YA Fantasy series. Young boy is lost in a jungle with monsters and "blood plants", tries to escape. Read in 2008.

[Garrett]

When I was in middle school in 2008 I read a fantasy book that was part of a series. The book was about a young boy that is lost in a jungle filled with hamsters and danger. The boy is trying to escape the jungle. I remember distinctly that the main danger of the jungle were man eating plays called "blood plants" I believe. At one point the main character becomes caught in one but is able to escape. He runs into monsters and other things throughout the book and I believe towards the end he finds a hit air balloon. I don't remember the title or author I just remember those things about the story. It was one of my favorite books and I've been looking for it for a long time. I believe it was made in the early 2000s.

[Garrett]

The jungle is filled with monsters, not hamsters...

[Kris]

Garrett, how did the boy become lost in the jungle (e.g., plane crash)? Where is his home and his parents?

What is the story's time period?

[Capn]

There's a "Killer Plants" list, too: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...
Anything ringing a bell on that one?

[Capn]

I just stumbled upon The Dark Ground - it's part of the Lost Trilogy by Gillian Cross (though for some reason GR's series link only shows the first book).

[Genesistrine]

Beyond the Deepwoods? The plants would be bloodoaks, and Twig the protagonist eventually finds and teams up with a crew of sky pirates whose ship crashed after a lightning strike.