[SiouxzieKinz]

So I am going to be bringing Dakarai home this weekend (Oct 19) but will be headed out of town for four days during Thanksgiving. I am going be flying out and headed to a state where hedgehog mommy-hood is a no-no. So I have to leave my little guy home.

My pet sitter is great with my Pekingese and I trust her but she has never cared for a hedgehog. I'd read a post a few weeks back of someone who was going to let a family member watch her hedgie and gleaned some information from there. But what I am concerned about is what basic information should she be aware of? Also, how much will this affect a hedgie who is fairly new to his environment? Actually, by that time I will have had him here for five weeks.

I'd already told her not to worry about holding him as I don't think four days is going to be too terrible for him to be solitary . . . is it? My sitter will be here twice a day to take my dog for walks so water will be checked/refilled and cage liners replaced, wheel changed and soaked as I plan to have two wheels by that time. The lights are on a timer, the CHE has a thermostat. My room has a humidifier.

Vet information is already sent to the Pet Sitter. I don't have the hedgie yet but already have a vet picked out and a relationship established from previous pets that saw this vet.

I plan to make up bowls of food so that all the sitter needs to do is take out the old bowl and place a new one in the cage.

Does this sound about right? Am I missing something major here? Should I add anything else? I would love if someone experienced could come in but I have used the same Pet Sitter for the last year and a half so I need to just go with it.

- - - Oh, and I plan to have a copy of the Hedgie Care book that is on this forum in .pdf format sitting on my kitchen counter for her to peruse if she needs to reference anything.

Thank you in advance for your thoughtful responses. I just want my little guy to be well cared for in my absence.

Signed - possibly an over-obsessive mommy-to-be

 

[Lilysmommy]

Having a copy of the care book is a great idea! I did a similar thing, though the book wasn't available then - but I printed out a bunch of "standard care" articles from the site, such as emergency symptoms, a guide for what to do for hibernation attempts, safe fruits/veggies/foods for treats, etc. I did the food thing too - counted out kibble into baggies for each meal, and explained the importance of making sure she was eating at least decently.

If you can, I'd see if your sitter is willing to handle him enough to take him out & look him over for anything glaringly wrong - blood, sores, lethargy, cold belly, etc., just in case. My aunt refused to do even that much for Lily, but did talk to her & poke at her igloo a bit to make sure she got an energetic hissing response. :lol: So if she really doesn't want to, at least have her do that.