# can a hedgehog run freely around a hedgie proof house?



## carsonmckee (Apr 10, 2012)

Im getting a hedgehog in august and my mom says that its cage has to be in my room but my hedgie can be around the house. since hedgies like to run on their wheels at night a got a superpet silent spinner wheel. I spun it and it spins silently enough but my fingers hitting it make a loud noise that i defiantly could not sleep through. my house stays any where from 70 to 75 degrees ferenhiet (I took into account day and night and the seasons). So I was wandering if i could open the cage door and let the hedgehog out to run about the house at night (provided that it would have full access to its cage all night and all rooms it had access to were hedgie proof)


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## HedgieGirl519 (Oct 21, 2011)

Silent Spinners aren't safe for hedgehogs. The slit that runs down the middle can catch and rip off toe nails. You will want to exchange it for a 12" Giant Comfort Wheel or return it and get a Carolina Storm Wheel or Carolina Storm Bucket Wheel. 

Hedgehogs must have their wheel all night. In the wild they run for miles each night, without the wheel they get bored and over weight. If you are concerned about the noise, get a CSW or CSBW. They are completely silent all you hear is the hedgehogs feet. Comfort Wheels are loud as well. They are also very hard to clean. 

70 is too low for a hedgehog. The average is 72-75. 

You would have to do a lot of work to hedgie proof your house. 

Hedgehogs poop and pee while they run, this cannot be stopped. So every morning you are going to have poop and pee all over the place.

You would have to put numerous water bowls around the house. What if the hedgehog cannot remember where the cage is? 

Hedgehogs love dark, small spaces. What if he/she hides and you cannot find her. 


Some people do it, and some people will say it's okay, but IMO, it's not okay. There are too many risks and dangers. Such as:
-Getting too cold
-Not having a light setup
-Getting dehydrated
-Getting lost
-Getting injured

How are you going to keep the light schedule if he/she can run all over the house? They need to be on a constant 12-14 hour light schedule or they can attempt hibernation. Are there any stairs he/she could fall down?


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## HedgieGirl519 (Oct 21, 2011)

If the whole area that the hedgehog will have access to is 100% hedgie proof, you could do it. But I wouldn't recommend it, like I already said. 

But you will have to make sure:
-Every where the hedgehog has access to stay in the temperature range (72-75)
-The 12-14 hour light schedule remains consistent
-There is plenty of water and food sources
-There is nothing he climb up into, like TV units or couches
-Still has access to the wheel
-You are fine with poop and pee all over the place
-There are no stairs to fall down
-There are no doors he/she could slip under
-There are no holes in the walls
-There are covers on the vents
-There is no access to carpet (unsupervised)
-There are no other pets

Everything in your house that is raised off the ground, he/she could hide under. How will you find him/her? I dont see how your mom can be okay with the hedgehog running, pooping and peeing around the house all night, when the cage has to be in your room.


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## connorshogs (Mar 24, 2011)

A comfort wheel is not that safe due to the ridges on it can hurt their feet. I tell all my customers to only get the storm wheel . Larry makes an amazing wheel for a good price and in many colors and I think its the best wheel out their I make my own. But I don't sell them because larrys are so much better and I dnt enjoy making them


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Can it be done? Sure. Should it? I'm not a fan anymore. I had a pair who had free roam of a large area of an apartment I lived in. Hedgie proofing can be a hassle, but it can be done. A couple of the major down sides of it are, hedgehogs poop and pee everywhere when they run around. Finding a turd between your toes in the middle of the night, is not exactly fun. Plus their urine will discolor carpeting (yep speaking from experience here). You also run into the risk of them getting themselves into trouble. Hedgehogs are very inquisitive, and they are good climbers. They can and will figure out how to get into places they shouldn't be if given enough time to do so.

You are better off with hedgehog proofing 1 room, and then allowing your hedgehog supervised free roam time for a couple of hours. Before we had exercise wheels, this was how we helped ensure our hedgehogs had enough exercise. If there is anything in the room, you must block it off though. I had one squeeze herself under a 1" gap under a book shelf, and I had one that found a way to climb up in a dresser, somehow she figured out how to get up to the 3rd drawer from the floor. I went searching everywhere and thankfully she starting digging in the drawer trying to rearrange my socks so she could get cozy. Otherwise I would have gone nuts that night. Also had another that managed to climb a book shelf. Found her on the second level of books (gotta picture of that one somewhere).


