# Short rides.



## zombielover3617 (Oct 16, 2015)

So i have a little carrier that I put my little girl in when we go for rides when I have to be away from home and there is no one there with her. She seems to feel the need to poop in her fleece even when we go for really short rides. I know this is probably normal but does anyone know why? Sometimes she doesn't which makes me happy because then she's not all dirty.I always bring extra but I'm not sure why she does that haha.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Two possibilities. First is just that she's awake, and when hedgehogs first wake up, they tend to poop. Second is she's stressed out by the rides, and hedgehogs will stress poop. How often do you take her out? I'm a bit confused by your wording - are you taking her places overnight because you have no one to watch her, or are these trips that are for less than a day?


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## zombielover3617 (Oct 16, 2015)

They are trips during the day. They are not very long besides when we drive to the vet. But on the way home she never poops just the ride to somewhere


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## shinydistraction (Jul 6, 2014)

During the day she should be sleeping. She doesn't need to have someone with her 24/7. It would be better to let her sleep rather than waking her up to put her in her carrier and then potentially waking her up again to put her back. The occasional outing is ok, but it really shouldn't be frequent thing. It would be kind of like if someone came into your room in the middle of the night, made you get in the car, drive around for a bit and then take you home. Not very much fun and rather stressful.

When you do take her out during the day, you could give her time to potty before you take her anywhere. But I promise, she's a big girl, she'll be ok at home even with you not there


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## twobytwopets (Feb 2, 2014)

Each outing has risks. Until temperatures are up in the 70's consistently the risks are much greater. In most cases there is no reason to bring a hedgehog with you everywhere. 
There are plenty of places we go on a daily basis that they aren't welcome because of health issues like restaurants, grocery stores, doctors offices and pharmacies. 
Those of us who do take our hedgehogs on outings do so to specific places with all the risks taken into consideration. Also the length of time they will be out is limited. 
Hedgehogs being defensive animals, it's harder for us to gauge their stress level. If I take my dog to the park and he starts barking a lot, shaking, acting aggressive in any way, or cowering behind me or objects I could make a safe assumption that he is stressed. With a hedgehog, they don't have as many ways of telling us they are stressed. That bowel movement may be a way she is showing stress. Especially if she wasn't just woke up and given time to have the morning poop. Think of the phrase "scaring the s.... Out of someone" that may be what could be going on here.


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## zombielover3617 (Oct 16, 2015)

The times I have gone out with her was just to my mothers house and to the vets. but I haven't taken her away from home in a while. Just was getting her prepared for the long ride to the vets since it's a little over an hour away from where we live. She's not going out of the house until after winter unless she needs to go to the vets. thanks guys! I just wanted to make sure it was something normal and not something super wrong with her. I get paraniod sometimes with all the stuff people post haha.


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## teddythehedgie (Nov 22, 2015)

She may be stressed out. If you are taking her anywhere, to the vet for example, ensure you have a heating source and plenty of blankets and fleece in there that smells like home. Teddy doesn't mind car rides as long as I supply a hot water bottle, fleece, and a dark place to burrow. A hot water bottle will work in a pinch when you need to take them somewhere (ie: vet) in the middle of winter. Just ensure it is covered in fleece and not easily bite-able.


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