Thanks Archinto for your thoughts

.
First thing sure was I put in a new battery, to no success.... my second move in such cases is always a good smack here and there (and some civilized curses), a lot of electronic devices showed good response on such in the past (hence that tricks by Uri Geller who magically repaired broken machines at your home via television

).
Well, I thought about cutting it in half with a Dremel (cutting wheel), however, due to the seam running along the back and belly instead of the flanks, the legs would need removal too. Tried that with the help of a large screwdriver as a lever, but they are well fit, I fear breaking them...