# Car travelling with a hedgehog



## bakakaichou (Aug 4, 2011)

Hi everyone,

My friend is looking to give up his 8 month old hedgehog to a good home and I'm considering adopting it, but I have a question as I want to ensure the hedgehog's quality of life.

I often travel between two cities (usually on the weekends) every week. The drive is about 1-1.5 hours depending on traffic. I wouldn't want to leave the hedgehog alone over the weekend so I would like to bring him with me, but I don't know if the drive twice a week would be something he dislikes or is not healthy for him to do. Could someone provide me with some advice? Thanks!


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## panda (May 23, 2011)

From what i have read some hedgehogs really stress out in the car but others are fine with it, Norma is fine with it. I think that is something that just depends on the personality of the hedgie, also you would have to consider if you would want to have a setup at both locations or have a setup that is portable enough to bring back and forth.
I am sure someone with more knowledge will come along and give you some more opinion & advice


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## CanadienHedgie (Feb 4, 2011)

You def. wouldn't want to leave the hedgehog alone, and they need to be monitored, check the temperature a couple times a day, fresh food, fresh water, handled, etc. 

In my honest opinion, I don't think a hedgehog is right for you... When hedgehogs are taken to new places, they take a while to settle in, he wouldn't even have time to settle into your home, then he'd be in another place, wouldn't have time to settle it, then back to your place but doesn't have time to settle in, etc.


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## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

Is the travel between two cities usually between just two different places? Reason I ask is I know there is a lot of college students on here that travel back and forth from their college apts and parents home and their hedgies seem to be fine with it. If the travel is just from one house to another I don't think it would be too stressful since an hour and a half isn't too long and the hedgie would be able to get used to both set ups, especially if you made sure on a travel day that you brought a slighly used liner for the scent of home


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## DasIgelPoggie (Oct 21, 2010)

I think it really depends on the chog. My Igel and I used to travel from my university to my parents' home an hour away every weekend, and then travel back that Monday morning. Igel actually seems to not even notice we're driving... I would take his whole cage, strap it into the back seat, and go. He would use his litter box, sleep, run on his wheel-- just act as normal as can be. He never seemed to be irritated after our drives either. Eriza prefers to sleep in my hoody pocket when we drive, and she is absolutely dead to the world when we drive. Penny doesn't like travelling, which is why she's permanently stationed at my parents' house. So maybe get a better idea of the hedgie first!


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## Hissy-Fit-Hazel (Jul 15, 2011)

Hazel's previous owner made frequent trips with her each weekend from her work-home to her moms place...even a ferry trip included. I think as long as you keep their space the same so they are used to both places ( or set ups) they should have less stress.


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## DexterTheHog (May 22, 2011)

bakakaichou said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> My friend is looking to give up his 8 month old hedgehog to a good home and I'm considering adopting it, but I have a question as I want to ensure the hedgehog's quality of life.
> 
> I often travel between two cities (usually on the weekends) every week. The drive is about 1-1.5 hours depending on traffic. I wouldn't want to leave the hedgehog alone over the weekend so I would like to bring him with me, but I don't know if the drive twice a week would be something he dislikes or is not healthy for him to do. Could someone provide me with some advice? Thanks!


I actually do the exact same thing haha
I was able to not travel the first 2 weeks Dexter was home so that he'd be used to me and stuff and then on the first car ride i was soooo nervous! So I put him in his carrier and off we went on the 1.5 hour drive. He didn't really sleep at all, he pooped, and he barfed. But when we got there I set up his cage the exact same way it always is and left him alone. That night, he ate/drank/ran/did everything he normally does so the ride didn't seem to traumatize him!
Now I just either leave him in his cage while we travel, or just leave him in his bag in his carrier. He stays asleep the whole time and its like it never happened. 
He really is a champ!
I asked my vet if it was bad to do this and she said "nope. if that's your life, your hedgie is gonna have to get used to it"
Which is the opposite of what i'd read on here, but my mom was like "come on come on lets go" so i said FINE and everything turned out great! The vet was right on this one and Dexter is 100% adapted. He even came into a restaurant on our road trip last weekend :lol:


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## bakakaichou (Aug 4, 2011)

Thanks for all the feedback and comments! Most of the comments have made it a bit more reassuring in adopting the hedgehog. I will only be going back and forth between two houses (as opposed to a different place every time) just to visit my family and such. The hedgehog will have changed owners quite a few times already (one due to not enough time to care for it and the other who’s spouse is afraid of it), and I’d like to really give it a good home and not have him changing owners every few months.


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## shortnerdy (Jul 3, 2011)

Sheldon pretty much has a bird the whiole time and poops and rolls through it the whole car ride, I bring ( liners for his travel box *one there one back* , baby wipes and prepare to crack the windows. He Always needs a full bath when he gets home because he litterly is wearing a coat of poo.

Hope your guy does better than Shelly in the car!


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

I think you will both be fine. As has been said, some travel better than others but generally, as long as you're there, along with something familiar (hedgie bag/blanket, etc) he should be fine.

You just do what's right for you and your hedgie.


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

I travel ALL the time with my boy. I go to school in one city, and I visit my mother every weekend in another city. It's usually a 1hrish drive, unless there's lots of traffic, then that can vary all the way up to 2 hours drive. 

What I do, is I clean cage on Wed, and give my boy a fresh fleece blanket to sleep in. He doesn't like sleeping in an igloo, just a fleece blanket, so that's what he gets. This way, when we are travelling, he has his "old and used" blanket. That blanket will stay with him throughout the weekend, so that when I head back to mother's he still has HIS scent in the cage. Mind you, he's used to this now after 2 years, but I just feel better knowing he has his own smell in the cage. I never do a full clean of the cage either. It's always either blanket, OR liner, never both. I just figure that in their prey-type mind, it's nice to have some lingering personal odour :lol: 

For the most part, my boy just sleeps in the car. Just make sure it's nicely strapped in with a seatbelt, and you can control the temperature. I usually have a thermometer for the inside of the carrier as well. So he gets heated seat with a heated snugglesafe in the winter, and in the summer, he gets a/c in the car. But with the ac, I make sure the a/c blows directly at the carrier, but I have a bag of sorts so that the air doesn't blow inside the carrier. This keeps the air around the carrier cool, and it also keeps the sun from being directly on the carrier as well. You'll find different ways to maintain temperature once you've tried it a few times. It took me several weeks to make the adjustments that work. 

Good luck! ^_^


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## ericarad (Oct 4, 2011)

My hedgie, Blue, is perfectly content while traveling. I put him in a little travel carrier with some homey smelling things and he's a-okay. 

Afterwards, he's all excited to explore where we've gone, whether it's to the vets or up to Maine for a few days. He's friendly to everyone who wants to see him and isn't huffy at all.  I think he quite likes his car rides!


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