# Tornadoes and Hedgehogs.



## nibletsmom (Dec 20, 2010)

So we got Niblet in November of this past year so severe weather really hasn't been an issue until here lately. We have had some hit and miss severe storms since Spring started emerging but this morning we were awakened about 6am to the tornado sirens. You could see the clouds swirling in the sky. [It was pretty scary.] Well we immediately headed to the guest bathroom (We don't have a basement) and piled up with tons of pillows and blankets. Well in the heat of the moment, I had no idea what I could do to keep Niblet the safest. He was wheeling at the time and I just scooped him up and put him in his tent (with lots of fleece) and took him in the bathroom with us and help him close.

We are still under and experiencing lots of severe weather (no tornado warnings at the moment) but we still have tons of weather heading this way and they project it to last through the night.

Any ideas on how we could keep Niblet safe if there was another threat of tornado.

Note: I don't have a hard sided pet carrier (That was my first idea). I have intended on getting one but we haven't needed one because the only time he leaves the house is to walk to the mailbox sometimes or I put him in his hedgiebag if I am just riding down the road for something.

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

Until you get a carrier (which I think would be your best bet cuz you could keep it stocked with water and hanwarmers etc) could you use a laundry basket? I'm thinking rectangle and large enough for the wheel on one end. Could be covered with a towel or something and us fairly sturdy and could hold essentials.


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## nibletsmom (Dec 20, 2010)

Would a laundry basket work in the actual threat of a tornado?? like the taking cover part?

I have him in his cage until there is an actual siren warning us to go take cover. I really wish I had a carrier (hindsight is 20/20). I will definitely be purchasing one the next time I go out. There is no way I could out to get one today...the weather is too crazy.


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## pooka dotted (Jan 5, 2011)

Put a table over his cage. That's what I though of right away. That way if anything falls down he's protected. as for the sides maybe a blanket or something so that any glass or anything cant get in, and b asically just build a for t over top of his cage? lol


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## nibletsmom (Dec 20, 2010)

He has a ferret nation cage so I wouldn't be able to get a table over it or get it into the guest bathroom (which is a small bathroom under the stairs in the center of our house).

I was thinking about getting his old cage (a GP cage) and turning it upside down and putting it in the bathroom. I would line the bottom (which would essentially be the top---wires) with lots of fleece, etc and then that would put the hard plastic on the top. Then pile pillows around it with a blanket to block glass or anything. There are no windows in that bathroom and it is very small and close knit.

It kind of looks like the weather system is losing its strength but I feel better being prepared just in case and for the future. I will be purchasing a carrier here soon though for any future spring tornadoes!


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## Judi (Jul 9, 2009)

The hedgie bag or tent and just holding him in it is probaby the best bet for now. You want something you can grab up quickly, and the tent is already in his cage. If you needed to plan for several hours and didn't think he'd behave, then getting a small pet carrier and storing it in the guest bathroom would be good, so you just had to grab him and get there. You could keep some kibble in a ziplock bag there and a water dish, so he'd be content for however long you were in there.


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## Littlefootsmama (May 23, 2010)

I'm experiencing the same situation with my three boys. We typically don't have tornadoes, but we had two last night and have more potentially dangerous weather on its way, so some sort of plan is definitely necessary. Fortunately, we do have a basement, but god forbid if the storm were to hit the house that doesn't do much anymore. 

I was thinking having cages down in the basement and then lining them with fleece and chloroplast for protection if a window were to break or something. I'm not sure. last night I just put them all in cat carriers, but storms don't always allow for that kind of time.

Stay safe everyone.


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## nibletsmom (Dec 20, 2010)

Thanks everyone for the advice.

Quick thinking is how it was this morning. I just had enough time to grab and go. We were sleeping when the sirens woke us up. I just grabbed what I could (which was his tent) and put him in the bathroom with us and surrounded us with pillows.

Poor little guy was so huffy and puffy because I had to stop his wheeling. haha.

I bet he was thinking "Mom, I was wheeling...I do not have time to spend with you having a sleepover in the floor right now!"


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

We had some pretty serious tornadoes ourselves Monday night. I didn't even think of the carriers! :roll: When hedgie-daddy said it was time to take cover, we each grabbed a hedgie in their cuddle houses & ran for the bathroom. The safest spot we have is actually the little room that only has the toilet in it, which is pretty tight for two grown people & two hyper hedgies. They kept wanting to get closer to each other, thank goodness I had some mealies to keep them occupied! :lol: 

We ended up losing power until about 2 am. We did notice that they were both just super excited & hyper I had Cholla & he kept running up to my shoulders & back down & up & down. Then when we switched, Zoey did the same thing! Noses were twitching a mile a minute & they wouldn't settle down! That's even after we got out of the tiny room!

I guess ultimately, the safest place would be with you inside a carrier. But even with you inside a cuddlbag has to be better than nothing!


