[xsarahjox]

Recently I have changed a couple of things in Ivan's cage. Just to give you all an idea of what his cage is, this is it:
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.j ... v_smallpet

Ivan was previously using a Silent Spinner wheel but I just switched him over to a Comfort Wheel. However, the past two nights I have woken up to find the wheel separated from the wheel base. I have the wheel attached to the base as firmly as it will go, but somehow, my little guy is managing to pop the wheel off. I tried attaching the wheel to the side of the cage but with Ivan's weight in it, the wheel bangs loudly against the side of the cage. I wouldn't really care about this accept that I live with two roommates whom I really don't want to deprive of sleep. Any suggestions? Should I try yet another wheel?

Also, I just bought Ivan a full heating system... which does next to nothing. I'm using the recommended set up (150w ceramic heat emitter, digital thermometer, thermostat, ect.) but it seems to be giving off no heat at all. I have the thermostat set to 75 degrees but the heat emitter gives of minimal heat. I have to hold my hand an inch away from the lamp to feel any warmth at all so I know that it's not reaching Ivan, since I have the lamp on the top of his cage. Could this be a defective lamp or am I doing something wrong?

 

[nikki]

Hi ...comfort wheels have a habit of doing that...lol.. I know that Nancy has a neat way of fixing it but I can't quite remember how at the moment. If you do a search on comfort wheels here on the forum it might be there or you can send Nancy a pm. I know she'd be more than happy to help you with that

Do you have a thermometer in the cage to tell you the temp there? If so what does it say? If its reading low you may have to turn the thermostat up higher on emmitter. Don't go by the temp setting on the thermostat, just adjust it till the thermometer in the cage is at the correct temp. See if that works.

 

[hedgielover]

Does the thermostat have a probe and where is it? If the thermostat is reading the temp that is too close to the lamp then it wouldn't be keeping the cage warm. Just a thought, but I don't use a heat emitter so I don't know a lot about it.

 

[xsarahjox]

I just went home for lunch and the digital thermometer was reading 68 degrees. I have the probes for both the thermometer and the thermostat in the far corner of his cage, as far away from the emitter as possible. I'm at a complete loss... I turned up the thermostat to 85 for the hour that I was home and the temperature didn't change. I had to leave my space heater running in Ivan's corner to get the temp up.

 

[smhufflepuff]

The comfort wheel - if he's anything like my hedgie, he's smushing himself between the bottom of the wheel and the floor and popping the wheel off the base that way. Get a zip-tie (twist tie or shoelace might also work) and attach the back of the wheel (that knobby thing that sticks out the back side through the holes) to the base (the horizontal piece that's close to where you insert the wheel onto the base). Snug it up tight and then it'll be awfully hard to separate the two pieces.

Ceramic heat emitter - sounds like you have the probe in a good place - I'd consider one of four things:
1. Make sure the lamp has a nice big diameter - I've seen ones that are about 6" and ones that are about 10" - the greater the diameter, the greater the distribution across the cage.
2. Assuming that you have a wire-top cage and hedgie cannot climb to the top, set the lamp directly on the wire top... there should be a fraction of an inch clearance between the emitter/bulb and the wire top - the closer the emitter & lamp is to the cage, the more easily heat can get to where you want it to.
3. Devise a way to help keep the heat in the cage. Nancy has mentioned installing something like a plastic place mat along the back side of the cage to help keep heat in. What I did was get a giant piece of fleece, put it over the cage, then cut out big windows for the cage doors, the side of the cage (ventilation) and the majority of the top so the heat emitters have a place to go wthout melting the fleece. This will also help cut down on drafts that may be robbing the cage of its warmth.
4. Depending on the size of your cage, add a second emitter & lamp. I have a Marchioro 120 (big plastic bottom, wire-top cage) and use two heat emitters... one's a 150; the other's a 115-ish. I have a 215 and it was overkill... if you want it though, I can ship it to you... pm me.

 

[javi]

but if it still feels cold when ya are an inch away i would try to exchange it.