I need some much needed advice...

[darthvader]

Okay so i got Juliet last June, and haven't really had any problems with her, she eats about 5tbs or kibble a day mixed with some turkey or chicken, and about 2 mealworms a day for a treat, drinks well. she is on fleece lining, and runs on her wheel and plays with her toys all night long. She was a good natural weight for a hedgie and loved to cuddle and sleep in my lap and ran around me, liked to be close to me, if i got up she would search for me, then run over to my feet. My house has a fireplace right under my room, that is always going in the cold Michigan weather and Juliets cage is by the vent that brings the heat up from the fire place, keeping her cage at about 75ish, i feel like she doesn't like that much heat. she always is in her house, but recently she will be out of it, laying in the ground in her fleece Forrest splatting and really warm, she looks uncomfortable and when i pick her up it feels like she is sweating. Since this she doesn't want to use her wheel and sleeps A LOT more, barely waking up. And yesterday in the morning i checked on her and she was laying on her belly in the middle of her cage splatting like she was too hot. then i got home at about 9, and went up to go get her like i usually do, and she was in her fleece forest again. but breathing weird, curled up in a really tight ball,i assumed she was attempting hibernation, so i hurried up and grabbed her, taking her down by the fireplace to help her warm up, she gradually came out of her ball and layed on my arm warming up. but her cage was at 75 like it usually was, i'm really concerned to what could of made her go into hibernation like that? i cheeked on her all through the night and she seemed fine. has this happened to anyone else?
Sorry for the long post, but i'm really worried and don't know what to do....

[Lilysmommy]

What temperature was she used to before the weather got cold?

Does the vent go back and forth between warm air coming out & no air coming out? If so, my suspicion is that the draft & change between lots of warm air to suddenly no warm air might have triggered the attempt. A lot of people figure that warm blowing air would be fine - but it can cause issues the same as a cool draft. I would imagine that maybe when the warm air's blowing, it may feel hotter than 75* since she's right in it - kind of like 75* in air conditioning feels cooler than that.

Personally...I would move her cage away from vent & see what temperature it stays at. You'll want to watch her carefully to make sure the temperature doesn't drop too low, and to make sure she doesn't attempt hibernation again. Another option, though, is maybe try putting a blanket around the cage so that the warm air isn't blowing directly into the cage - maybe that will keep the temperature warm enough, but keep her from getting too warm, then too cool? Just make sure she's still getting enough light with the blanket over her cage too. If neither of those things work out very well for her, you may need to find another heating method for her cage that won't give her any kind of draft.

[Annie&Tibbers]

The obligatory question during hibernation attempts: Does she have a lighting setup to get regularly 12-14 hours light, 10-12 hours dark?

[darthvader]

Throught The Year My House Is Kept At The High 70S, And The Vent dosent Blow Air, It Just Alows Air Into The Room, She Also Has A ChE Set Up ThaT Turns On If It Gets To Cold. I Have 3 Big Windows In My Room So She Has Natural Light During The Day.

[Lilysmommy]

Natural light's not going to be enough, especially right now - the days are shorter, and hedgies need 12-14 hours of light. It'd be a good idea to put a lamp on for her to make sure she's getting enough light. A lot of people use a timer in order to keep the light consistent every day, and so they don't have to worry about remembering to turn the light on/off.