Brillo has his own cage set up, but he is in our spare room along with our Tortoise and exercise equipment. He really likes to just be free roam. There's nothing that can hurt him. The only things in that room are other than the dresser that Bella is on (the tortoise) is a book case, my treadmill, and some weights.
Is this OK?
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From what I can tell, lots of people let their hedgies free-roam in a hedgehog proof room. As long as you've made sure there is nothing that he can get into to hurt himself (anything that he could knock over, holes in the wall he could crawl into, etc) and there is always food and water readily available to him, I don't see the problem. Also make sure he has a hiding place that is safe for him, like a cardboard box or a hedgie bag or something, where he can get to it whenever he wants to.
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Also, if it's tile flooring, you may want to think about turning the heat up during the free roaming sessions. Otherwise, the floor would be too cold and you could risk your hedgie catching a cold, or even attempting hibernation.
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The only other thing to think about are cords that he could chew. You don't want him getting a shock. If your tread mill has a cord and there is one for whatever heating your tortoise needs then you should either put them out of reach or get chew proof covers for them. Also make sure that he can't climb onto anything and fall off. Finally if you are leaving him alone for a while make sure the door is secure. Once I thought I closed the door the bedroom while Quigley was in the hallway but it didn't latch properly and he managed to push it open. You can imagine how freaked out I was when I came back to the hallway and he was gone and the door was open. (We found him under the bed a few minutes later so everything was ok). That reminds me of one more thing. If you are going to be leaving him unattended in the room and (especially if) the door opens into the room you might want to block off the area the door needs to open so you don't hit him accidentally when you go to open the door.
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I personally do not think letting your hedgie roam is a good idea unless you are very very careful. You need to make sure the whole room is warm enough, there are no things nails or feet could get caught on, that the floor is sanitary in the first place, that there are no things to run under... at least at our house, it is difficult to make a room safe. JMO
I considered letting Harley free roam in our living room awhile ago.
We would often (and still do now) bring him out to run around in the living room in the evenings but he would always end up under the couch and pooping EVERYWHERE. I made a blockade under the couches using coroplast and I blocked off access to the kitchen and closed the other doors. All wires are behind the couches or tucked up (I've also been meaning to buy those little plastic plugs to stick in your outlets). I put a piece of coroplast down in a corner of the room to put his hedgie hat, food and wheel on. He knows thats his corner and even when the coroplast isn't there he hangs out in that corner. He now only poops on the coroplast (or his wheel of course). It's really funny watching him run sooooo fast around the living room.
The only reason I didn't end up letting him free roam was because I knew I wouldn't be able to provide sufficient heating for him, especially near the outside doors. I was also concerned about opening a door that he's behind.
I think as long as you can meet heating requirements and the space is truly hedgie proof it would be a nice thing for the hedgie. Tons of space to run and no staring at the same thing!
We would often (and still do now) bring him out to run around in the living room in the evenings but he would always end up under the couch and pooping EVERYWHERE. I made a blockade under the couches using coroplast and I blocked off access to the kitchen and closed the other doors. All wires are behind the couches or tucked up (I've also been meaning to buy those little plastic plugs to stick in your outlets). I put a piece of coroplast down in a corner of the room to put his hedgie hat, food and wheel on. He knows thats his corner and even when the coroplast isn't there he hangs out in that corner. He now only poops on the coroplast (or his wheel of course). It's really funny watching him run sooooo fast around the living room.
The only reason I didn't end up letting him free roam was because I knew I wouldn't be able to provide sufficient heating for him, especially near the outside doors. I was also concerned about opening a door that he's behind.
I think as long as you can meet heating requirements and the space is truly hedgie proof it would be a nice thing for the hedgie. Tons of space to run and no staring at the same thing!
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My hedgie room has a floor heating vent that makes me nervous because their little feet, heck their entire legs, would fit in the slots. Also, mine tried to squeeze under the small space between the door and the floor. So check out those two situations. (mine are not free roam, but its the room they are kept in and allowed to explore for playtime with supervision)
Here is a suggestion, what about putting down playpen fences just in case, that surrounds the entire free-space area? Then the cords situation wouldn't be an issue, getting stuck under stuff wouldn't be an issue. They are really cheap and colorful, I use them.
Here is a suggestion, what about putting down playpen fences just in case, that surrounds the entire free-space area? Then the cords situation wouldn't be an issue, getting stuck under stuff wouldn't be an issue. They are really cheap and colorful, I use them.
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