# General Qs: travel, lights at night, being left alone



## mrodom

Hi, So I am planning to become a new Hedgehog owner in the near future and I just had a few questions. 
How long can they be left alone? E.g. as long as they have automatic heat/light, food and water are they ok to leave alone for 24 to 48 hours?

I often stay at my parents on the weekend. It would be easy to build a second cage at my parents. Would a hedgie mind having a "weekend cottage"? 

I often stay up late studying with the lights on, will this bother the hedgie? He will of course have dark places to hang out if he likes. I will have a light on a timer so he always has at least 12 hrs direct light during the day. This would be ambient light from a study lamp. I suppose I could drape a cloth over the cage, but ideally it would be great if he could be out with me. 

Thank you very much! Anything you'd like to add is great too


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## MissC

Hello and welcome...these answers are just my opinions, k? More people will chime...

***How long can they be left alone? E.g. as long as they have automatic heat/light, food and water are they ok to leave alone for 24 to 48 hours?

Tough one...technically, they should be fine with heat/water but for me, it's the "What Ifs...": what if the power went out? hedgie escaped? thread wrapped around hedgie's foot? hedgie became sick? water bowl tipped over?

So...we tend to take Snarf with us as he travels well. We also have a back up sitter who has got to know Snarf so he won't be a stranger and will know what to expect if we ever need him. Some people have a friend/neighbor check in on hedgie a couple times a day.

***Would a hedgie mind having a "weekend cottage"? 

I don't think this would be an issue as long as the travel isn't over-stressing hedgie - some get verrry motion sick. I would ensure he got used to you and his new home for a month or so first, tho'...then introduce his second home.

***I often stay up late studying with the lights on, will this bother the hedgie?

This one depends on the hedgie. When my BF is playing xbox 'til the wee hours he's only 3 feet from Snarf's cage...Snarf couldn't care less. He wheels, eats, poops...never seems to mind the light/activity/noise. But some hedgies are so sensitive, even the little teeny power light on their computer is too much - they need utter, deep dark. You will have to wait and see. A blanket draped over the cage would fix the light issue, anyway...and keep in mind your hedgie might want to wheel at 2am, say...so you'd have to make sure YOU adapt to HIS schedule...know what I mean?

Have fun...I'm excited for you!!


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## silvercat

I will give a heads up before typing this that my experiences are not in anyway advice or "it's ok" suggestions, only my own experiences. I'm saying this because I do recognize the "oh nos" with what I'm going to say. 

So on that note:

In my experience I have left my hedgehogs alone over night, for one evening. My general rule of thumb is to check them in the morning/day including a feed & water. Providing there's nothing out of the normal going on, I have left my hedgie 'unattended' until the next evening. I have never though & would never leave them unattended for two consequative nights in a row without a daytime check up in between. This is due to safety concerns (threads, temperature drops, injuries, anything & health (food & water would no longer be fresh & she would be running on a dirty wheel). 

I have travelled with both my hedgies. In my experience, I now won't travel with them unless I am gone for many days (say about a week). If it's less than that, the difficulty in getting everything together to travel and the stress on her is not worth it. I rather have a friend come in and check on her. 

So on the note of the weekend cottage - if I was in your place there's some questions to ask 1) how frequently do you go to your folks, 2) do you have a friend who you trust who you could instruct confidently, 3) how much money are you willing to spend? If it was me, if it was only a once in a while trip to my folks for two or more nights, I would ask a friend to come in. However if it's a regular occuring thing for more than two evenings, I would invest the money, getting a complete second set up (full size cage, wheel, CHE setup). I would use the same fabrics/toys between the two cages to keep the sent. If this is the option you go with, keep in mind safe travelling things (hard sided cage, seat belt in vehicle, temperature & travelling times)

edited to add:
I'm often up late working. I try not to do it frequently, but sometimes it cannot be avoided. I have a blanket that is specific for Annabell's cage. If I'm up late working with the lights on, I will try to take a break at some point and take her out for some socialization. When putting her back in her cage, I will cover the top of the cage (watch out for the heat lamp and keeping ventelation) to try to keep out as much light as possible.


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## Hedgieonboard

You could leave them overnight but it would be very nerve racking. One of my biggest fears besides a heating malfunction would be them getting their liner wet and being left with no water and a wet cage, I've had both of mine do it at least once where a blanket got put in the water and siphoned the entire bowl onto the liner. It would be easy to do your idea with the second cage set up at your parents. You could leave it there and when it comes time to go you could take the hedgie, food/water, some of his bedding from his cage so the scent is on it, and the heating equipment. You could also have a trusted person come look in on him as another option. I can't find the link but one of the members here had a really cool traveling set up that popped up and folded flat. 

Lights, tv flickering and computer lighting can scare some hedgies and keep them from coming out at night...some hedgies don't mind as much and other will not step a foot out unless its complete darkness. I've seen a suggestion before about getting one of those folding screens to block some of the light, this is what I'd use if I ever had to


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## susanaproenca

Just wanted to say something else based on my own experience. One of my hedgies doesn't care for the light and will come out to eat even if I flash a stadium reflector on her face. That's because, well, she is a pig. :roll: 

On the other hand, my other girl, Mustard, won't come out to wheel or eat unless there's complete darkness and not a lot of noise around her cage. So even though we put a very thick black curtain on top of her cage to block all the light, if we still keep walking around the cage until late, she will not come out. And she is exposed to all possible sounds of our household, very well socialized and not scared of us at all - she just doesn't like doing her things when there's people around. Just something to keep in mind too.


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## pooka dotted

susanaproenca said:


> One of my hedgies doesn't care for the light and will come out to eat even if I flash a stadium reflector on her face. That's because, well, she is a pig. :roll:


PFFFFHAHAHA Oh Pete 

MY EXPERIENCE: With Napoleon she couldn't care less bout anything, she loves to travel I found out. The WHOLE car ride she was either sleeping soundly at the front of the carrier away from her babies and against my shirt, (So cute I know hehe) or looking out the front of the cat carrier cause of a new smell she sensed (usually us eating food) She took treats from me in the truck, no green poop, drank at the truck stops. She was a peach.... then there's Fuzzie. If I even go to feed her she'll huff at me from inside her house and under BOTH the liners. If I cough in my room she'll stop wheeling, if she gets upset over anything..... like me trying to trim her nails (Oh lord) or bath... she gets diarrhea. YEAP But I still love her


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## ThePliny

I have left Pliny overnight (only for 1 night) on a couple of occasions, but I hate doing it. I worry the whole time that something will happen to him - even so far as 'What if the apartment burns down....', although I am a self admitted champion worrywort!
Pliny regularly goes with me to his 'country house' - we are out there at least once a week for a couple of days. I have a whole other cage set up there for him. I put his heating pad in his carrier (which gets buckled into the back seat of my car), pile lots of fleece and flannel and he tucks right in. He has only been car sick twice in the year and a half I've had him. He has never had an issue switching between city and country house. That being said, I think Pliny is pretty laid back about his surroundings. He has stayed in a few different houses while I've been away on research trips, has explored my office at the University, and the tack store I work at! So I really don't think he is a standard example!
As everyone else has said - light depends on the hedgie. Some need total darkness, others don't. Pliny waffles back and forth. Some nights he will wheel while I am up and the lights are on, others it needs to be silent and dark.


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## mrodom

Thank you very much for all the advice. All good advice and worth remembering. It sounds like a lot of it has to do with what ever personality I end up with. Hopefully I can find one that I can accommodate and love, lots of love 

I'd love to hear more opinions too if they're out there. Can never have to much information, right?


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