Questions about moving with hedgehog

[Musicality]

Hey, I'm moving. It's a 6-7 hour drive. If I get a carrier and put a ton of fleece in it, do you think my hedgie will be fine? I'm going to leave around 7am.

Should I hook up a spare water bottle and put a small bowl of food in there?

[hemigirl]

I would put some food in water in there for your hedgie. Also make sure to have a thermometer in his carrier to keep an eye on his temp.

[Lilysmommy]

If you're leaving that early, I wouldn't worry about having food or water in the carrier at all. He'll probably sleep for the whole trip. If you stop for breaks, you could offer him a bit of water, but food can also cause/contribute to car sickness, so I wouldn't bother with that. He'll be fine until you guys get there!

The thing I"d worry about more is temperature - make sure the sun's not shining directly into the carrier (a light colored blanket over the carrier can help with that), and personally I'd have a digital thermometer with probe set up so the probe's in the carrier and the read-out is by you if possible. That's how I traveled with Lily (especially when it was just the two of us), to make sure she didn't get too warm or cold.

[Musicality]

Thanks. I was just going to put his sterilite bin in the front of the truck, but I have to fit my rats travel cage up front too. I appreciate the help. Where would I buy a thermometer that works for a carrier?

[hemigirl]

That I'm not to sure about. I just use the one that I have in Sonic's cage but I also bring his whole cage with me when I've travel led. The one you use in his/hers cage may work. Someone else may be able to help you with that one. Also if you can try to avoid direct sunlight onto the carrier. That isn't so good for them. I usually put a blanket on Sonic's cage. Some people use towels.

[Lilysmommy]

You can get digital thermometers with probes at a petstore, or much cheaper at a store like Walmart. Something similar to this would work well - http://www.walmart.com/ip/Acu-Rite-I...mometer/896347

Also, are you planning on just transporting him in his bin?

[Musicality]

Going to have to be a carrier. Bin won't fit with the other stuff in the front.

[Lilysmommy]

A carrier's a better choice anyway, so that's probably for the best! I hope the move goes well! I bet it's stressful getting everything set to go, especially with animals included.

[ZeeMartin]

I just drove cross-country with my hedgies in my pickup... (3 days, 1700 miles!) I got travel cages for them (low plastic ones with vented lids), put down a liner, added their favorite dishtowel blankies in there with them, stacked the two cages in the back seat covered with a large towel to help keep the temp constant. I kept an eye on their temp with a portable thermometer (similar to the one linked above, also from walmart, but with daily min/max displays) and fed and watered at night.
one of my pair (Spike) is not very temp-change tollerant, and he did fine, although he did try to make a break for it somewhere in Oklahoma. the other (Lizzie) traveled with her two 10-day-old babies and seemed to have no trouble at all.
I had an inverter (to run AC from the cigarette lighter) and a heat lamp with me just in case, but because it was July, I didn't actually need it even at night. During the day, the temp was high enough outside that I just ran with the windows open (no air conditioned ride for me!) and the hedgies were probably more comfy than either my dog or I were.

If your trip is shorter, y'all should be fine.

[JulieAnne]

Just did an 8 hour drive to Mississippi with no problems. I would suggest keeping lots of paper towels handy though so poop doesn't smell up the car lol. I also took some "doggy poop bags" to put the paper towels in so I could throw them away whenever we stopped. I kept extra sleep sacks available too so if one got pooped on I had extras handy.

I think that's about it. Good luck!