# Escape artist Leo...



## wheeluh_boy (Feb 1, 2011)

We have had Leonidas since the end of January (1-29-11).

As new hedgie owners, we clearly had no idea what kind of housing he would need. We ended up settling on an aquarium, a wheel that was too small, a tunnel that he loved to sleep in, and white pine bedding.

After being on this website (and being tired of cleaning up pine shavings), we decided to build a C&C cage. We went to the Home Depot to try and find the chloroplast (which we had explained as being corrugated plastic sheets). The guy tried to sell us plastic house siding. In lieu of that, we found an alternative means of lining his cage. We ended up buying clear plastic shelf liner, that we spliced together with copious amounts of duct tape and zip ties.
He ended up escaping several times, so we tried using more duct tape up the sides. Again, more escapes. Finally, we ended up getting more of that hardcore foam perforated shelf liner, that we SECURELY zip tied up the walls on the outside of his cage. After a couple of nights of not escaping, we thought we had the problem beat. 

However, last night at some point, had managed to do it again. He was in a ball between the wall and his cage, and was apparently cold. He may have attempted hibernation as he was wobbly when walking. Thanks to all the reading I’ve done on the subject, I warmed him up promptly. I wrapped him in a towel with a warm bottle of water held against me, then I put him in his cage (in the towel with bottle), and put the heat pad underneath half of his cage on the lowest setting. I even upped the ante by putting his cage up on a table, and turning on the dryer that has an indoor venting kit which warmed the whole apartment up to 76-77 degrees (where it’s normally 74). He was acting like himself in no time.

I suppose my biggest question is, how can I keep him from escaping? This is becoming an EXPENSIVE, and DANGEROUS habit to curb.


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## wheeluh_boy (Feb 1, 2011)

forgot to mention, we also put fleece on top of the plastic lining so he'd be warmer. just fyi in your consideration.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Does he fit through the openings in the cubes or is he climbing over the top? I suggest putting a lid on the cage. The easiest is using metal closet shelving.


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## wheeluh_boy (Feb 1, 2011)

Our best guess is that he's found a way to climb up, over the plastic, the duct tape, and the material covering the outside of the cage, and out a space less than an inch through the cubes. 

Judging from where we found him this morning, he's doing it on the side of the cage where his loft his (so that would be more or less of a lid...at least in terms of where he escaped from).


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

how many square openings are there across each cube? If its less than 9 he's probably going through the openings which means you'll have to cover the entire sides with something solid so he cant squeeze through. If he's going over the top then you need a lid on the entire cage like Nancy said.


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## wheeluh_boy (Feb 1, 2011)

I'll have to look and see how many squares it is. the package i bought had 2 different size cages..some were big, and some had the smaller squares. i used the bigger ones for the floors, but had to use 2 of them on two different walls.


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## silvercat (Oct 24, 2008)

are you able to post a picture? If they plastic siding you've attached is on the outside, he is most likely climbing up the inside wires. Can you line the inside so he can't climb the grids?


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## wheeluh_boy (Feb 1, 2011)

I'd have to post a picture later (kinda at work right now..haha). He has been able to climb the inside wires ( i honestly don't know how at his size). that's why we put the stuff up on the outside, so IF he were able to get to the top, he wouldn't be able to squeeze through..which he has been able to figure out apparently.


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## wheeluh_boy (Feb 1, 2011)

tried uploading a pic..have no idea how to do it on here. I found that my smaller squares have 8 openings, and the larger squares have 5 openings. I guess I'm just going to seal up anything i can where he'd even THINK about getting through.


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## silvercat (Oct 24, 2008)

He's probably slipping through the squares. I would recommend putting something on the inside to stop the climbing. It's a safety issue above esccaping. He can climb up and fall from the top of the cage hurting himself. Worse still, he could climb up and slip while trying to escape, and end up strangling/choking himself if he gets stuck in a square.


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

Coroplast really is the easiest option to hog proof...is there a sign shop nearby or a large hardware store...even a realtor - they often use coroplast signs and may give you some...


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## wheeluh_boy (Feb 1, 2011)

home depot is the nearest hardware store that i know of. i looked around for sign shops, but they apparently aren't in business anymore. i guess i'll have to do some more searching, and keep maintaining the cage as needed.

i did some work on the cage last night, and he didn't escape. so i guess it's working for the time being.


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