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Why Is My Hamster Trying to Escape? (And How to Stop It)

Why Is My Hamster Trying to Escape? (And How to Stop It)

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The purpose of this blog is to share general information and is written to the author's best knowledge. It is not intended to be used in place of veterinary advice. For health concerns, please seek proper veterinary care. In addition, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Hamsters have become very popular pets over time. Many people like caring for hamsters because they don’t take up a lot of space and they can be a lot of fun.

They can also be good first pets for children because they can help them to learn about the responsibility of caring for animals. If you’ve recently brought a hamster into your home, then it’s likely that you and your family are enjoying your time with the hamster.

It might be a bit surprising if you see that your hamster looks like it’s trying to escape, though. If your hamster seems to be trying to escape from its cage, then is that a sign that it’s unhappy?

Read on to learn everything that you need to know about hamsters trying to escape from their habitats. This should give you a better idea of what is going on and what you need to do to keep the hamster happy.

Hamsters Are Naturally Curious

Hamster Trying to Escape it's Cage

Before going any further, it’s going to be good to know that not all hamsters that are trying to escape their cages will be unhappy. It’s actually true that many types of hamsters are naturally curious and that they want to explore.

Sometimes your hamster might try to climb its cage or find a way to get out because it wishes to go look around. Your hamster might be attempting to escape to satisfy its inquisitive nature.

Hamsters will sometimes get frustrated about not being able to escape because of how curious they are. Your hamster might hear something interesting or it might even want to see what you’re up to.

Have you ever noticed your hamster chewing on the cage bars? Sometimes this occurs when hamsters are frustrated about being stuck in their habitat.

You might need to give your hamster more attention if it seems to be very curious. Some hamster owners even go so far as to show them what they’re up to.

If you’re taking the time to interact with your hamster and you play with it regularly, then it’ll be less frustrating. Even so, it’s not unusual at all for hamsters to try to escape due to how curious they are.

Your Hamster Might Not Be Trying to Escape

Another thing to consider is that your hamster might not be trying to escape at all. Some people perceive certain actions taken by the hamster as an attempt to escape when that isn’t exactly what is going on.

You see, hamsters are very active and they tend to want to move around a lot. It’s very normal for hamsters to try to climb things and they also love running around.

If you see your hamster chewing on the cage or doing other things like that, then it isn’t necessarily a sign that it’s looking to get away from you. Hamsters just like to chew stuff, and that’s likely going to happen from time to time under normal circumstances.

Essentially, you don’t want to assume that your hamster is trying to escape when it’s not. Sometimes hamsters just do things that make it seem like that is what they’re trying to do.

That doesn’t mean that some hamsters won’t try to escape, though. It’s just that there is a difference between a normal hamster doing active things and a hamster desperately trying to escape from its habitat.

Your Hamster Doesn’t Have Enough Space

Hamster in Small Cage

If your hamster really is trying to escape, then you have to try to figure out why. Why would your hamster be so desperate to get out of its environment?

One possibility is that it might not have enough room to feel happy. Hamsters actually want a bit more space than some people realize, and it’s possible that its current hamster cage or habitat isn’t adequate.

It might be a good idea to see if you can get a larger hamster cage for your hamster to live in. If you’re using a very small hamster cage right now, then your hamster just might feel too cramped in there.

Remember that hamsters are very active and that they like to run around. If your hamster doesn’t feel like it can run around properly, then it’s going to get upset about the situation.

You could notice a hamster trying to escape an environment where it isn’t happy. Consider the size of the hamster cage and make changes if you think that it’s necessary.

Your Hamster Might Be Stressed

Have you considered the possibility that your hamster might be stressed in some way? There are actually a number of different things that can scare your hamster and make it want to get away.

There could be something in your house that is making the hamster not want to be in its cage any longer. For example, your hamster might be afraid of other pets that you have in the house.

Animals such as cats and dogs can be incredibly menacing from the perspective of a hamster. It’s even possible that your cat might try to get to the hamster in its cage even if it isn’t able to.

