# Long Winter Trip



## allisonh (Mar 31, 2010)

2 questions:

1. My hedgehog successfully traveled to Ohio from NC this summer (13hr drive) She was a good traveler! 
My fiance and I are making the same trip this December. I wanted to make sure I had everything under control for winter travel:
1. Plenty of hand warmers
2. Extra Fleece
3. Paper towels for messes
4. Heater ON in the car to substantial temp. (NO DRAFTS) 
5. Blanket to cover carrier when opening the door
6. Heat Disc
7. 2 digital thermometers for inside/outside carrier

Should I leave her in the car if we stop or put her small carrier in a bag and take her in with me? (We would not stop to eat, just for gas and bathroom stops)

2. I am bringing 2 CHE's with me bc she has two plastic rubbermaid bins connected with a PVC pipe in Ohio. Will this be enough to keep her warm if it gets cold in the house we are staying at? I mean.. the house temp will DROP to low 60's. I am hoping the CHE's will emmit enough heat to warm up the room a bit too. lol... 

Advice would be greatly appreciated! Am I doing things correctly? Thanks!


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## krbshappy71 (Jul 17, 2009)

You sound very prepared. Personally, I would bring my hedgie in with me, transferring him to a smaller pet carrier or a snuggle bag (backpack with lots of fleece) for the stops. In a backpack, people are unlikely to even know what you have in your care, you could probably put him/her at your feet if you do decide to eat as well.


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

Hope it goes well! I also like to bring moist washcloths in ziplock baggies in case there are any accidents.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Since you are not stopping for very long, you also have a third option, rotate who goes in so that only one person is away from the car at a time. Me and the husband do this. With the car running, and the heat turned on, he will run in to use the rest room, stretch his legs, then come back and I will go. That way he heat in the car is still running, and the hedgehogs are not getting chilled when being removed/returned to their travel cage.


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## fracturedcircle (May 31, 2010)

allisonh said:


> 2 questions:
> 
> 1. My hedgehog successfully traveled to Ohio from NC this summer (13hr drive) She was a good traveler!
> My fiance and I are making the same trip this December. I wanted to make sure I had everything under control for winter travel:
> ...


you are very prepared!

what digital thermometers do you use? i need more of those myself.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

What I usually use in the winter when I have to transport someone any distance, is a remote thermometer. I have the sensing part in the carrier and the reading part up front with me so I can see at a glance what the temperature inside the carrier is. 

It worked great a couple of years ago when we had a 4 hour drive in the middle of the winter with some rehome girls. Our van has rear heat and a/c which we had on too warm. Without the remote thermometer, we would not have known how hot it was getting for them until such time as we made a stop. 

The remote thermometers are fairly cheap at Walmart.


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## smhufflepuff (Aug 28, 2008)

When I had the 11 hedgies with me, I used blanket under all the carriers, another blanket to insulate between the door and carrier on the driver's side, a winter coat between the door and other carrier on the passenger's side, a blanket over a portion of the middle carrier, and a sweatshirt over the final carrier that was up in front. All carriers had either a snugglesafe disc or chemical warmers stuffed in little boy socks and a combination of fleece & vellux liners and fleece remnants & hedgiebags of various material for burrowing. 

Keeping the heat up around 75-80F while driving worked pretty well. A suggestion: think, though, about how you're going to dress. As I was on my own with the 11, I made super-fast stops for gas and restroom breaks (brought food & drink with me). After pulling into a parking spot, I'd tell the hedgies what was happening, make sure I had everything I needed with me before turning off the car, then open the door, spring out, close the door, and run! Probably looked like a crazy woman. The longest stop probably took 5 minutes... had to pick up a sweatshirt for myself as one of the hedgies took mine... erm... I gladly handed it over. Anyhow, the temperature inside the hedgie carriers did not fall appreciably in that time. I had digital thermometers - the kind where the probe is about 3 to 4 feet away from the read-out. And monitored like a hawk. 

This was mid February in Ohio...and a few other northern states. It was snowing. They all made it safely... no wobby kiddos. Nice warm bellies. 

Even with one hedgie, I'd say keep her in the car... a lot less stress than in and out of the carrier and through whatever weather conditions await outside. 

Once at your destination, your CHE's should work to bring hedgie's living area up to temp. But it would be a good idea to check in the middle of the night to make sure they're keeping pace with the falling temps. If it turns out to be a problem, you can reduce the living space to one bin and put both CHEs over it until you figure out a better solution in the morning.


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## allisonh (Mar 31, 2010)

Thank you so much for all of your advice.  It is greatly appreciated! My biggest concern now is to make sure the CHE's keep her warm enough in her bins. (I will also place her heat disc in there for her to snuggle up to each day/night) 
I bought my digital thermometers (they take batteries) at Wal-Mart. I bought 2 for travel! Bring extra batteries if you do use them!


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