Hedgehogs are incredibly cute little exotic pets. If you own one, you’ll be tempted to take it with you on every travel and road trip. Before you do that, however, you should ask: do hedgehogs like car rides?
As long as you can mimic their regular environment, hedgehogs won’t mind being carried in a car. Most times, you’ll only need a travel bag and a thermometer for a perfect car ride with your hedgehog. For longer trips, you’ll need some extra supplies to create a likable experience for your hedgie.
If you’re planning to carry your pet in a car, you may want to learn if they like being carried in a car. Here, I’ll show you the best ways to carry your hedgehog in a car and some tips to ensure a smooth travel experience with a hedgehog at the back.
Do Hedgehogs Like to Travel?
Before answering this question in extensive detail, it’s important to note the difference between enduring and liking a particular task.
While you may be able to carry your hedgehog in a car without any or much trouble, that doesn’t mean they like traveling. Your hedgie will choose to stay at home over traveling any day of the year, unlike humans.
If you’re going on a short trip where you won’t have to feed your hedgehog, it’s completely fine to take it along, as long as you can regulate the interior temperature of your car.
However, bringing your hedgehog along on longer trips that require feeding the hedgehog may be a bit more tasking, but doable. You may just have to pack some extra supplies and food to last your hedgehog throughout the journey.
If you want the best travel experience for your hedgehog in a car, you may want to follow the tips in the next section to create the perfect traveling environment for your little pet.
Tips for Carrying a Hedgehog in a Car
There are a lot of reasons why you may not want to carry your hedgehog in a car, and a few reasons why. Unless you don’t have another option, leaving your pet at home is generally the best option.
Of course, there are times when you can’t leave it at home; when you’re moving for example. In these cases, you must find a comfortable way to carry your hedgehog in your car.
While that sounds like a daunting task, it may be enjoyable in practice. After all, carrying your hedgehog in a car requires simulating the pet’s natural habitat as much as possible, while eliminating any elements that may stress the hedgehog from the travel.
Here are a few tips to help you carry your hedgehog in your car comfortably to avoid stressing the pet.
- Use a Travel Bag
A travel bag is a small, well-ventilated, portable bag for carrying a hedgehog that you can strap to the back seat of your car. These bags are specifically designed for travel and hedgehogs can afford to stay in them for longer periods.
It’s best not to improvise on travel bags for hedgehogs. The ones you see on sale are the perfect size for your pet. Using a larger container will only throw the hog around unnecessarily, and a tiny container will make the pet feel cramped.
You also want an escape-proof travel bag; the worst thing that could happen is your hedgehog getting out of the bag and running around the car in panic in the middle of the trip.
- Try the Travel Bag Before the Ride
You don’t go snag a cheap travel bag on Amazon a day before your travel. After buying a travel bag, you should practice carrying your hedgehog inside it long before you’re even ready to carry it on a trip.
Since hedgehogs love cozy containers, your pet should willingly enter the travel bag if you make it available, making this process easy.
- Regulate Your Vehicle’s Temperature
Excessive heat is as damaging to hedgehogs as chilling colds. Before introducing your hedgehog to your car, you want to make sure the interior temperature is lower than 29ºC, but not lower than 23ºC.
Also, you must ensure that you maintain these temperatures throughout the journey. While it may sound daunting, nobody ever said carrying a hedgehog in a car would be easy.
Can Hedgehogs Travel During Daytime?
It’s no secret that hedgehogs are nocturnal pets. Since they prefer sleeping in the daytime, you may want to know what they think about traveling in the day.
Just like humans traveling in the night, getting a hedgehog to travel during the daytime is all about preparations. Depriving your hedgie of a one-day sleep may be cruel, but it won’t kill the pet, and we assume that your trip is an absolute necessity.
In short, hedgehogs will prefer to sleep during the daytime. However, if you know you’re going on a trip with your hedgehog in the day, it’s recommended to let them have great sleep a few days before the journey.
Allowing your hedgie some sleep before the journey will energize them, preparing them for the journey ahead without taking too much of their invaluable sleep time.
Do Hedgehogs Like Car Rides?
Most people will prefer to avoid what their hedgehogs don’t enjoy. Since your hedgehog can’t speak to you, you may want to know if it would like you to take it on a ride in your car.
Hedgehogs don’t mind where they are, as long as the environment feels safe and they’re not hungry. If you can mimic their natural environment perfectly, you’ll have both a peaceful road trip and a perfectly healthy hedgehog.
However, you shouldn’t bring your hedgehog along on random car rides, unless their presence is necessary. Moving to a new house and taking the pet to a veterinarian are all perfect reasons to carry a hedgehog in a car.
However, if you have other options, it’s always best to keep your hedgehog at home. It’s not only more economical, but it’s also healthy for the hedgehog and will save you some stress as well.
