yet another Houdini hamster

before I started this blog, we had an incident with an escapee hamster who went missing in our house for 7 days. we(well, I)was sure it had become a cat snack and that the hamster was long gone. we were so sure, in fact, that we got a new hamster. and then, I found the hamster in the garage at the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket. very hungry. very thirsty. and very loving and happy to see her owners again.
so, fast forward a couple of years and we are now on hamsters #4, 5 and 6. the latest addition, #6, otherwise known as Willow, has decided she can do what Puddles could do and do it even better.
she has figured out how to open an opening that was secure, and then close it so that when I walk by the cage to check on her and see that there is no hamster in the hamster cage, and yet the cage is completely shut and secured. she has done this successfully 3 nights in a row.
the first morning, I did not notice her until I walked by the kids' bathroom and saw her sitting on the closed toilet, on her hind legs, looking at me as if she were casually saying, "oh, hi Momma". I had to do a double take to make sure it was Willow, and not some stray mouse that had somehow taken up residence on one of out toilets.
the second morning, she was simply gone. we found her a few hours later in the kids' closet.
the third morning(yesterday), she was again, gone. we found her behind the TV.
I made the decision to move Willow from the cute little pink Princess cage that apparrantly is crap for containment to the blue, sturdy, unescapable(in 3 years)other hamster cage. so, we now have 3 female hamsters living together. I am going to find the same brand cage (bigger) so that they have a bit more room. they all get along well, so I'm hoping there are no hamster wars that break out.
the daughter was not happy about getting rid of the pink cage. however, after being forced to crawl around the house on her belly with a flashlight 2 mornings in a row to find her little friend, she agreed that Willow needed a stronger cage. on a more positive note, we found countless bouncy balls, cars, Barbie clothing and 2 spoons during the hamster searches.