The first and only Golden Hamster I kept was installed in a cage in a converted greenhouse. The cage, made by my father nearly 60 years ago, had a slanting front and could either have a glass slide for reptiles or a wire cage front for mammals or small birds. The type of cage front was of a particular type designed for housing budgerigars. The wire door swung outwards from side hinges and was fastened by an omega loop which fitted between the wires on the opposite side. One morning I went to feed the hamster or change its drinking water and noticed the door was not fastened. It was shut but not fastened as would happen by gravity with the front slanting inwards. I thought it odd and thought my father had perhaps fed the hamster and forgotten to close the door properly. About a week later he was feeding the hamster and noticed the door was not fastened, thinking I had not done the job properly.
A few days later I stepped off the central walkway onto the bare earth on the opposite side to the hamster’s cage. My foot disappeared into a hole. I excavated and found a tunnel about 10 cm bellow the surface going right round the bare earth with several interconnecting tunnels. I then realised that the hamster must have been leaving its cage at night, excavating the tunnels and then going back to the cage to eat, drink and sleep. The cage incidentally was about 120 cm from the ground. When the hamster managed to push open its door, overcoming the resistance of the omega loop, and set forth on its excursions, the door must have swung shut. The wanderer must have managed to pull back the door in some way in order to return to the cage and its sleeping place.
There are many reports of escaped animals trying to return to their cages but this was not so much an escape but an extension of the hamster’s home range.
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| Domestic variety of Golden Hamster Photo by Antony Colton on Flickr |
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