# Alone for 24 hours?



## Prickerz (Sep 17, 2014)

Next week for the holiday, my boyfriend and I are staying the night at his parents' house. The next day, we are driving to Rochester to spend the day with my family. Then we will be back home that night. Will my little Pepper be ok for this time on her own? 
I really can't bring her with me, there would be WAY too much going on, and it's cold outside. We keep the apartment at 77 soo even if her CHE failed, she would still be toasty warm. I always clean her wheel in the morning and would do so before we left... 
Tell me what you think


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## DesireeM81 (Jun 14, 2014)

Honestly, I think she will be fine for a night. No more than that but for a night and a day sure.


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## PennyRosa (Mar 2, 2014)

I leave Penny for that amount of time occasionally on weekends and she is fine!


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## MomLady (Aug 14, 2010)

I think she'd be fine. I've left Nara overnight making sure she had fresh water and food right before I left.

Can you hide some extra kibble for her, just in case? 

Make sure you give her extra cuddles when you get home!


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## Prickerz (Sep 17, 2014)

Oh don't worry, she'll get plenty of cuddles and i'll leave her christmas present for her to find when she wakes up that night! 
There is always kibble left in the dish. I have a shallow ceramic dish and cover the bottom of it, she only ever eats about half. I also planned on putting some mealworms in there, too. 
Thanks, Everyone!!


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## ashleyyy (Sep 22, 2014)

I think she will be okay!  My breeder said I could probably try to get away with a weekend of leaving Ellie alone but definitely no more than that. 

Extra cuddles and presents always makes up for a day alone.  And besides, hedgies don't really crave human attention usually, right? So I'm sure she will be okay for a night! Do you have a timer for a light schedule?


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## TikkiLink (Dec 4, 2013)

My hedgie (when she was still actively using her wheel) would party hard when I'd be gone for a day. I'd come home and her cage would be trashed like I've never seen it! So yeah, you should be fine.


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## hedgiehome (Nov 10, 2014)

We've left our hedgie for a night and he was fine. We just made sure he had plenty of food and water (which there was since he hadn't eaten it all). I think he also partied hard while we were gone!


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## Prickerz (Sep 17, 2014)

Ashleyy- Yes, I do! The timer is set on a 12 hour schedule. 
So, I was going to leave Tilly the cat in charge until this morning when she went insane and knocked her water bowk over in the process. 
Now, that power will be given to Pepper


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## Little charlie (Dec 8, 2014)

Is your CHE on a thermostat?


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## Prickerz (Sep 17, 2014)

Lol of course it is!!


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## MomLady (Aug 14, 2010)

Oh, dear. Kitty cracked under all the pressure of being in charge. 

Hedgie to the rescue!


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## knlght (Oct 12, 2014)

As long as you have enough food and water she'll be fine. 

I left my hedgie for 3 straight days and they're okay . I just provide enough food and water. But their cages was so messy . lolx


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## MomLady (Aug 14, 2010)

I wouldn't leave a hedgie alone for 3 days---too many things can go wrong.


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## knlght (Oct 12, 2014)

MomLady said:


> I wouldn't leave a hedgie alone for 3 days---too many things can go wrong.


Like what ?

As long as they have a food and water then they'll be fine. In fact when I came back there's still some food (super worms and kibbles) and water that could even last for 2 more days 

I also have so many breeders friends that leaves their hedgehog for the weekends and they are all okay.


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## Prickerz (Sep 17, 2014)

What if the CHE bulb had failed on the first night? And by the time you returned, the hedgehog was in hibernation for two days? 
Pepper only poos and pees on her wheel, after multiple nights i'd guess it would be way too gross and she wouldn't want to touch it! And the awful smell... she wouldn't be able to get away from it. 
Also you really should change the water every day.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Tipped water bowl, weather changes, hedgehog escapes from cage, injury due to wheel or other issue, illness.... There are many things that could go wrong. I wouldn't ever recommend leaving hedgehogs alone for longer than a night, or any other animal other than maybe cats (and even then, not more than 2 nights without someone to check on them). Yes, it ended well this time, but there are still many dangers & concerns, and I wouldn't risk it.


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## MomLady (Aug 14, 2010)

Even if it's just the fact that they need fresh food every day. If your hedgie quit eating the first day, by the time you got home, it would be 3 days of not eating, which is dangerous.
They need fresh water every day.
Temperature in cage needs to be monitored, even a slight change in outside temperature can throw your heating out of whack.
If the power goes out, you won't have heat/cooling or lighting working or possibly on at the wrong time.
There's the cleanliness issue, cleaning the wheel, litter and "housekeeping" we all do.
Three days of bonding time is an issue too, you need that bonding time every day.
Just because breeders do it doesn't make it right. They could loose their whole herd in a temperature malfunction.

And to top it off, they kinda sense when you're gone and tend to have wild parties and trash their wheels and cages. They invite all their friends over, eat all the food and anoint.


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## Prickerz (Sep 17, 2014)

Uh oh!! With that in mind, maybe I should leave Frosty the leopard gecko in charge!!


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## TikkiLink (Dec 4, 2013)

I have to add to this thread because the "worst case scenario" just hapened with me, and with another pet owner I just went on a five-day vacation with. I luckily took my hedgie with me, because my house power went out on Christmas day while I was gone, just for a minute. That was just long enough to turn off my space heater that would have been running and reset my house heat to 62. My pet sitter didn't notice anything wrong, and luckily my cats were okay and my beardie had a heat source that was not affected. If I had left my hedgie at home, she would have died within the few more days we were gone!

On an even worse note, the woman who traveled with me went on the trip assuming she had left plenty of food and water down for her cat and did not have anyone come check on the cat while she was away. She came home to a cat who had been out of water for days and died the morning after from dehydration complications!


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