Just thought I would share this and that this was the best place for it to go.
For those of you who have not had an escapee, you are lucky - I have had three to date, one was very predictable where he would end up but the other two were little demons and despite tipping the house upside down, they came out in their own good time - one at 2.00am in the morning with a silent spinner in every bedroom upstairs as it was Hermione who made a dash for freedom as she shares a room with my son Nick and believe me, I would make a break for freedome - mosh pit!!
Anyway, a few things that might make a difference if it happens to you.
Although hoggies have little dinky paws, they are very very agile and are excellent escape artists.
Ideally your cage would be located in a secure room so in the event of an escape you know that they are still in the same room - hoggies are capable of squeezing through extremely small gaps and as such, outside doors should be kept shut unless you are certain your hoggies is secure in their home.
If you hoggie does escape - try not to panic, keep calm and remember a couple of things:-
1. Hedgehogs will come out at night
2. There are predictable pattenrs to where they are likely to hide.
The first thing to do, is to look for warm, snuggle spots around your home - heat sources, behind the fridge, laundry piles and shoes - they will seek out a dark place so check under sofas, beds and behind anything big.
If you have searched all these type of places and no joy, then best to make your house safe, block access to any potential hazzards - plastic bags, laundry baskets.
Place a dish of food and water where your hoggie can easily find it - near their cage is a good place as they are a creature of habbit and will seek out familiar places. If you have any rooms that are 100% sure no hoggie is in them, then close them off, saves having to check them all again.
Make sure there is no way your escapee can access the great outdoors - if you can stay up late, there is a good possibility that you will find your hoggie pottering about and giving you the, "what you looking at, I knew where I was" look.
When you have found your hoggie, resist the urge to throttle them for all the anguish they have caused, instead, make sure they cannot escape again!
Sun Aug 21, 2011 5:33 pm
