kingofnobbys":1mr1rcap said:
Many on this board live in very cold locations or keep their homes very chilly ( under 24 degC )
I spoze if I were in that kind of situation, I probably wouldn't leave 'em out for longer than an hour or so anyway. If he needs to recharge, I would think it's time to put him back in his enclosure.
YMMV
Experience has taught me to keep a very close eye on free-ranging critters. We left a hamster out in her ball once, got distracted, and lost track of time for a bit. (~half hour)
- ME: Hey, I haven't heard TH's ball rolling around in a while, have you?
DW: Now that you mention it, no.
After a brief search of the apartment, we found the ball wedged between a wall and an interior door, with a really frustrated (pissed off) hamster inside running as fast/hard as she could, and going nowhere fast. :roll:
We're also used to having an "apex predator" (dog or cat) running around since moving from apartments into houses, so I/we just may think of free-ranging differently than others--and that's OK.