Heat!

[jackdawsonsgrl]

Ok, so I just brought Betsy out for a bit (it's 1:00 am) and she would not uncurl... so I decided to put her by the heater and immediately she came out! Does this mean she's not warm enough? :/ I have her in my closet on the floor (the only place the cage will fit). I know there's drafts and stuff so I'm concerned for the winter time... any help?

Thanks

[Pandemonium]

Do you have anything heating the cage? A ceramic heat emitter (CHE) or space heater???

[bugster]

That's what Snickers did when she was really cold (I got her a heating pad and she's all better). Was her stomach cold? I think that you should find something to warm you hedgie up. Do you have an outlit in/outside your closet? You could plug in heating pad, a space heater, or a heat lamp. Whatever works best for you. If you don't have an outlit, you can use these disks you can warm up and put under your hedgies sleeping space. That should help your hedgie.

[Lilysmommy]

Originally Posted by bugster

That's what Snickers did when she was really cold (I got her a heating pad and she's all better). Was her stomach cold? I think that you should find something to warm you hedgie up. Do you have an outlit in/outside your closet? You could plug in heating pad, a space heater, or a heat lamp. Whatever works best for you. If you don't have an outlit, you can use these disks you can warm up and put under your hedgies sleeping space. That should help your hedgie.

A heating pad isn't recommended as the sole heating source - it doesn't heat the air. If the cage isn't warm enough, a space heater or CHE set up is best.

To the OP - do you have a thermometer to tell what the temperature in her cage is? If not, you should get one. You may need to look into a heating set up of some kind in order to keep her comfortable and healthy.

If you know there's drafts, you need to find a way to block them from her cage. Even with a cage that's warm enough, drafts can cause hibernation attempts. You may need to hang blankets or cover her cage to keep them away.

Since she's in the closet, another thing to think about - do you have a lighting schedule for her? She needs 12-14 hours of light each day in order to avoid hibernation attempts as well. Most people do this with a lamp on a timer to make sure it gets turned on/off at the same time each day.