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## toblerone (Mar 28, 2011)

I used to have the same problem, except with my cat. [i could bring her into the crawl space when there were tornadoes, but i couldn't just let her run around the entire place, so this is the solution i came up with for my cat, i'm sure it would work with hedgies too, at least hedgies won't bite, scratch, claw, or hiss at you as much with this plan i think] so I think the safest thing, especially in a real tornado hitting the house situation, the hedgehog would be best in a cuddle sack protected against you. Ya know how you're in the duck and cover position? I'd say just hold the hedgie in the sack against your torso and cover yourself with blankets [to protect both the hedgie and you from the debris] Also as much as a pet carrier would be nice to put the hedgie in and then the hedgie could feel more at home and go about their daily business, a hedgie filled pet carrier does NOT weigh as much as a person. I would fear that if a tornado actually hit, a pet carrier would have much more of a chance at getting picked up and moved or possible rattled around the bathroom than a human would. And if it comes down to keeping your hedgie alive an unharmed, you can deal with an upset huffy hedgie to keep them safe...so as huffy as your hedgie will get from getting stuffed in a sack and you cuddling it against your body[this will also keep it warm] against its will, it's not a bad price to pay than the possibility of a hedgie who is stuck in a carrier getting picked up by a tornado. 
However, possibly you could have a carrier in there just in case for those just a warning situations, worst comes to worst you hear the tornado coming and u pull the guy out and hold him against you, cause I know that there can be multiple warnings in a day and i'm sure holding a huffy hedgie does not make for a very happy owner or hedgie. But it's your call. I know that not all tornadoes hit or even reach the ground so carriers would probably be a good option for those kinds of tornadoes.



PJM said:


> We had some pretty serious tornadoes ourselves Monday night. I didn't even think of the carriers! :roll: When hedgie-daddy said it was time to take cover, we each grabbed a hedgie in their cuddle houses & ran for the bathroom. The safest spot we have is actually the little room that only has the toilet in it, which is pretty tight for two grown people & two hyper hedgies. They kept wanting to get closer to each other, thank goodness I had some mealies to keep them occupied! :lol:
> 
> We ended up losing power until about 2 am. We did notice that they were both just super excited & hyper I had Cholla & he kept running up to my shoulders & back down & up & down. Then when we switched, Zoey did the same thing! Noses were twitching a mile a minute & they wouldn't settle down! That's even after we got out of the tiny room!
> 
> I guess ultimately, the safest place would be with you inside a carrier. But even with you inside a cuddlbag has to be better than nothing!


I don't know about anyone else but just the sirens themselves really get my heart racing, could your hedgies be kinda like dogs where they feed off of your body signals?


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## toblerone (Mar 28, 2011)

Also good luck with those tornadoes!!!! I wish they didn't exist :x And I hope you, your family, and hedgies all stay safe!!!


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

Just a thought-don't "they" suggest you hide in a bathtub? Could you set her up in the tub with her wheel and such? 

Sorry if this is really silly. When we travel and stay in hotels that's where we put Snarf and his wheel, bag , food etc.


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## lpercz (Dec 23, 2010)

I dont have any good advice but I've been watching the weather channel all day and this weather this week has been insane. STAY SAFE EVERYONE!
I was actually thinking about it earlier today. What would I do with Sookie if I had to take cover? Thankfully, NY doesnt get tornadoes, or just small ones.

I hope you're ok and are safe and keep an eye out because the storm is still moving :|


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## nibletsmom (Dec 20, 2010)

Well the storms have all passed and me, my fiance and little Niblet are all safe. Tennessee took a hit and there was lots of damage across the state but I am very lucky to say that our area was not hit very hard as far as damage goes.

My fiance had class today (its finals week) so Niblet and I hung out on the couch watching the weather all day. The guest bathroom just being a couple of feet away if we needed to dart in there quickly.
It was a scary day and I am glad it is all over. Niblet survived his first round of severe spring time weather here in the South.

I am thinking that I am going to purchase a carrier to put him in if they call a tornado warning but then like a previous post suggested, I would take him out and hold him close to me if one was actually hitting the house. I had thought about it too and kept having horrible thoughts of Niblet flying through the air in a pet carrier!!! :shock: 

Thanks everyone for all the advice!!


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

Glad you and your loved ones are safe!!  So many people in Alabama lost their lives,please say a prayer for all those affected.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

I think having a hard sided carrier at the ready with bedding inside, a bottle of water, a baggie of food and a couple of small plastic dishes. At first warning, put hedgie in the carrier and keep it with you. 

A hard sided front carrier is also idea to have at the ready so if tornado is actually close by, you can put hedgie in it so he will be with you no matter what. Having the carrier hard sided or with a hard insert protects hedgie from getting squashed if things get wild. Any small carrier with a long strap can be worn at the front by putting the strap around your neck. 

We never used to have tornados but they are getting frequent in western Ontario and we get lots of warnings now with a few actually hitting. They are seriously scarey.


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## CritterHeaven (Feb 21, 2011)

When the severe tornadoes hit nc a few weeks ago we had truffle in a hard sided carrier that I leave set up and ready with fleece, hand warmers, and a sack and water bowl. He woke up when I put him in there but then slept through the rest. We have a walk in hall closet on our main floor under the stairs where we all go (husband, me, daughter, dog, gp and hedgies). Fortunately we only had to stay in there 20 min or so.

We lost power for about 16 hours though. Hand warmers worked great for truffle.

These storm systems are crazy this year. I think NC had 22 fatalities that weekend. And many lost their homes.


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## hercsmom (Jul 6, 2010)

We haven't had a real tornado through here in years, thank God, but the severe weather in the US is front page news in Alberta today. Praying all of you are keeping safe.


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## RalphsMum (Oct 14, 2010)

yeah I was just reading about the craziness with the weather in the States. Wow.
Stay safe everyone. My thoughts go out to those affected.


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