The fear that a cat can cause a hamster to feel is not something to be underestimated. Your other pets could be making the hamster so afraid that it just wants to leave.

There are other things that can stress hamsters enough to make them want to escape. For example, you could have your hamster in a room that is very loud.

Hamsters aren’t going to like lots of loud noises and those noises could be scaring the hamster. It could be anything from a very loud TV to someone practicing the drums for a marching band in your home.

The thing to take away from this is that your hamster needs to have a good environment that makes it feel safe. You should try to take the hamster’s feelings into consideration so that you can protect it.

It might be necessary to put your hamster in a room where it will be safer than usual. If you have a cat, then you’ll likely want to keep the cat out of the room where your hamster is located.

If you can make things quiet and peaceful for your hamster, then it should feel less stressed overall. You can make changes that will help the hamster and it might stop trying to escape soon enough.

You Aren’t Handling the Hamster Properly

Handling a Hamster

Hamsters can get really scared when their owners aren’t handling them properly, too. You have to keep in mind how vulnerable hamsters can feel when being cared for by humans.

If you just start grabbing your hamster as soon as you get it home, then it’s going to be very nervous. It’s usually best to wait and to try to allow a hamster to get comfortable before you attempt to handle it.

Even then, it’s going to be important to handle your hamster in a specific way that it will be comfortable with. If you grab a hamster aggressively or in an odd way, then the hamster might be very afraid.

Sometimes people buy hamsters for children because they can make good pets to help teach kids about caring for animals. This is great, but you also need to teach your kids how to care for the hamsters the proper way.

Kids are going to be more likely to make handling errors with hamsters, and your hamster might wind up being afraid of the children if the kids aren’t being careful with it. Keep this in mind since it could be one of the reasons why the hamster is trying to escape.

The hamster simply might not be comfortable with its environment because of how it is being handled. You might be able to turn things around by handling the hamster the right way and being more careful about how you approach things moving forward.

You Have to Build Trust with Hamsters

Building Trust with Hamster

It might be frustrating to some people, but you have to build trust with hamsters over time. Hamsters aren’t just going to be incredibly comfortable with being held immediately after you get them home.

This means that you need to exercise some patience when you bring a hamster into your home. You need to try to take steps to ensure that the hamster is comfortable before you try to handle it.

A hamster that is scared of its owner or owners will try to escape out of fear. If you try to handle it right away and don’t take steps to make the hamster comfortable, then it might just be trying to get away from you or the other people in your household.

You might need to slowly let your hamster smell you and get it used to the idea that you’re caring for it. Giving the hamster treats will help and trying to be as gentle with the hamster as possible is also necessary.

After some time, your hamster will grow accustomed to having you around. It’s possible to bond with a hamster and many hamsters will become very comfortable with their owners.

Eventually, your hamster might climb on you and it might want to play with you. This is a great thing, but it doesn’t always happen overnight.

Be patient and do what you can to help your hamster feel as comfortable as possible. It’ll make it far less likely that your hamster will try to escape moving forward.

Your Hamster Isn’t Getting the Proper Care That It Needs

Hamsters need to be cared for properly so that they can thrive and stay healthy. If you aren’t doing a good job of taking care of your hamster, then it might want to try to escape.

Sometimes hamsters might try to escape if they aren’t being fed right or if other needs aren’t being met. Is there a possibility that you have been neglecting your hamster a bit and didn’t do something right?

Hamsters rely on humans when they’re being kept as pets like this. You need to make sure that your hamster has the food that it needs each day and you also have to keep giving your hamster fresh water in its bottle.

You might not be taking the time that you need to clean its cage as well. Hamsters aren’t going to die if they have to live in a slightly dirty cage, but that doesn’t mean that they will enjoy it.

You see, hamsters are actually clean animals that prefer their cages to be somewhat tidy. If you’re allowing the cage to get messy and stay messy, then it might be contributing to the hamster’s sense of unhappiness.

