# Where would a loose hedgehog hide?



## lovesnuffles

So I kinda made a boo boo today and accidentally let one of my hedgehogs escape. Well, I didn't let it. I had it in a separate Styrofoam container with a lid while I cleaned her cage and when I went to go change out her water, she got out. I know it was my mistake. I should have put her in something more secure, but in my defense, the thing was pretty deep and I didn't think she could actually reach the lid to move it and climb out. There was a little pee pee trail to follow for some of the way, but it ended in a fork.

Where would a hedgie be most likely to hide? Somewhere dark of course. I checked all the nearest dark places and she's not there. Would she head somewhere warm? I did a non-thorough check of our reptile room, but the pee pee trail led away from there. I doubt she went in there.

Or would she head to food first and foremost?


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## Puffers315

From what I've seen from other members who have had an escaped hog is you gotta check just about every inch of the place, everything at floor level and even above, I swear to god someone had a lost hedgehog that appeared like in their sock drawer in the top of their dresser.


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## Hedgieonboard

Check laundry piles that may be on the floor, seems like a lot of hedgies head there. I'd check shoes too. Put like Puffers said you will pretty much have to check every square inch because they can get into quite abit of hiding places.


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## Pricklesmylove

My babies have proved themselves to be the masters of escape. Four out of my five adults have got out once. They like to go under my bed. Found three of them there. They also go for my daughter's room. I think it's because it's the warmest room in the house. 
Lily belle was found in her doll house next to a toy scooter. I couldn't help be remember the childern's book "The Mouse and the Motorcycle" My version "The Hedgehog and The Scooter" :lol: I hope you find her soon. Please let us know how things turns out.


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## Sela

Oh boy...I hope you find your little one, definitely search every inch of your house as carefully as you can. Next cleaning day, maybe put her in a cat carrier while you clean her little house? It would definitely keep her from wandering off.

Please keep us updated, and let us know if and when you find her.


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## lovesnuffles

I searched ... and searched ... and searched ... and then got down and searched a little bit more. But I still can't find her :/ She's lost in the pet store I work in, not in my home. So it's really hard to find her. But I figure someone will see her eventually right? I'm not worried about someone stealing her. She's too mean. I'm just worried about her starving to death. Should I leave food out? Would that attract her?


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## Sela

Leaving food and water out is definitely a good idea, possibly in a number of different places. It might also be a good idea to set up a live trap, one of those things that is basically a cage that will close when the animal steps inside. Put some of her food inside, and some water, and maybe her favourite treat as bait. With luck, she'll wander right into it, and you'll have your baby back.


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## tie-dye hedgie

I know you're in a petstore, but is it possible to turn up the temp. in there at all, so she can be warmer?
I hope you find her soon. Did you check behind all the merchandise individually, like the dog food bags, cage boxes, etc.?


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## lovesnuffles

Thanks for that idea Sela!! Definitely gonna do that one!!

tie-dye, it is possible for me to do so. But it's not really necessary. The store doesn't get too cold as it is.


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## Lilysmommy

lovesnuffles said:


> Thanks for that idea Sela!! Definitely gonna do that one!!
> 
> tie-dye, it is possible for me to do so. But it's not really necessary. The store doesn't get too cold as it is.


Even if the store doesn't get too cold, it's possible that it could cool down overnight, or she could get a draft from being on the floor. Until you find her, it might be best to turn to the temp up one or two degrees, just to be safe.

Because it'd be so easy for her to get hurt in the store (my mind was going crazy thinking of her getting stepped on, picked up and dropped, or having something fall on her from a shelf), I would get any employees you can to help look. Look on the floor everywhere, especially under and behind shelves and cages. Look on the bottom shelf, among merchandise, or if there's any bedding or fabric anywhere on the floor that she might be burrowed in.

She's been missing for three days now, which makes it even more urgent that you find her. I'd put out bowls of food in multiple places, near hiding spots and in different rooms. Maybe count how many kibbles you put in each bowl, so at least you know if she's been to one. Live traps are a good idea, but you really need to find her as soon as you can. Staying after closing time to continue searching would be a good idea, since there wouldn't being any customers moving around and possibly scaring her into hiding herself even better.


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## shealynn87

You might even consider doing a sleep over at the store. I would go with my sleeping bag and a book (and a small book light), and turn off all the lights. she will probably come out in the middle of the night and you will hear her. I hope you find her. Have you seen any little hedgie poops around the store during your search?


