Hey there!
As I mentioned in a recent blog I had a new addition to the family last November - the beautiful, quirky and highly entertaining Riggle the Hamster. Since she joined the fam we've started our own little hashtag #ChroniclesofRiggle on Instagram and Facebook (although I've largely given up in IG since it's weird new algorithm.. I just want to snoop on celebrities and see the weird selfies my friends take guys, what's wrong with that? Sorry, side rant..) and I've had great fun sharing some of her weirder antics.
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| Yes, that is Riggle defying gravity on the cage roof... |
So what better way to continue sharing her craziness with everyone than giving her her very own series on the blog? So I present to you Chronicles Of Riggle Part One.
While researching how wise it would be to bring Riggle with me to Belfast I was quite disappointed at how little information there is out there about travelling with hamsters. Most people kept the hamster in the cage (seriously not safe with a climber like Riggs!) and didn't go more than about 30 minutes - not even close to the 10+ hour journey we had planned! There were a few reports of people making longer journeys, but they didn't include much in the way of logistics. So to remedy that here is my experience of travelling with a hamster for 11 hours in a car and on a ferry. The things I did before, during and after the trip to keep her happy! Sadly I didn't get to take any pictures of our travel set up on the way, so I'll just be super descriptive where necessary.
1. Get them checked by a vet.
This may seem obvious or even unnecessary, but Riggle had never been to the vets before so I thought it was time she popped in for a check up. Her coat had been losing some of its shine in recent months anyway so it was largely to put my mind at ease.
The vet was really helpful - she gave Riggle a clean bill of health and reassured me that my plan for in the car was a good one. Her fur issues are because it's been a bit toasty in England lately, so that stopped me worrying too and I made a mental note to make sure we were even more vigilant about the car temperature.
Bonus: because it was her first visit and it was just a check up we didn't have to pay, woohoo!
2. Find fruits and vegetables that they like with a high water content for snacks.
This one sounds a little weird, but you might not be able to give them a water bottle during your journey in case it leaks, which is where this tip come in handy. Riggs is mostly a cashews and sunflower seeds kinda girl when it comes to snacks, so the week before the trip we tried her out on strawberries and cucumber to make sure she liked them. The strawberry was gone in seconds and the cucumber got eaten... eventually, so we knew we could keep her hydrated and would offer her the water bottle whenever we stopped for a break ourselves.
Warning: Strawberries will make your hamster's paws bright red. They will then run all over their bedding, staining everything red. Remember this and don't panic that they're dying when you check up on them! (Sorry Kass, I really should've warned you..)
3. Pick your travel case carefully.
This will depend on the length of your journey, but I'm assuming you're not just going round the corner if you've found this blog! Your average hamster carrier assumes you're only going to the vet and doesn't allow you much space.
I opted for a larger carrier, possibly designed for rats or guinea pigs, so that she'd have space to stretch out and move around on the journey. It also meant I could include a toy, her litter tray (more on that in a minute), some bedding for comfort/padding and her food bowl (waste of time, she stuffed her face in seconds then spat it on the floor).
4. Give them something stable to sleep in.
I stumbled upon this one by accident, and by I did I mean Riggle worked it out. A few hours into our trip I noticed she had not only tipped up her litter tray (I believe she did that on minute 5 actually..) but she had filled it with bedding and was sleeping in it. Confused at first, I then realised that the bottom of the travel case was plastic, so prior to that she'd been slipping around each time we went around a bend or braked, poor thing. She's a clever cookie to have worked it out on her own - the tray didn't budge an inch and she slept soundly the rest of the way.
5. Speaking of sleep...
Remember if you're travelling through the day your little one will want to sleep. Initially they'll run around like crazy trying to eat everything in sight (at least Riggle did), but eventually the excitement will wear off, they'll realise they're in it for the long haul and they'll want to curl up and snooze. Have a blanket ready to cover their travel case so it's not too bright for them. Ideally you want to find a balance between thick enough to block the light, but thin enough that it doesn't trap too much heat. We didn't think this far ahead, so all we had was a denim jacket.
6. Keeping them cool.
We covered hydration, but another issue is that hamsters can't regulate their own temperate very easily. They mostly do this through water and controlling how much bedding they have around them, neither of which is up to them in a carrier. We kept the air conditioning on most of the time in the car (even when slightly cold ourselves) to keep it comfortable for Riggle - especially as the less-than-ideal denim jacket trapped a lot of heat in on an already sunny day.
We also turned the car into a bit of an ice box prior to getting on the ferry as we knew we wouldn't be able to do anything for the 2 hours we were on there.
7. Attention and when to give it.
Finally, you will be tempted to check on your furry friend frequently. It's natural to worry about them over such long distances - at one point I considered opening the carrier because Riggle was so still I was certain she had died. A yawn and a stretch a few moments later meant I didn't have to disturb her, but I was arguing with myself for a long time over whether I was being silly or not. Remember #5 - they will probably sleep through a lot of your journey, perhaps waking up whenever you stop for a break yourself. Just make sure to offer them water whenever they're awake, watch for signs of stress and then leave them to it. Overdoing it will just stress them out further. Then get ready for a big hug that night when you reach your destination!
8. The main cage.
I was in a rather unique situation that Riggle's cage wouldn't be coming with us as it wouldn't fit in the car. The plan was to have the new one shipped directly to where we'd be staying, but we left it too late so our final solution was to have the new (much bigger) cage flat packed in among the boxes of my things and to build it when we arrived the other end.
You'll need to think about where their cage is going in the car; remember to store loose pieces separately, empty and clean the cage before you leave and bring plenty of bedding and other bits and pieces with you. There's nothing worse than bedding flying everywhere and if you're on a longer journey things can get a little smelly in the carrier (sorry Riggs but someone had to say it) so they'll want a fresh bed to move into.
And that's everything! You're now set to take your hamster with you on a long drive. Do you think I've missed anything? I'd love to hear your travel stories in the comments! And also whether your hamster is as weird as mine in her love of being upside down.. I look forward to sharing more Chronicles of Riggle with you over time. :)
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