73 is on the low side and some hedgies like it warmer than that and 80 is already a little too hot.

Do you have a thermostat? That is a must.

 

73 is on the low side and some hedgies like it warmer than that and 80 is already a little too hot.

Do you have a thermostat? That is a must.

I have a thermometer. What do you mean by thermostat? She definitely seems happier when it is warmer but 80 is too warm?

 

Adding to what Artemis said, it needs to be the same temperature across the whole cage 24/7. So if you put your CHE over the middle of the cage, all the corners need to be the same temperature as the middle. You may have a slight variation, but it needs to be really slight. If that isn't happening day and night, you need that second CHE running on your thermostat.

 

I have the 2 lamps on each corner of the cage, so the heat should be evenly distributed. What do you mean running on your thermostat? You can plug your lamps into a thermostat? I have two thermometers in her cage one with a probe that I can move around and when I move it around the two lamps make it pretty evenly heated throughout the whole cage but with the one lamp there is a change of about 2 degrees from one side of the cage to another.

With the way my house is set up it's hard for it to be a consistent temperature 24/7. The house temp will vary by about 4 degrees throughout the day.

 

In this same section of the forum (heating) there is a sticky called heating your cage simplified, or something along those lines. Reading that will give you a better understanding of heating systems

 

Thank you so much! I looked at that but my question is can the thermostat have a minimum and a maximum temperature? It looked from there that they just turn it on or off based on the external temperature but if the lamps basically needing to be on 24/7 why would you want to turn them off at all? The lamps I have have a dimmer not just an on/off and it seems the thermostats can't dim (the cheap ones at least)

 

They don't need to dim. It's going to work the same way your household thermostat works. You set the temperature, the thermostat controls the unit from there. Turns it on and off to keep the temperature in the appropriate range. This will control the fluctuation based on the outside temperature.

 

This is the thermostat I use and love!

https://www.amazon.com/Zilla-Reptil...p/B002CZ0J3E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1486573600&sr=8-1&keywords=zilla+thermostat

You plug the CHE(s) into the thermostat, and set the temp on it. So I set mine to 78 degrees (where my Hazel seems happiest) and then it runs the CHE so that the temp stays right around 78. On the colder days, the thermostat keeps the CHE on almost all the time. On our warmer days, the thermostat will kick the CHE off so the cage doesn't overheat. The minute it drops below 78 in the cage, the CHE is kicked back on!

A thermostat is a MUST, in my opinion!

 

I ordered this thermostat! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DZ5NVBQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I wanted one where I can plug both lamps into it (Since my house get so cold at night I really think I need both lamps since even with both lamps I can only get the cage up to 74 at night)
The problem is with both lamps on it gets up to 80 and I think that's too hot during the day.
It looks like this thermostat will keep it within a certain range yes? You get to set a temp and it it gets too outside of that range then it kicks the lamps on or off?

I'm just concerned about if I have it set to 78 and the lamps can't get it that high then what will happen? Thank you all so much for all of your help!

 

My guess is the one you ordered works about like the others...it will kick the CHE's on when it's too cold and off once past the desired temp.
The one I linked to you works the same...has multiple plugs to handle multiple lamps up to 1000w. Either way, now you have what you need! If you find the two lamps combined is making the cage too warm, you can try adjusting the temperature range down a little. That's how I figured out how to set mine...playing with the settings, checking them every hour or so, and recording the temperatures. Once I found the "sweet spot" I marked the dial with a silver sharpie marker. :smile:

 

That is really helpful! Thank you!

It just came in today so I will play with it and see the range and also see what my hedgie likes. Hopefully I can keep it up to around 76-78 degrees since that seems to be where most hedges are the happiest.

 

One thing to keep in mind is you really want the option of bumping the heat up. During and after illness, after a hibernation attempt and as they age their heat requirements increase.

 

Honestly that's the main reason I was posting. With her cage only getting to 73/74 at night even with two lamps that's not very hot. Her cage is relatively big (3ft by 2ft so 6sqft total) and I thought one lamp would be enough and was surprised that I even needed a second one. I will definitely keep the second lamp though! I have her cage set up where I can move the lamps around to any of the 4 corners so if I put the two lamps in 2 close corners it can definitely get up to 80 so that should be perfect if she needs more heat with an illness or anything.

I have been super paranoid about hibernation attempts and have the two lamps, a normal heating pad, and a thing you can put in the microwave and heat up so definitely feel prepared if she does attempts to hibernate.

 

Be cautious with the heating pad if you're using it regularly for an additional heat source. They've been known to cause low-grade burns on hedgies and other small animals, and I've heard of some hedgehogs not wanting to come out to eat and wheel because they are too comfortable on them.
Just something to keep in mind!

 

Thank you! That's definitely not a regular use thing thats just in case I need some extra heat. I just wasn't expecting to need two heat lamps for her cage :???: oh well, a warm hedgie is a happy hedgie and that matters more!

 

The heat pad belongs in the first aid kit.
Once you have a proper heat set up and running smoothly, you will seriously decrease the likelihood you will deal with a hibernation attempt. Running a CHE without a thermostat is just like those warming lights at fast food restaurants. They are on all the time, no matter what the air temperature in the room. If you get a warm day, it will run constantly just the same as a day with subzero temperatures.