Traveling

[Tessa.31]

Hi there,
I am going to Vancouver in a couple of weeks, and im bringing my hedgie, i tried to find someone else to watch him but nobody i know really knows anything about hedgies, i also dont really trust anyone to take care of him, so im taking with me.

I know the basics but im just trying to get as much info as possible.
i have 2 carriers, i have a hard sided cat carrier and then a smaller cage to set up when we get there.
i have hand warmers for heat and id turn the heat on in the car
id feed him because its a long drive
and stop for water and bathroom breaks every hour or so, also so he can walk around abit
he'd be strapped in with a seatbelt
hed have lots of blankies and snuggly items
im also scheduling a vet visit for before we go to make sure hes up to travelling
and of course id bring all his supplies CHE, food, bath stuff, wheel, house, treats ect
Anything else i need to know??
Thanks,
Tessa

 

[Nancy]

Take a bottle of your water from home to use on the trip, or better yet, buy a common brand of bottled water and start weaning him onto it now. Then you can use it while traveling so you don't have to switch his water. Sometimes a water change can cause as many problems as a food change.

Don't feed him before the drive. I assume you'd leave early morning so it's fine for him to have food as normal overnight but don't give him food during the day while driving. Food in their tummies can make them carsick.

Chances are good that while traveling, he will not want to get up when you stop. The main thing is to make sure he has not soiled his bedding and is laying in wet bedding. Take some plastic bags to store dirty bedding in.

I suggest taking him for a few drives now just so you know how he reacts to being in the car. Some of them get horribly sick.

Baby window shades are great to use to keep the sun off the carrier. The best location for the carrier is middle of the rear seat. That pretty much assures there will be no sun from the sides but watch what comes in the back window. Those foil sun shades that they sell at the dollar stores work well for loosely arching up over the carrier to keep the sun off from behind.

Label the carrier with his name, contact information and a bit about caring for a hedgehog in case of an accident. Information such as the type of food he is eating and temperature requirements. You can make up a little care package and tie it to the handle of the carrier and include some mitten warmers, baggy of food, water bottle and a change of bedding for the
carrier.

Some syringes and a couple cans of Hills A/D would be a good idea to take just in case he quits eating and needs syringe feeding. It's better to be prepared than trying to find these things in a strange city.

A thermometer.

That's all I can think of at the moment.

 

[Tessa.31]

THanks Nancy!!, it is a a very long drive about 12-13 hours, so would he be okay without food for that long?? And is it better to use a snuggle safe disk or a couple o mitten warmers+ a warm car for the trip??
and is there anything i could do to make him more comfortable??

 

[Tessa.31]

And if he got sick is there anything i could do to help him?? any medicines?? or remedys i could try??
Thanks,
Tessa

 

[Nancy]

Are you driving it in one stretch during the day? If so, then you probably don't need to worry about food because when you think about it, he wouldn't be up eating during the day anyways. See how he does. If he is vomiting, then don't feed him, just give him some water. If he doesn't vomit, you could offer him a few kibbles midway through the trip.

Some of them travel really well but others vomit until there is nothing left to vomit and still their stomachs hurl. You should try taking him for a few drives now to see how he reacts.

A hand warmer in with him should be enough at this time of year. You want the car comfortable for yourself too. Snuggle safes make for a very warm carrier which is great in the winter but would most likely be too warm right now.

 

[Tessa.31]

Well we are leaving on a thursday night and then stopping at a hotel, we would do about 5 hours of travelling on thursday and the rest friday morning, so i think ill just feed him a little bit for thursday night, and let him do his regular routine on thursday night, he travels pretty well , he gets a little grumpy but he doesnt get sick.
And im also making up a little care package that im attaching to his cage, incase soemthing happens, im attaching some info on his care requirements, like heating, housing ect. and im also making a little tag with my name, his name, ect, incase he gets lost or soemthing happens,is there anything else I should put with him or anything else??
Thanks,
Tessa