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## E-Che & Tonja

If you still have not found her I would ask manugment if you could offer a 10% discount to who ever finds her. That way it would be every person who enters the store would be looking for her, and not just the employs. I also agrea with shealynn that an over night stay is in order. At this point I would be putting down cand cat food to get her to eat she is probly starving by now. Good luck and keep us posted


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## LizardGirl

Do you have some sort of camera surveillance system in the store? Do they do nightvision? If you could watch the night's tapes, you might be able to see her.


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## tie-dye hedgie

Also, the tile flooring makes it especially cooler for hedgehogs, because it holds in the cold. 
I second the sleep over, 10% discount, and camera reviewings!


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## Hedgieonboard

Any updates on the little one? I've been thinking about him all weekend and am worried. Please let us know if you find him.


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## lovesnuffles

Guys, seriously, I wouldn't worry about it being too cold. I mean, we turn the air off at night and I live in Louisiana. It's HOT here!! Like, really hot. So I highly doubt she's freezing her cute little spikey booty off. If she is, I need to go where she is just to cool off.

An overnight stay at the store is out of the question. For one thing, I do not trust people around here and so if there is a break in, I have absolutely no protection whatsoever. And second, my boss would never trust me to do that. And third, I hate my job enough as it is!  I really don't wanna stay overnight. Love the animals, hate the job. Don't love the animals enough to stay there for more than 8 hours. Maybe if it was a different pet store, or if I had a different boss.

And as for customers looking for her, I don't think that's a good idea either. If someone finds her, they will be tempted to grab her. She's not the nicest hedgie. Not at all. And if she happened to hurt the wrong person, they could sue and that's just not worth it.

And we do have surveillance, but only in certain areas, and the boss checks them every day and every night and never misses a chance to bust one of us goofing off or something. I swear he's the devil.

No updates. Searched the store again today. I told the boss about the live trap idea, he thinks it's good. He's bringing one tomorrow, but of course, I'm off tomorrow, but I might go in and set it anyways tomorrow evening. Just because I can get in and get out quickly.


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## cancelledout

My pet once escaped. I brought his little carton box which is his sleeping place, place food inside it and left it out in the open. After a few minutes, it just came out of nowhere and started eating the food I laid out for it^^ Hope you can find it soon!


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## EryBee

How cool does the store get during the day? If the air is on and it is too cold for a hedgie that could prove dangerous for her, even if it is warm at night. 
I really hope you do take all the extra measures possible, because this is such a terrible situation and new steps should be taken since the little hedgehog hasn't been found yet. Good luck!


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## lovesnuffles

I would say the store stays right at 75 degrees during the day. We're not even allowed to put the air lower than a certain temperature because the pipes freeze up and it costs an arm and a leg to restore the freon or however air conditioners work.

And now I'm not sure how many extra measures I'll be able to take at all :/ One of my snakes went missing last night too. WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN TO ME?! Lol


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## E-Che & Tonja

Ok if there is a snake now loos you DEFUNTLY need to find her asap!!! and the store needs to come up with a better means of keeping the animals contaned...


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## lovesnuffles

It's my own personal snake that's loose, not a store snake. And even if it was a store snake, none of our snakes could eat her. Lol, I can't imagine what snake would be stupid enough to mess with her, period, no matter how big they are.


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## Lilysmommy

Whatever kind of snake you have, it's unlikely they have any knowledge of hedgehogs. Depending on how long it's been since your snake has eaten, and how long he ends up lost, it's entirely likely that he could try attacking the hedgehog because he sees it as food. It's a small, warm-blooded animal. Food. He may not have any clue that all over that animal are sharp things that would hurt him. And he could VERY easily hurt that hedgehog before he finds out. Then both animals are hurt and lost.

If you care about either animal at all, I think you need to try harder to find them. As you keep saying, with a customer trying to pick up the hedgehog and getting hurt, it's a liability for the store as much as it's a danger to the animal. Someone could find either of them and try picking them up and get bitten or stabbed. Even if you don't care about the animals being hurt, having someone sue the store over this could get you fired and have the store in a lot of trouble.

For whatever reason, yourself, the store, or the animals, please try harder to find them. It's in the best interest of everyone involved, particularly the innocent creatures that are lost, stressed, and probably starving (at least in the case of the hedgehog).


