# letting a hedgie run free in a room?



## josie oak (Aug 2, 2012)

hello! i live in an apartment right now and my room is very small. my hedgie ran until her feet bled some nights ago (i suspect because i have a comfort wheel-maybe the ridges irritated her feet?) and so for the next few nights i hedgie-proofed my room (i vacuum and i look around for any foreign food pieces or things like that that she might try to eat) and then gave her the run of the room for the night.

i had given her time pretty much every day before that to run free and explore the room (it was always supervised and hedgie-proofed) so she was very familiar with the room by the time i allowed her to run around my room for the night. she seems to love it and has found a few places where she likes to curl up and rest. everytime i leave her food and water out to access it and set the CHE to aim on the carpet outside the cage in case she gets cold and i plug in a heating pad and set it under the small duffel bag she likes to curl up in. i keep an eye out for temperature changes and don't mind picking up her little poops. i make sure no one will be entering or leaving the room so that it stays secure and i'm always careful. is this wrong? is it okay if i keep letting her have the run of my room for the night? i always make sure the doors stay closed and she seems really happy. thoughts?


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## zamxonk (Mar 6, 2013)

My concern would be the temperature of your room. Hedgies generally aren't smart enough to find the warm spot to regulate their temperatures, which is why it's so important to make sure the whole cage is a pretty consistent temperature (unlike with reptiles). If it's warm enough in your room, I think it would be fine, but if it's lower than your hedgie's normal temperature range I'd be concerned about hibernation.


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## GoodandPlenty (Feb 4, 2012)

You would want to be positive of having absolute control of the environment; temperature yes, but also hiding places that you can't reach into, something (anything) that might be eaten that you can't see.

My biggest fear would be an accidental crush injury. That is one of the reasons that I'm actually pretty glad that Sophie decided she didn't like her 'runaround area' and we gave it up. I was constantly afraid of forgetting her just one time, for just one second. That's all it takes.


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