[zoologist]

By finding his favorite sleeping place, of course!

I've taken to free-ranging my hedgehog, Cloud. He was making such a racket in his cage one night that i just let him loose in my room. At first he was chirping and trilling away, but after a while all i could hear was the soft pitter and patter of hegdehog feet as he waddled around my room exploring everything. He had a huge big room to run in and he still chose to use his wheel :roll: (granted i did put it out just in case he would want it...)

When i woke up in the morning i figured he'd be curled up in a tight ball underneath my bed, under my desk or behind the turtle tank. Nope! He fell asleep under the 3' sea turtle stuffed animal I have at the foot of my bed. I guess it gets warm under there cause he was all splayed out. To me he looks like a bear skin rug

if you look closely you can see his two back feets splayed out too

and here's a pic of the cutie when he is awake!

Every time i check on him during the day, he is under that turtle. He gets up, gets a drink of water.... maybe some food, then it's back under the turtle. That is... until the lights go out
hope you enjoyed

 

[LizardGirl]

That is absolutely adorable! I would take extra care to keep it the right temp in the room, just to be safe. With it being winter, it can get pretty cold, and it's possible to get too warm, too.

 

[sagesmommy]

Oh goodness! I was always wondering if i could do that with my baby! I didnt want to ask cause i thought everyone would be mad at me! haha But if you "hedgie proof " the room .... make suer the temp is good... could you let a hedgehog wonder your room???? hmmm? :?: By the way that picture is SOOO cute!! it makes me crack up every time i look at it! :lol:

 

[r_k_chic47]

Aww, that's so cute! I LOVE the pictures! I wish I could do this with pepper but since my bed takes up most of my room (queen size) and I can't fit under it, I wouldn't want to risk not being able to lure him back out and him eating something under there (It's happened, when he's escaped and ate something under my bed and anointed with it..no idea what it was but he was covered in black fuzzies when I finally got him..), but anyways chances are he would probably be under there the whole time. I guess I could try it, as long as I block the bottom of my door (there's a space between the floor and the door where he could crawl out) and block off any hard-to-reach hiding spots :lol: Thanks for the idea =]

 

[sagesmommy]

oh this was such a good idea i totally hedgie proofed my room and she is just loving it! i made her a bed an extra litter box and she is just happy as could be i keep seeing a little nose poke out of her bed hahah i think this is just the bonding experience i was looking for! Thank you Zoo!

 

[PixiesExoticHedgies]

He looks absolutely exhausted from his night of running around free!

:lol:

 

[Hedgie17]

those pics are sooo cute! It just makes me excited on what i can do when I get my hedgie next summer! :lol:

 

[sebian]

hehe --squeesh--

 

[Vortex]

hahaha that picture is so cute!!! *falls over laughing* :lol:

 

[Hedgiepets]

It is very important to know that allowing hedgie to roam free in your room you are taking a lot of risks. It could be very drafty and cool on the floor in the room. He could get caught in a tight spot under furniture and be unable to get out. If not litter trained, you will have poop and pee all over, not a very good thing.

 

[LizardGirl]

If not litter trained, you will have poop and pee all over, not a very good thing.

So true. Inky pees and poos, even if I'm *sure* he's finished, when I set him on the floor... which is too bad, I would like to have him roam a bit as a playtime.

 

[sagesmommy]

luckily, i dont know how but sage is completely litter trained . Occasionally i will find a stray poo but never pees on the floor.

 

[zoologist]

sorry i havent replied in a while, I drove home yesterday and didn't have access to a computer until now.

We're on the third floor of the apartment building so we always stay warm and toasty. If its too cold for Cloud (sometime i leave my fan on) he just won't come out from under the turtle. I trust him to make the right decisions for himself in that aspect.

i've hedgie proofed the room such that he can't get into my bathroom/closet and there is nothing for him to get stuck under

Cloud isn't potty trained, and i just go around the next morning and pick up the poos. they're usually in the same areas...