Hamsters trying to escape from their cages might be fleeing the environment because they aren’t happy with it. If you take the time to clean the cage and ensure that the hamster is being cared for well enough, then it’ll be less likely that you’ll encounter problems.

You might need to be more proactive about caring for your hamster and cleaning the cage out. Keep this in mind and hopefully you can turn things around soon enough.

Your Hamster Is Just Bored

Bored Hamster

Did you stop and think about whether your hamster is just bored or not? Sometimes hamsters will get very bored when they don’t get to play as much as they want to.

If a hamster is stuck in its cage all the time and you’ve been too busy to interact with it, then it might try to escape from its cage. Hamsters are active animals and they want to do things besides just sitting around in a cage all day.

Hamsters can get bored when they aren’t being given enough to do. You can help to keep your hamster from getting bored by doing different things with it.

Of course, taking the time to interact with your hamster and play with it is going to be a solid idea. Once you’ve formed a bond with your hamster, it’s very possible that your hamster will like playing little games with you.

If you get really busy because of your job, then your hamster is going to miss that interaction time with you. You might need to ensure that you aren’t neglecting your hamster even if you are a busy professional.

It’s also going to be a good idea to try to give your hamster toys to play with. There are many types of toys that hamsters will enjoy, and you should give the hamster access to these things so that it can stay occupied.

Some owners have had good luck with keeping hamsters happy by changing toys out every so often. A hamster might get bored with a toy after a while, but if you switch toys in and out, then that might keep things fresh.

The hamster should always have access to basic types of toys such as hamster wheels. Hamster wheels will allow hamsters to get exercise and it can help them to burn off nervous energy.

Letting your hamster out of its cage sometimes can be good for it, too. You can let the hamster out of the cage in a safe environment where it isn’t going to be able to get into anything that will hurt it.

Of course, you’ll need to keep the hamster in a room where no other pets are present, and you’ll want to try to keep an eye on the hamster’s location so that it doesn’t get lost or anything like that.

If you take steps like this, then your hamster probably won’t get bored too often. It might just be the perfect thing that will keep your hamster happy and it might stop trying to escape from its cage.

Ensure That the Hamster Can’t Escape From its Cage

Hamster in Cage

Sometimes hamsters will escape from their cages if the owners aren’t careful. If you’re using an older type of cage, then a hamster might be able to chew through sections of the cage that are weak.

Your hamster could also get out of a cage if you forgot to lock it or if you didn’t secure the lid tightly enough. There are many things that can happen, but you’ll just need to know to be careful.

It’s possible that your hamster could get hurt if it roams your house freely. You don’t want this to happen because your hamster would be at the mercy of other pets such as cats or dogs if you have them.

Thankfully, most modern hamster habitats are very secure, and it’ll be easy to keep your hamster from being able to get out so long as you’re not being careless. Do your best to make good choices so that your hamster can stay safe in its cage.

Final Thoughts

There are actually a large number of reasons why a hamster might try to escape from its cage. It could be unhappy in some way or it might even be scared of certain things in your house.

You want to try to get to the bottom of what is going on so that you can make your hamster feel comfortable and happy in your home. Caring for the hamster properly and being mindful of its needs will make a difference.

Hamsters are good pets, but they do require you to pay attention to what is going on. Don’t neglect your hamster and always be sure to do things that will help it to stay happy.

You should be less likely to see your hamster trying to escape when you’re caring for it to the best of your ability. Enjoy your time with your hamster companion.

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Aurelia

Thursday 20th of January 2022

IM SO DEAD BECAUSE THE HAMSTER THAT MY MOM ADOPT FOR ME IS GONE FOR 2 DAYS..😭 I'VE ONLY TAKEN CARE OF IT FOR WEEK NOW IT DISAPPEARED INTO THIN AIR 😕

Jane Cox

Friday 25th of February 2022

@Aurelia, have you found it.