I just bought a wood (bamboo) shrimp. Within hours he escaped from my tank. I found him walking across my carpet... got him in time and he seems fine. But I wondered: is this a common problem with aquarium shrimp?

I've never had wood shrimp, just smaller sorts of shrimp. They're very jumpy and can bounce out of a tank by "accident." A lid with few openings (needed for air exchange) is best for shrimp. Wood shrimp, being larger, may decide to deliberately leave a tank by jumping out. In the wild, they'd then bounce to another source of water. In a house, they'd be lucky to find a water bowl or toilet but not very likely! In fish stores, fish can jump to other tanks. I think at the store I worked out, a predatory fish hopped to the next tank and ate all the fish there. I don't remember the details. It's lucky you found the wood shrimp before he dessicated.

i had four and they never jumped out before. i have a hood, do you?