vacation without the little one

[courtneyy11]

Ok so I am freaking out a little bit. Tucker is doing just fine, but I am going on vacation a week from today. The breeder I got him from will babysit him for me while I am gone. I know that he will be in good hands, I am more concerned about me lol. I know I am going to freak out leaving him. However, I am even more worried about when he comes back. Me and Tucker have a routine that we follow every night and he knows what to expect; he does not like change very much. I am worried that when I get him back he might not know me. It might be a silly thought, but I don't want him to think I abandoned him or have to start new when I come back. It is only going to be for a week so I am hoping it won't be too bad. Will he still remember me when I get back? Should I expect him to act a little different when I get him back the first couple days?
Thanks in advance!

 

[smhufflepuff]

He may or may not act differently upon your return. I had guinea pigs who, though well cared-for during any of our absences from the home, would look straight at us upon our return and turn themselves around so we could only see their rumps. We'd get out some veggies to make peace and all was soon well. My hedgies have acted pretty much their normal selves upon our return.

One thing you can do is provide your sitter with something that smells like you - like an old shirt you can wear for a bit, then bring it along when you drop Tucker and the rest of his belongings off. You could sleep with some of his bedding (provided it's something like fleece) or his hedgiebags under your pillow so that they'll have your scent... he'll be able to walk right in and snuggle down to the scent of "mom."

You can coordinate with the sitter in terms of his/her schedule - learn what differences there are and take the next week to slowly shift Tucker's routine to more closely approximate what he'll experience while you're away so it's not a huge surprise to him.

Another thing I've done is to talk to my little ones about what's going to happen and reassure them I'll be back. Let Tucker know tonight and remind him every day about his adventure and how you'll come back for him.

 

[Kalandra]

You may get the hedgie cold shoulder. Extra cuddles, peace offerings and a return to the normal schedule can go a long way to saying you are sorry.

If you can, take the cage that he lives in normally. Keeping as much as possible that smells like home can be helpful.

 

[courtneyy11]

Smhufflepuff - Ok I will definitely do that, I use fabric for bedding so I will keep it in my bed with me for this week. I know that the routine won't be too different when he goes away since the breeder, Jim, is the one who gave me the advice about when to wake him up. I didn't think of talking to him to see what the schedule would be like. Thank you for the advice! I have been talking to him about this for the last week and telling him I was going to miss him while I was gone. I am going to have to warn Jim that he will get a lot of texts about me checking up on him!

Kalandra - He will be going in his older cage, I recently switched him over to a big cage a few weeks ago, but it is too big to travel and will take up a lot of room, especially for someone who has a lot of other hedgehogs. It is a cage that he is familiar with though. Everything else will be exactly like it is at home.

Thank you both for answering! =) feels better knowing what to expect when I come home