecting him to live long, that's just what hamster do. Well, live he did!! And got big and fat. And all was right with the world...
Until this morning. UGH!!!!
I need a hug.
Waggle BearsOh no; I can imagine the distress in your house. Maybe the little guy is just hiding out somewhere. Maybe you could bribe him out with some of his favorite treats. Hope they find him soon.
Thanks. I had to leave the search for a bit 'cuz the tears were too much for me to listen to. Mommie apparently can not fix the tears at this point, only Alex can.
I'm just hoping WE find him first and not the DOG or CAT. 
:hug: :hug: :hug: big hugs to you....hopefully you find Alex quickly...I am sure he is just off on a hamster grand adventrue and will turn up soon.
hugs,
Krista
Kran-Beary's
We wound up with two hamsters last year, with one becoming a part of my son's Science Fair project this year on 'light temperature.' He took dozens of photos of the hamster under different lighting conditions.
Everyone has become really attached to our little black hamster, and he did get out once. We found him in Erik's clothes :crackup: drawer.
I would suggest making everything in the house really quite. Unplug the fridge, freezer...anything that hums or makes noise. Then listen VERY carefully. Put some treats where ever you hear him scratch. Since hamsters are nocturnal, listening for him works best around 9 or 10 pm at night.
Hope you find him!
hugs
nt
Chaska, MinnesotaMy goodness. Brings to mind when I was growing up I found a stray kitten. I brought him home and dad said he had to be a "outdoor cat". Well out he went. I named him "meow". So outside he went. The next day, there was "no meow". I cried and wailed. Accused my dad of being cruel for making him live outside and now "meow is gone" because of him. Well two days later, meow showed up and my dad scooped him up brought him inside and he never went outside again!! Oh, the power of tears.......
Posts: 1,836My sister had the same hamster for, I think it was 5 years! All through college and a year after. Zoe, the hamster was notorious for escaping. Once time we all thought it was the last. Zoe was nowhere to be found. My sister lived on the third floor of a 3 story house in Old Philly, near the UofArts. She searched everywhere for Zoe and finally just thought that this was the last escape and zoe was gone for good. Several times they found Zoe on the steps leading downstairs, or in a pile of laundry in the 2nd floor bathroom. But this time no Zoe was found. A few days later my sis was all the way down in the basement and heard some rustling near (IN) the big old heating unit..she took of a panel and there covered in soot was little Zoe. The little thing shot down the vent and ducts 3 stories into the main heating unit! (Thank God it was late spring and no heat was used or poor Zoe would have been baked ) My sister still had her for 2 years after that. Zoe was big and happy and old, really old when she passed. But she had a brick on top of her little hamster condo after that escape....maybe 2 bricks 
:hug:
~Chrissi
Burlison BearsCan't tell you how many times my hamster escaped while growing up. They always do turn up though within a couple days! I even left a trail of treats to intice him. Those cages do not keep hamsters in. Put something heavy on top...but warning: do not put a heavy folded blanket on top to keep the cage lid down. I did that when I was 10 and came home from school and Timothy had pulled off part of the blanket and stuffed it in his cheeks and suffocated and died. It was a horrible accident...but I was young and didn't want him escaping anymore. Poor Timothy.
-Eliza
poor timothy!!!
well, the hamster search isn't yeilding an Alex yet...
the girls have been looking off and on since 7am!! it's now 12:30... I told them to take a break (AND CALM DOWN!) still alot of tears.
my biggest concern right now is that we live in the middle of a field... a couple of years ago we had a problem with field mice... sneaky little beasts...
I FOUND ONE A FEW MINUTES AGO! Scared me to death. I screamed, the girls screamed, we all screamed... I'm sure the mouse screamed.
I'm worried that Alex found where the mice get in and he's outside!!!
not gonna tell the girls that... AND (I might get flamed for saying this, but...) how are we gonna put out traps (for the mouse) with Alex still on the loose??
the search will continue after lunch... but we've searched every inch of this house twice now.
Past Time BearsAwwww . . . I really do hope you find Alex in good shape.
Storytime BearsI love hamsters, I can not go into pet stores because if I don't have a hamster I will be walking out with one. My last hamster would get out all the time and I would leave food out for it and do what Nancy said turn everything off and listen for it. One time it was gone for a week and I thought I would some day smell a horrible smell behind the wall, but one night it just came walking out. I wish you luck, tell your kids Alex wanted to go on a big adventure, have them make up a story about all the cool things he could be doing, maybe that would help them to not be so upset.
Jodi, the big adventure is a great idea.
I should have them each write a story about it, especially if he doesn't come back. They both love to write (yea!) and both wish to publish someday... maybe we can get some college money out of the missing hamster!!! (When I say "both", I mean that I have 3 girls, but the oldest lives with her dad)
I have had the most awful feeling of dread most of the day. The girls are very happy girls (to the point of too much giggling during school), and just one moment of sadness for them just kills me. I sorta felt silly posting about it this morning, but I really had no one else to share with. My boyfriend is out of town 'til Friday and my parents sorta went, "oh well"...
Everyone's escaping hamster stories definitely made me feel better today!! Thank you all so much! 
Laurie Lou BearsI had a hamster years ago and we lost him!
In the end we found him-he was in the back of the settee and we had great trouble trying to coax him out.We put a bit of food down ready to grab him and he was too quick for us.In the end my dad had to undo the back of the settee so we could get him out. 
I hope you find him soon-he is probably hiding somewhere.
Laurie :hug:
Bearz by IlzeOh I can just imagine the havock and the tears. Just recently my friend's son's tarantula pulled a Houdini on them too. My friend found spidy in a wardrobe 2 weeks later......and all was well again. I hope you find the hamster, maybe he's just hiding in a wardrobe somewhere.
Teddybears SwedenHave you found the hamster yet?? I hope so!
Yesterday one of my ferrests went missing when my boyfriend was home alone with them. He was playing with them on the yard (we have a fence so they usually can't escape) and suddenly Leah the ferretgirl was gone! He really got in panic and was shouting and looking all over!
Ten minutes later he found her sleeping in his wardrobe in his pants!
sigh...
still no sign of Alex. The sadness/tears is coming and going in waves now. They're OK for a while, then they're not.
I think they were well prepared for the hamster not living long, I didn't realize they were not prepared for the hamster just getting up and leaving!!
I'll keep ya'll posted.
Storytime BearsAnn, Did you ever find Alex?
VallierBearsWhat I did when I lost my hamsters and yes, My hamster was also one of those wonderfull escape artist! (She could lift up her wire cage to get out!)
What you do is Get a bucket, Put a blanket in the bottom, With her food in. Place a little ramp up to the rim of the bucket, Like a 2 inch flat peice of wood or a few books all stacked up like stairs... Place in a dark quiet place and usually by the morning, You will find the bucket is holding one little hamster, Who got in but can't get out!
Hope you found the little one!
Richy~
Tami Eveslage Original Teddy BearsGood advice for catching him. You have to remember that they are nocturnal though and you will probably find him at night. I didn't know hamsters were little houdinis before we got two who spent their whole lives escaping, panicking me and the kids---hubby would just say "Oh well, I guess he's cat food" What a way to console the children!!
Anyway, we got a glass aquarium style home for them with a screen on top, and while it was not as cute as the wire cage with all the crazy tubes, they didn't get out again.
Good luck and big hugs to you! :hug: :hug:
No, we still haven't found him. The girls do have hope that he'll "pop up" some day. I know this sounds bad, but at least we haven't "smelled" him yet...
The bucket idea is great! I should have tried that when he got out.
Bears by Jodi
