[thelostsock]

Hi All,

It is never too early to think about Christmas (I am sure most of you just growned)! I have had my hedgie for 2 months now and he is great. Lately, my boyfriend and I have been discussing our plans for Christmas (who we will be spending what time with). Over the span of two weeks would it be alright to remove hedgie from our home, to my moms house for a few nights and then to my boyfriends parents house for around 12 days. Neither of the new places have pets to be concerned about. I will be bringing his entire set up with me (along with some "dirty" fleece for scent) because it is such a long stay and I will likely bring a 4L jug of home water with us to make him feel comfortable. My mother will be driving to my apartment to pick me up so the car will already be warm. My concern is the few minutes hedgie will be out of the house but not yet in the car. The winter here is easily -25 degrees (That's -13 degrees Fahrenheit). I will be traveling with him in a carrier but would it be okay for me to place him under my shirt (with is under a sweater, which is under a heavy jacket... I'm not a fan of the cold and I layer like crazy) wrapped in his hedies blanket in his hedgie bag just from the house to the car so we can share body heat or should I keep him in the carrier with a heat pad or hot water bottle while bringing him from the house to the car? Over the span of 2 weeks we will be going from the house to the car (and vice verse) 4 times and I do not want my hedgie to get cold. I am trying to eliminate the possibility of him getting cold during this time.

I know it is an early though but we are trying to prepare for these things because financially it is easier to buy an item for this process now than it will be around Christmas. Does anyone have experience with this?

 

[knitfreak]

My suggestion is to put him in the carrier in a warm winter hedgie bag (not just cotton layers, but a good fleece lined flannel one). Just before you take the carrier out of the car, also cover his hedgie bag lightly in the fleece. This should be suffiencient as I doubt the cold will penetrate that many layers in the 20 seconds from car to door.

I would caution against putting him undernearth too many things as it does get hard to breathe through a lot of fabric (which is why the hedgie bag should be fine for the trip and I would use the extra fleece on top only for the quick spurt from car to door).

 

[knitfreak]

Forgot to add: The carrier should be lined with fleece, too. As in to not have just the hedgie bag in contact with the plastic/fabric of the carrier. This will also help with keeping him warm

 

[HedgeMom]

Personally, I'd tuck him inside my clothing for the trip from the house to the warm car. At those temps, the danger of getting chilled in a carrier are too great.

I'd also allow the carrier to come up to car temp before moving the hedgehog from your clothing to the carrier. In addition, I'd stock up on a goodly supply of the instant heat packs and they'd go everywhere with me. The danger is that the car could become disabled and the heater not work. You'll need back up heat any time he's not in the house.

I've travelled with hedgehogs to/from Canada, to/from the beach, and across country. Go with your instincts and everyone will be fine. Merry Christmas!

 

[Nancy]

I have hedgehogs out in the car in the winter all the time and there is no problem as long as you take a few precautions.

I use hard sided cat carriers to transport and get hedgie tucked into the carrier in the house. Most of the time I use a snuggle safe disc for heat as it provides a larger area of heat than a mitten warmer. Mitten warmers are fine to use but in the minus temperatures you will need to use a couple at a time. I put hedgie in a nice warm hedgie bag with fleece over top. To transport to the warmed up van, I cover the carrier with a blanket and once buckled in I put the blanket over the side of the carrier closest to the door. That will prevent any drafts that might come from the door.

I also take one of their front packs just in case the van breaks down. They can go in the front pack, under my coat. I always have mitten warmers in the glove compartment as well as extras in the carrier and in the front pack.

Think of mitten warmers as your hedgehogs best friend. Stock up on them and either make or buy a hedgie safe pocket to put one in so hedgie cannot get to the warmer. I can tell you from experience that some hedgehogs find them fascinating to try and chew.

Oh, and remember that mitten warmers consume oxygen as they heat so make sure the carrier is getting plenty of ventilation even though there is fleece inside and a blanket over part of it.

 

[hedgielover]

To bring Quigley home from the pet store I tucked him inside my winter jacket, wrapped in a blanket and he was fine. It was about a five minute walk. For car trips in the winter I also tuck him inside my clothes to get to the car.

Either way in the carrier or under your clothes he will be fine as long as he goes straight into a warmed up car and has plenty of layers.

 

[silvercat]

I travelled with Sylvie last winter around NS & up into rural NB. I'm not sure where you're at in Canada, but I know in rural NB it was COLD!

Things I did
- bring lots of hand warmers with you just in case.
- whenever going outside in the winter, I heat up one of the long magic bags for the neck and put that in near Sylvie (watch that it's not too hot to burn)
- make sure the vehicle is warm before putting the hedgie in
- i put sylvie in her soft carrier with her touque, then this went into her hard sided carrier. Once the car was packed & heated, in she went & was buckled up. She was the last thing to go in.
- watched the heat the whole ride
- when i took a washroom break, I slipped Sylvie into a soft bag I had, inside my jacket, and brought her in with me
- Sylvie was the first thing I took out from the car when I got there.

Things to remember:
- pack lots of water your hedgie is used to
- the foods your hedgie is used to
- try to avoid 'treats' that might upset your hedgies stomach (ie. Sylvie has some cat treats I brought but I also occassionally give her fish flavored cat food which she likes but is pretty bad on the wheel in the morning)
- bring familiar toys & scents, including the wheel.
- make sure whereever you are going is hedgie safe (heat, pets, noise, lights, etc)
- don't put anything down outside that is the hedgies when unloading. I did that the first time by mistake. Put her large crate down in the snow (she was in the carrier already in the house). I then had to wait a good time before I was comfortable that the crate was warmed up before putting her in it.

Think about where you're going & how long you'll be there. The first time we travelled we were gone for just a couple days & I brought her whole set up - way too much work! Second time I had a hard sided carrier that the top folds down from which she was perfectly happy in for two nights (lots of play time outside the carrier)

 

[thelostsock]

I am actually in rural NB, 10 minutes from the NS border. You likely drove past my town