Rob and the California George Family

Our hamster, Peanut, has escaped a number of times. I have done blog entries about this in the past. She has always shown up again, but usually after getting a good day or so of freedom hiding who-knows-where.

Last weekend while we were camping, we took Peanut to some friends to take care of her for the weekend. We warned them about Peanut's wandering tendencies and the precautions to prevent an escape. It didn't matter. Peanut seemed to sense their weak defenses and exploited them last Sunday night around 7pm. The family taking care of her was devastated. They have 3 dogs and other assorted pets. They are next to a creek outside, so they have raccoons, rats, and other varmints in the area too. As of late last night, there was no sign of Peanut after 24 hours.

The trick that I suggested was to leave 1 pile of food inside the cage and wait until around 10pm when she wakes up to search for her. However, that didn't work last night. They still left the cage in a dog-free area with some food out. This morning, they saw that the food was gone. After a quick search, they found Peanut in the little hamster penthouse curled up asleep.

This was Peanut's longest adventure yet. The hamster-sitting family was greatly relieved. My girls took it all in stride. They really didn't seem worried about her -- even though we had serious doubts that she would be back this time. Now that she is back though everyone is very happy.

Labels: Hamster, Peanut