# 6 Hour Road Trip and 3 Nights in a hotel--TIPS?



## hedgehoginthetardis (Dec 5, 2014)

Hi Guys!

I'm a scuba diver and every year my diving group makes a trip up to Vermont/NY to go ice diving. This will be my first time making the trip with hedgehogs though!

It's roughly a six hour drive from my house. Luckily I will be riding with someone so I will be in the backseat monitoring the hedgehogs. Either way... anyone have any tips for the long rides? I have a cat carrier but the boys usually ride in snuggle sacks inside a market tote (see link below) on my short trips with them. I love the market tote, the bottom fits a plastic cake size tupperware bin perfectly for "accidents", theres pockets around the side to stuff handwarmers in and the pockets on the outside to keep extra stuff. I'm also able to strap the basket into my seat belt. Realistically if I got in a bad car accident the basket would not protect them, but I like being able to look in on them in a way the cat carrier doesn't allow.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/211252...+tote&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery

Anyhow, sorry for the long plug on market baskets... I'm just sort of obsessed with mine and have only seen one other hedgehog owner use them.

Basically my questions are:

1) Do I need to bring that cat carrier since it's such a long ride?
2) hand warmers, hand warmers and more hand warmers for the ride up correct? We will be in the backseat of a car, but I don't really feel comfortable saying to the two people I'm driving with "can you blast the heat so my hedgehogs are warm?" as I'm not that close with them and they don't make me pay any gas or anything to ride with them. I'm also thinking of bringing my hot water bottle and wrapping it in fleece and sticking it in the bottom of whatever carrier we will be using. Obviously the car will be kept probably around 68-70 degrees anyhow because that's a normal temperature for humans to be kept warm at. 
3) Food for the trip in the car...yes or no? I've read no food in cat carriers, but since I might be using the market carrier and will also probably be handling them in the car...I thought maybe I should have food on hand? The ride is a quarter of the day...
3) Is there a hedgehog hotel packing list somewhere on this website? The hotel is pet friendly and I'm paying extra money for them to stay, so at least my hedgehog is "legal" in the hotel.

The boys live in 50 gallon totes (42.75"L x 22"W x 18"H) at my house. I'm buying them 105qt bins for travel because they are a lot more compact but still within the recommended space for hedgies. CHE's are coming, obviously. I don't think I'm bringing their light setups and will just turn the light on in my hotel room for them (save packing space). Two wheels, two blankets, three snuggle sacks (igloos are staying at home because one is only an occasional user and the other doesn't use his at all... I think their smaller houses will have more space with no igloo too). Enough food for 4 days (just in case). Food and water bowls. A few toys. Am I forgetting anything essential?

Also I'm planning to leave a little note on their cages that say something like "We bite, please do not put hands in cage or move our cages around. Also we need the light on please!" That way the cleaning lady isn't like "oh hey this is a cool pet, let me try to touch it!" when she comes in (and also doesn't turn the light off in my room)


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

1) Personally I'd go with the cat carrier since it's completely enclosed, which is safer for them, and it's something emergency personnel would look for in a car crash.

2) I'd skip the hot water bottle & just stick with handwarmers. The hot water bottle would probably only last a portion of the trip anyway & once it cools off, it becomes a heat suck rather than a heat source. Unless they're extremely temperature sensitive, they should be fine with the car at human-comfy temps and with plenty of fleece to burrow in, along with handwarmers.

3) If you want to have some treats on hand or something to offer them when you check on them, that would probably be okay. But I wouldn't bother otherwise. They'll probably sleep for most of the trip, especially if it's during the day, and feeding them increases their chances of being carsick. I would make sure you have a way to offer them water every couple of hours though.

4) If you search through the Travel forum, you'll probably find other threads where people have described what they pack for trips & vacations. I'm glad you found someplace where they can stay safely! I would make sure you have extra bedding along, and maybe an extra CHE bulb or two in case one breaks in transit or happens to die out during the trip or something like that (better safe than sorry). Other than that, your list of supplies sounds pretty good for a short trip.

The note on their cages is a great idea, but I would also include a note by the light switch that asks to leave it on for the hedgies, just in case the housekeeping staff ignore the cages & miss that note.


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## MomLady (Aug 14, 2010)

Second the recommendation for the cat carrier. You never know when someone might cut you off and then your hedgies get slammed to the floor and injured. As Lilysmommy said, emergency personnel are trained to look for carriers and might miss something that looks like luggage.

Bring extra everything--liners, food, baby wipes, extra roll of paper towels, extra food.

I used to bring a bottle of our water, if the water at your destination smells or tastes funny, you don't want hedgies going on strike.

I would put a few kibbles in the bed with Nara, in case she wanted to nibble. Mostly she just slept. 
I had a travel wheel for her too---we'd make a C&C cage in the hotel. I would put a sign up about the light too, it worked and I would leave a nice tip for the housekeeping staff.

Nara was a great traveller, she went to Madison Wisconsin with us every year--about 500 miles each way.
I never did any ice diving, sounds great. Have fun and be safe.


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