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## jinglesharks

Lilysmommy said:


> Whatever kind of snake you have, it's unlikely they have any knowledge of hedgehogs. Depending on how long it's been since your snake has eaten, and how long he ends up lost, it's entirely likely that he could try attacking the hedgehog because he sees it as food. It's a small, warm-blooded animal. Food. He may not have any clue that all over that animal are sharp things that would hurt him. And he could VERY easily hurt that hedgehog before he finds out. Then both animals are hurt and lost.
> 
> If you care about either animal at all, I think you need to try harder to find them. As you keep saying, with a customer trying to pick up the hedgehog and getting hurt, it's a liability for the store as much as it's a danger to the animal. Someone could find either of them and try picking them up and get bitten or stabbed. Even if you don't care about the animals being hurt, having someone sue the store over this could get you fired and have the store in a lot of trouble.
> 
> For whatever reason, yourself, the store, or the animals, please try harder to find them. It's in the best interest of everyone involved, particularly the innocent creatures that are lost, stressed, and probably starving (at least in the case of the hedgehog).


The poster actually said that it is their own snake, not a snake at the store. But I do agree with what you said- domesticated animals don't always get things in the same way wild ones might. My cats have all stuck their faces in my hedgehog before.

Really, everything possible needs to be done to find this animal. If you care about animals as much as you say, then you should be trying harder. This is a very serious situation.


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## Lilysmommy

jinglesharks said:


> The poster actually said that it is their own snake, not a snake at the store. But I do agree with what you said- domesticated animals don't always get things in the same way wild ones might. My cats have all stuck their faces in my hedgehog before.


Whoops, I read too fast. >< I saw that it was her snake, but for some reason, I thought it said her snake was in the store. Apologies for that mistake. But I do hope the snake is found too. I've heard they're hard to find once they're loose, since they can get into the walls and such. :?


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## lovesnuffles

Yeah, the snake is no where near the store or the hedgehog. No danger there. And even if it was, only the snake would be hurt. It couldn't do any damage to the hedgehog. It's a sand boa and it's barely seven inches long. I'd be surprised if it could break skin if it ever bit. And she ate before she got loose anyways, so she's good to go  Lol, no danger of her starving to death, just slipping outside and being eaten by something else 

What would you guys suggest then as far as trying harder that DOESN'T include spending the night at the store? I'm gonna set the live trap when I go back tomorrow ((I was off today)). So far I've gotten fussed at for not trying hard enough and only one good suggestion of what I can actually DO :/

By the way, hopefully I'm gonna be getting another job soon, so I'm gonna need to find this thing before I quit this job D: Because I know no one else will care enough to actually take an hour everyday to do a thorough check of the store for her. So more suggestions would be great please.


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## Beanie

I would look extra hard in any dark areas that she could have crawled into. If you can't stay over night to look out for her, the live trap is about the best you can do. How big is the petstore?


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## krbshappy71

Unfortunately that's the tricky part. Hedgehogs are nocturnal so giving you ideas for daytime search isn't really going to help you. They can hide just about anywhere and not just at ground level as they can climb a bit as well. People have lost hedgies in their own houses, stayed up late at night looking for them, and still had trouble finding them, they are just that elusive of a critter. They have no problem balling up and staying absolutely still when they are scared (or, during the day, sleeping). If you were lucky enough to get close to where they are hiding, the petstore would have to be fairly silent for you to hear it huffing at you, if it did choose to huff.

Here's hoping the live trap is successful. Put out some yummy cat food to attract it, but even then if the store is a decent size there is a chance it wouldn't find that one particular trap if it was exploring in a totally different area of the store. Would it be possible to get several traps, say from the humane society in your area? (borrowed) That would increase your chances, at least to have several sitting around the store with the cat food.


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## lovesnuffles

Trust me, this little witch would definitely huff at anyone who came near her. She's a pretty big girl.

I might be able to get more traps, but the humane society charges you for using them. I'm gonna check with the other employees first, see if anyone else has any traps.

Should I use dry cat food or canned? Canned tends to be stinkier and so attracts animals better ... It's what people use mostly for traps ... But I've never heard of anyone who was trying to trap a hedgehog.


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## Puffers315

I would put my money on wet, as you said, its got more of a strong odor to it, if anything put a dab of wet on a plate along with some dry, best of both worlds. But as others have said, they are night time creatures, so its going to be harder to find her during the day. As for listening for her if you could stay at night, its a pet store, so I'd assume there's always some sort of noise from everyone in there moving about at night.

Good luck.


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## lovesnuffles

I'm gonna try it. Boss went home to get the trap, I'm on lunch right now, when I go back I'm gonna grab a can of cat food and a sample pack of dry cat food, and get everything ready for tonight! 

I'ma gonna catch that little hog, you mark my words >.>

And it is true about the noise in the pet store. We have 93 birds, hamsters, hedgehogs, rabbits, gerbils, and rats. Sometimes the rabbits will dig in their cage and it sounds like the huffing of a hedgehog, so it gets very confusing D:


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