# Travelling Back and Forth



## pagesixxlover (Oct 11, 2014)

I have recently become a new hedgehog mom. I tried looking through the threads and didn't see any travelling topics that was like my situation, so sorry if I just missed one. My dilemma:

Once my boyfriend moves into his new place, I will end up going over and spending a lot of time over there. Maybe even some overnight stays. Is it okay to bring my hedgie with me, back and forth between home and his house? His house will be approximately a 10-15 minute trip, but the visits would be until that evening or overnight.

And, if it's okay, does anyone have any recommendations or links to DIY's for a travel cage or a temporary home? Any and all advice will definitely be appreciated and taken into consideration.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

How long is the trip to your boyfriend's place? Honestly, it'll depend a lot on your hedgie as to how it will go. Some hedgehogs get carsick easily, so if your hedgie does, I wouldn't try to travel more than as needed for vet visits & such. If your hedgie doesn't seem to have a problem with that, then you should be able to manage travelling pretty well. 

For day trips & such, I wouldn't take your hedgehog along frequently. Once in a while may not hurt, if you want to have bonding time over there or so he can see her, but I don't see a real need to take her unless it'll be overnight, especially for a few nights.

For overnight trips, if your boyfriend is willing, I would personally just set up a second cage over at his place for her. If she'll be there often enough, she'll get used to the smells & such anyway. You can take bedding & any other comfort objects (maybe a favorite stuffed animal or something) back & forth instead of hauling a whole cage set up. You'll just want to make sure it's all heated, has the right lighting, etc. as well. When you're getting ready for a trip, I would make sure you don't change the bedding for a day or two before leaving, especially the first several trips, until she gets used to his place. That way at least her bedding & cage will mostly smell like her, which should help keep her settled.

Make sure you have a hard-sided cat or dog carrier to put her in for the car ride.  And especially since it's coming up on winter, make sure you take safety measures to keep her warm during travelling - lots of fleece blankets in the carrier, perhaps a handwarmer in a fleece pocket or sock, or wrapped in a blanket, and cover the carrier with a blanket when going between house & car. Make sure the car is warmed up before you take her out to it. If the trip is longer than 15-20 minutes, I would have a thermometer you can take in the car so you can make sure temperature stays fairly warm & steady.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Make sure to monitor your hedgehog's food and water intake after travelling. Some hedgehogs find change extremely stressful and if you notice that then travelling isn't a good idea.


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