How to Help Your Kids Recover From an Escaped Hamster or Gerbil

Many children's first pet is a hamster or gerbil. They have appeal because they are self contained, relatively easy to care for, and are so darn cute. However children being children sometimes let their furry friends out of their hamster homes and then you have a delima. How do you recover your young childs little friend. Here is a step by step guide to recover your childs pet, and become a hero in their eyes.

Hamsters and gerbils are nocturnal like most rodents so finding them during the day is an almost impossible task, however they usually do not travel far from the area they escaped from even if you cannot find them by the light of day. To recover the fugitive furry friend, you will need the following. 1. A wooden two by four, 2. a plastic rectangular waste basket, 3. some of your pet's favorite food.

First you must lean the waste basket at a forty five degree angle against a wall not far from where he escaped. Use the two by four to support the waste basket so that it does not fall down. Place the food for the hamster or gerbil at the bottom of the waste basket and wait overnight. The gerbil or hamster as it forages during the night will use it's claws to climb up the two by four and down into the waste basket, however the slick sides of the waste basket will not give enough grip so that the little escapee can climb back out. In the morning you will be able to present your child with their newly recovered pet ( and hopefully have taught them a lesson about the care required for animals )

Some preparation is necessary to make sure that your pet can be recovered safely. If you have any traps or poison set out for mice or rats make sure you remove them as soon as you find out that your pet has escaped. Also make sure any other pets your may have, especially cats or dogs, are not allowed to run loose while you are recovering your hamster or gerbil. Having one of your pets making a meal of the other is not something that will add harmony to a household.

It is also important that some woodshavings or towels are placed at the bottom of the waste basket if you live in temperatures where it gets cold at night. Small rodents burrow to avoid the cold and can freeze to death if they have no place in which to take shelter. A small space heater in the room with the hamster trap may also work but make sure it is not set to high, as high temperatures are also harmful to small rodents.

When you have recovered your hamster make sure to inspect his cage to make sure that he cannot escape again on his own, once they have tasted freedom a small rodent has a tendency to try to escape again, and repeating the recapturing process every third day is sure to wear on the nerves. For patching holes in the hamster's cage avoid any sort of tape or glue that might allow the hamster to gnaw or step on the repaired spots. Many of these products are highly toxic to small rodents, or may cause them to become injured or stuck.

Overall this simple method is very effective at recovering escaped pet rodents, and costs very little compared to many professional traps that may be less safe and less effective. If you have a small rodent for a pet, it is almost guaranteed that he will make an escape attempt at one point, and being able to recover him quickly will, not only make it safer for the pet, but also make your child think you are the smartest parent ever... at least till they are a teenager.