| Escaped Hedgie (also known as "Hedgie Hide and Seek") |
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Hedgehogs can be sneaky little critters, and are quite the little acrobats to get out of their cages at times. One of the most heart-stopping moments of ownership can be walking over to the cage to say hello--and realizing your hedgie isn’t in there. What do you do? 1. DON’T FREAK. Keeping calm and being level-headed is best in this situation. You have to think logically about where your hedgie could be hiding. 2. The first thing (after not freaking out) is minimizing your search area. Are there any points the hedgehog can not get past, like a closed door or a baby gate? Be sure to check that no outside doors/low-to-the-ground-windows-or-vents were left open so you can lessen the possibility that the hedgie might’ve gotten outside. If there is an area there is absolutely no way there was access to (door shut to another part of the house, for example), then that shrinks the search area. 3. DO NOT start moving furniture around aimlessly. You may trap your hedgie behind something if you do so. 4. There are a few places hedgehogs like to hide: in warm places and in dark cozy places. This means any heated areas are likely areas, such behind appliances, and also dark places like under furniture. Look under beds/couches/recliners and ESPECIALLY in laundry piles. You do NOT want to accidentally launder your hedgie. Try to look in these places without moving the furniture too far out of place so you don’t accidentally trap or injure your hedgie. If your hedgie hisses when startled, use it to your advantage and tap on potential hiding places (like nightstands or bookcases that have hollow bases that can be accessed from behind by a hedgie) , then listen for hissing. Repeat this a few times in different spots on each spot. One website even reports finding a hedgie in a stereo speaker by using this method. TIP: If you find the hedgie but he/she is in a place that could be tricky or harmful to get them out of, try eliminating all other hiding spots in that room, put a favorite treat out, and let the hedgie come out in his/her own time. If you find him/her, GREAT! If not, please continue. 5. If that didn’t work, make sure the whole house is hedgie proof. Get plastic bags off the floor, remove anything that might be hazardous to eat, and be sure to block any holes in the floor/walls—listening to each beforehand to make sure the hedgie’s not in there. Also make sure all outdoor exits are closed tight and there is no chance of outdoor escape. Any rooms that you can thoroughly check and are SURE the hedgie isn’t in there, such as a bedroom with a clean floor that has no hiding spots you haven’t checked, then close that room off so you know you don’t have to check there again. Rooms with couches and sofas can be tricky because they can crawl into those, so be careful when dealing with those. 6. Put paper bags out on the floor in the middle each room with food and water in them and wait until it gets dark—your hedgie is most likely to come out at night. Be sure to place one near the cage in case they return there thinking that’s where the food will be. Turn off all the lights, TV, noisy electronics, etc., then listen. The hedgie walking on the paper bag should make enough rustling that you should be able to hear it. Many hedgies have been found this way. TIP 1: If it’s a bigger house and there are a lot of rooms spread over a large area so you’re not sure you’ll hear the hedgie from where you decided to sit and listen, enlist a friend or family member to stay in another part of the house to listen. TIP 2: If there’s a smelly food your hedgie particularly likes, try putting that in the bag. Quentin loves “ham and ham gravy” baby food; that stuff STINKS, but he goes crazy over it so if he were to smell it, he would be in one of those bags in seconds. 7. If that doesn’t work, try sprinkling flour around the bag. Tracks in the flour will let you know that your hedgie is likely somewhere in the area, and you should check that area closely (works best on tile or a flat, smooth flooring). Poop is also a tell-tale sign, so look for that in your search. Odds are, your hedgie will turn up in a day or two. If not, don’t give up the search. 8. Be sure the house is warm enough if it’s more than a night. It is ALWAYS colder near the floor than higher up in the room, and if it’s too cold down there your hedgie may hibernate—and those results won’t be good. Turn the heat up in the house (or in the room the hedgie is in if you know where they are but are waiting for them to come out on their own)—make sure the hedgie isn’t in or behind a vent/one of the heat sources first! Your best bet is to check those warm areas again and do most of your searching at night when the hedgie is active. Good luck! Take a look at the cages page to see examples of typical cages, and some tips on how to make them escape proof. |
