free range hedgehog- cleaning options

[Kansai_Gal]

Now that summer's over I think I can use the spare room (with a solid, linoleum) floor for my hedgehog. I've got my space heater on the way, but I'm more concerned about cleaning. This brings me to two points:

1) How can I best reduce the amount of feces she will drag off of her wheel? Would a base of fleece work best? Astroturf? I really don't know where to start here.

2) What would be a good cleaner for the floor? Obviously I would spot clean often (dish soap and a sponge) but I will have to clean it all eventually. I know ammonia would smell (she still has her cage in a different room, I could move her for a bit) for a while, but would it be safe? Would it be better to go with dish detergent?

[krbshappy71]

I believe vinegar and water is recommended for cleaning.

A linoleum floor is going to be cold, the space heater is good but you'll have to have it up off the floor so she can't accidently brush against it. Or a barrier around it so she can't get to it. Hedgies can climb as well, so I'm not sure what kind of stand you can put it on, I'd suggest something with metal legs so she can't get a grip on it.

Fleece would be good, be aware she will likely burrow under it unless you have it pinned down on all sides with heavy objects. Its not very absorbent so you might find pooled pee around the room on it or if it goes through the fleece it will pool on the linoleum underneath. Some people make blankets with fleece, I believe cloth diaper material in the center, then fleece again so the pee can have somewhere to go, be absorbed instead of sitting pooled. That could help with the smell.

What else is in the room or will it be empty except for her stuff?

Other concerns: bookshelves, they can accidently pull books onto themselves. Anything small and ingestible. Cords, have them up and away from the floor. Drafts from older windows.

best wishes, its great you are asking for help with it!

[Kansai_Gal]

Everything is going to be out of the room, save the table the heater will be on (not a very tall table, but certainly nothing she can scale), a bookshelf with the bottom level empty, and a stand with my hamster cage on it. Everything else will be hers- a wheel, toys, houses, tubes, litter boxes, etc.

The wheel has a pan under it, so I'm not worried about that, I'm worried with what will become stuck to her feet while running.

[LarryT]

Your biggest problem will be keeping it warm. Heat rises so keeping the floor warm enough will be a challenge. IMO it would be best to keep em in the cage and use the room as a playpen.

[Nancy]

As Larry has mentioned, heat rises and you are going to have difficulty keeping a linoleum floor warm. Floor level is the coldest part of the room and linoleum always feels cold. To heat a floor level, you will have to have the room very very warm.

I too would use a cage set on a table where the air is warmer. Use the room as a play area but even then time on the cold floor would have to be limited.

[silvercat]

Are there any radiators in the room? I hedgie proofed my living room last night to let Annabell out for the evening. All was good except she kept deciding to try to climb (and almost could) the radiators. I had to keep lifting her away for fear she would get her feet/legs caught. The radiators are about 6" off the ground, so had I not witness her trying to climb them, I would have never thought she would try.