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## carsonmckee (Apr 10, 2012)

wow. ya once i submited it i thougght about how dificult it would be to fix the whole house because when i submitted it i was only just thinking about chewing chords and getting stuck in something, i wasnt thinking about waking up and the hedgie hid in a place like in my clothes hamper thats in my closet that was closed and places like that. i also wasnt thinking about needing food/water/litter in different places about the house even though the hedgie wouldnt probably use more than one litter any way, or the hedgie getting lost and cant remember were the cage is. thanks for telling me about the wheel by the way cuz people at petsmart told me it was ok but i thought about that crack in the middle but decided the petsmart people were better at knowing than me but aperantly not. after i submitted it i also thought about just letting lt run about my room and just hedgie proofing it. the whole pooping and peeing thing would be bad. just letting it roam my room would maybe keep the pooping and peeing under control?


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## HedgieGirl519 (Oct 21, 2011)

Regardless, hedgehogs poop and pee while they move around. It can't be stopped, it's part of hedgehog ownership . Also be prepared for a wheel covered in poop every morning. 

I wouldn't let him/her run around your bedroom all night. There will be poop and pee, that can't be stopped. And it would be hard to hedgie proof a bedroom. Do you have carpet in your bedroom? Carpet has loops that can catch toenails, which is why they shouldn't have access to carpet unsupervised. 

If you let him/her loose in your bedroom, you have to make sure your room is warm enough all night. You have to be okay with poop and pee. And you'll have to block off everything that he/she could go under, over, behind or in. It would be a lot of work, just to have a poopy floor in the morning. 

The safesty (and cleanest) option is just to get a Carolina Storm Wheel or Carolina Storm Bucket Wheel. They are completely quiet, other than the hedgehogs little feet (which don't make much noise). 

You could buy a small animal playpen and just set that up in your room. But the wheel would need to be in the playpen.


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## carsonmckee (Apr 10, 2012)

the only reason my mom makes the cage stay in my room is because we have a very small house and it doesn't fitt very well but in my room is the most space for it cuz i have a very little amount of furniture and the fact that its my hedgehog. my mom and i didn't think about the letting it run free until right before i wrote the post and the poop and pee thing was not thought about before i wrote the post. she was ok with it around the house because she didn't think about the poop and pee and she thought i would be able to sleep better. so pleas don't short twards me HedgieGirl519 i only thought it was a cool idea and i quickly posted it to see if it was a good idea. :/


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## carsonmckee (Apr 10, 2012)

sorry about saying u were being shore its just the first 2 posts u sent sound ed that way but by your third post i realized u weren't being short sorry it just sounded like u were


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## HedgieGirl519 (Oct 21, 2011)

I'm not being short with you.


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## carsonmckee (Apr 10, 2012)

ya i realized that sorry it just sounded like you were sorry


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## HedgieGirl519 (Oct 21, 2011)

carsonmckee said:


> ya i realized that sorry it just sounded like you were sorry


It's fine  I was rushing when I was typing it, so that might be why. 

Make sure you post lots of pictures when you get your hedgie


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## carsonmckee (Apr 10, 2012)

so i should get rid of the wheel i have and get a storm wheel and try a hedgehog at night in its cage with the storm wheel?


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## carsonmckee (Apr 10, 2012)

oh i will post a lot of pics. Im so exited i wanted one since i was 4 and im 14 and my parents finally said yes!


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## GoodandPlenty (Feb 4, 2012)

The CSW is 100% quiet. The only thing you will hear is the pitter-patter of little feet. (Or the click, click, click of nails that may need to be trimmed.)
......................................................

I'm a fan of giving hedgies room to roam but am very leery of 'free range', for many of the cited reasons. (Not that I agree with all of those reasons.)

Sophie has two 'secure areas'. An area in my office that is about 17' x 11'. She gets the occasional full night there. It only takes a minute to move her wheel, dishes, house, and hedgie sack. She also has a fully secured area in her room (fully temperature controlled); about 11' x 6'.

