# Moving to Quebec, travel tips?



## Desperodo

I'm packing up and heading to Montreal. The problem is, I have no idea how I'm going to manage the drive. It's about a 8 hour drive, not including stops. I estimate the trip with be about 10 hours, more if traffic is really bad around Montreal and Toronto (which it probably will). 

The biggest issues I'm facing are the hedgehogs. So now I have a ton of questions for anyone who has traveled or moved before. 

1) Do they all need separate carriers or can I somehow make dividers? The issue I'm facing is how to travel in a car with 7 hedgehogs and a very large dog. 

2) Can the carriers be stacked on top of each other in the back seat, and secured together tightly? I could fit 6 carriers that way. Though, 2 hedgehogs would still have to share, unless I put one cage on the floor, but then he might get too cold. 

3) For my dog, if I take out the passengers seat and let him lay on the floor, do you think that'd work. It'd give him enough room.

4) I'm going to leave in the morning at 9AM and should arrive around 7PM. So they should be sleeping for the most part during the trip. Correct?

5) I'm going to close the air vents in the back so they don't have cool air blowing on them. How often do I need to check the temperatures/throw up in their carriers?

6) When I get to the apartment will they be okay being in the car for up to 25 minutes? I can't carry all the carriers at once. I'll try and park in the shade if possible. I'm going to have to make 4-5 trips. 

7) What do I do with them when I get to the apartment? When they are all in should I hold them, or just let them be for a day (or more)?

8) Their cages won't arrive for a week or two. Their carriers are too small for wheels, so I'll have to buy bins when I get there I guess (no room in my car). Will they be okay without their wheels for a day or two, until I can get bins and ventilate them? 

9) My dog hates being in a car. He traveled across the country very well, but with small trips (1 hour) he cries, a lot. So I'm really not sure if he's going to cry or not for this trip. But lets say he does. Is the crying going to be bothersome to the hedgehogs? He has a high pitched cry. 


This is so stressful...


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## HedgieGirl519

I love Montreal. If you're going around Toronto during the day (10AM-2PM) expect to add 30 minutes onto your time, if you haven't already (Sunday is the worst). If you're going around Toronto during the morning rush or evening rush, expect to add 90 minutes onto your time, sometimes more. If you do arrive in Montreal around 7PM like you said, expect traffic as well. You will be arriving right at the end of rush hour. The traffic will be comparable to the GTA traffic that you'll see, maybe a little less heavy. Montreal has around 1.6 million (I think), and you'll be driving right through.

1) You can put a divider up to separate the carrier. A lot of breeders do that when shipping multiple babies. As long as each section is big enough to fit their house, you'll be fine. You're travelling during the day, so they will be sleeping anyways. I'm not sure what you would make it out of. Maybe coroplast cut to the exact shape of the kennel? Though I don't know how you'd secure it on the bottom.

2) As long as you can still see out the back window, it wouldn't be a problem. Just make sure they are very secure. If it were me I'd seat belt the bottom 3 carriers in (like you're supposed to), then I'd use something like bungy cords to secure them together http://www.homehardware.ca/en/rec/index ... ee+Tie+Dow I'd put two around two cages. I wouldn't tie more than two cages together, sometimes the pressure can tilt the cages on the sides. Id pull the ties through the handle. That way if they happen not to be tight enough, the carrier cant fly off, it will only move forward a few inches.

As for the one space short issue, you could put two females in the same carrier, with a secure divider. Just make sure it's secure because females fight as well. I wouldn't put one on the floor.

3) As long as he is well behaved and doesn't bother you while you're driving, I think it'd be fine. It's not the safest option, because if you were in a car accident he could get very injured. Could you get a kennel large enough for him that fits in that space? If not, I'd make sure he stayed as close to the middle and back of the car as possible. That way if you're in a head on collision, he won't be as close to the front. And if another vehicle hits the passengers side, he won't be crushed.

4) They will probably sleep the whole way. You might have one or more that gets car sick, so make sure you take paper towel and bags.

5) You'll also want to stop the air in the front from going to the back. You could either close the front vents, or angle them to the sides. Or you could put up a blanket or towel across the front of the cages to stop cold air getting in. Just make sure that light is still getting into their cages.

You can get thermometers with a 3-3.5 foot temperature probe cord. If they can reach to the front of the car, they you could just check them when you're at a stoplight, or when you stop to let the dog out, get gas, eat, etc.

6) On hot days, no pets should be left in the car alone. I'd leave the car running until all the pets are out. Cars can get hot very quickly, even in the shade.

7) When you get to the apartment, I'd them be until when their light would normally go off. Will you be taking playpens? They fold right down, and could slip under the seat (if you back seat is raised). You say your trunk is full, what are you storing stuff in? Can your trunk hold 3-6 bins? If so, you could just put your stuff in those bins. If it can only fit 3, just stack 2 together. If you have the bins (big enough for their wheels), you would put them in their. If you can take playpens (that they cannot escape at all), they could go in their at night.

I'm not sure about holding them. I'm in between yes and no.

8) Realistically, they'd be okay without their wheel for a little while. But they will be bored. So they will try to escape and probably trash their carriers. It'd be a lot easier to take bins, if you can find the room. Moving is tough, running out and getting supplies right away and finding the tools to make holes/ventilated lids, isn't easy unless you put them in your car or buy them. A playpen would be good so they could move around and burn off some energy. If they aren't going to have their wheels for a couple days, make sure they get to move around outside of their cages for a few hours.

9) My boy hates car rides as well. Like yours he does great for long trips but horrible for short trips. Mine wines for about an hour, then quiets down. If yours could go across the country fine, I'm sure he will settle down for this trip. It is stressful on dogs as well though. They don't know what's going on. They see all of their stuff leaving the home and know something is up, but don't know what. For both the dog and hedgehogs, I'd recommend giving them something that smells like home. For the hedgehogs you can put a few extra liners under their current liner, so it will pick up the smell. Then use those for a couple weeks. Same with fleece strips (if you use them). For the dog, does he have a blanket or bed? If he does, don't wash it before you leave. It will smell like home and be comforting. When I moved with my dogs (a 40 hour drive), they all always laid with the one blanket I forgot to wash.


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## shaelikestaquitos

I don't have anything to add... except.... YESSSS COME TO MONTREAL :twisted: 
Bahaha. Sorry  Very exciting that more people from Montreal will be frequenting this forum though!


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