If you have not yet found your hamster, here are 2 things you
need to do- but it may not return until the early morning hours.
First, put the cage on the ground where she can get back in.
(One night, Ziggy got out, so I put his cage on the floor and
the next morning, we found him sleeping in his nest as if he had
never left.) But, your hamster may choose not to return to her cage..
So, in addition to putting the cage on the floor, you will need to
set a "bucket trap."
Use a rubbermaid bin or a bucket- soemthing with walls high enough to
where she can't climb out. Put several of her favorite foods in the
bottom. If you have already bought her some tubes, use those to
create a way into the container, but you will need to fix it so that
once she drops in, she can't climb back out. Make sure she has a soft
landing- hamsters will jump if they percieve the food is worth the
drop.
If you do not yet have tubes, you can make stairs for her using
books. Put a seed or other food item on each of the books/steps to
keep her climbing to the top (she will stuff her pouches as she makes
her way up. But, save the BIG treat (something with a strong smell)
for the bottom of the bucket.
Peanut butter is one good item to put on the bottom- you can smell
that stuff a mile away. If she has never tried it, the curiousity
alone will lure her in. Another is celery. Anything new- hamsters
LOVE tomatoes. I would make the trap and put the cage on the ground
asap- she may run back during the day unless she's sleeping somewhere-
most likely though it will be in the wee morning hours.
Hamsters escape all the time- it is their God- given gift.... Chances
are good she'll return shortly.