I believe that the extra room to roam is valuable. I also throw down a blanket, which she loves to tunnel under as part of the night's activities.

Secure areas must be monitored very closely, and that's a big problem. A dropped staple, piece of nut, or who knows what from day-to-day living is impossible to fully prevent. Full sweeping and inspection every week, but still.

My biggest worry is being the cause of a crush injury. If you enter the area at any time, for any reason, and do not have 'eyes on', you cannot trust yourself to take a step.

Office secure area, with road course.
http://serenebreezes.com/Sophie-images/Sophie-104.jpg

Secure area in her room.
http://serenebreezes.com/Sophie-images/Sophie-124-marked.jpg

Occasionally we take a night together. Kind of a treat for both of us. If I don't wear socks, a toe will get bit. Guaranteed. Must look like big fat mealies.
http://serenebreezes.com/Sophie-images/Sophie-122.jpg

She has a generous cage, but I see how much she loves the extra running room at night. I try to make decisions for her that a zoo would make if she were a 'featured exhibit'. I'm really leaning toward limiting use of the secure areas in favor of a cage addition. If I pick up another big table, I would have several options for connecting another C&C cage to the one she has. That would double her space 24/7/365. The primary investment would be a new table and another full set of CHEs. (Another pair of 150 watt CHEs, lamps, and another thermostat.) With what I've learned from cage building, that part would be, if not free, easily maximum bang for the buck.
http://serenebreezes.com/Sophie-images/buttoned-up.jpg


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Hedgie proofing your room is likely your best bet. I would recommend staying with him the entire time so that you can keep an eye on him and can clean up any poop or pee spots as they happen. Sadly they will happen. Actually hedgie proofing a room and sitting with them in a large space while they run around can be very entertaining. Some hedgehogs love to explore. I had one that more or less used me as a jungle gym. I'd lay flat on my stomach, and she would crawl up my legs, up my back then slide down my arm, run back to my legs and repeat. I've had others that would try to burrow under me. So don't give up on the idea, its not a bad one, you just need to modify it a bit .

Unless you are a light sleeper you will likely be fine with a hedgehog in your room. Get a good wheel like Larry's and about the only noises you will hear are the pitter patter of feet on the plastic bucket and maybe the occasional food/water bowl being banged against a cage wall. They are pretty quiet animals otherwise. I have all of mine in my bedroom. There are nights I don't get much sleep, I think the girls team up sometimes to see who can wake mom the most, but most nights I wake up once or twice from an odd noise and that is it.


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## Hillybean (Jun 10, 2010)

Yep, the CSW is so VERY quiet. You'll hardly know when your hedgie is on it. 

Also, from experience I can tell you that if there is noise caused from a wheel that you do get use to eventually. I have had a lot of critters and a variety of wheels..eventually you get use to the sounds they make and the night noises. The CSW are extremely quiet though .

Hedgie proofing is extremely difficult. I proof the bathroom, because it is the easiest floor to clean. My hedgehogs have a thing with wanting to bite my carpet. You have to worry about them eating any little thing on the floor, hiding in weird spots,and finding things you didn't know where there. 

I have had one poo once on carpet...yep a mess. She was holding a pile, and was honestly the most poo I have seen yet from a hedgie. Won't be doing that a second time.


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## Kelcey (Mar 28, 2013)

I am wanting to hedgie proof my room for bonding time. I have lots of places Shamus could sneak under , desk table, bookshelf, etc. any tips on blocking these off and also hiding electrical cords? It is carpet, but i will be supervising. I was using my bed but no matter how closely I watch him he manages to pee on it (yuck) then I have to wash every thing. I tried putting towels , but he always manages to go right on the edge of them, so it gets on my sheets.


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## popornthehedgehog (Dec 28, 2015)

My hedgehog has a room to herself and the temperature stays at 73 degrees. She has her wheel but refuses to get on it and she runs around her room at night and around our living room during the day! She does not have a cage what so ever as she gets depressed. But a whole house seems crazy. You could always hedgehog proof your room and keep your doors shut


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## Draenog (Feb 27, 2012)

This thread is from 2012.


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