Fussing Over My New Baby

[thefairyhouse]

Okay, so my husband and I are fussing over our new family member (an almost 4 month old Pinto hedgie boy....he's currently snoozing in a little hedgie bag on our bed, after spending quite some time roaming our bed and crawling all over me (inquisitive little bugger)...

We've got a cage ready for him, but of course, we're fussing.....it's one of those plastic bottom cages with wire tops. We've got a vellux liner in the bottom, and a heating pad under about half the cage. Over the spot where we put the heating pad, we have the igloo thing, and then his food and water bowls, off to the side, and his litter pan in the corner. But, what we don't know, is what heat to put the heating pad on, so it's nice and toasty for him...

Also, my husband is paranoid that he's going to be able to get out of his cage. Does anyone know what the "standard" for how big the gaps in the wire can be before there is serious danger of escape...?

[Nancy]

Hi and congratulations on your new baby.

The heating pad should be kept on low and he should have two sleeping areas, one over the heating pad, one not so that he can choose to sleep where it is warm or someplace cooler. Make sure the heating pad does not have automatic shut off. Many of the new ones do.

Unless he is very small he shouldn't be able to get out of the bars. If you are concerned just cover the bars so there is a non climbable height of about 8-10". All you have to do is weave cardboard in and out of the bars so he can't get through them or a toe hold to climb. Cereal boxes are great for a quick temporary barrier. :)

[thefairyhouse]

[Okay, that's cool. We were careful to buy a heating pad that didn't have auto-shutoff (and that wound up being a pricey thing). I've got it on "2" -- there is an "L" setting, but frankly, it didn't seem to make the floor in the igloo feel any warmer. (this heating pad has 6 heat settings)

What do I need to do for a second sleeping area? I mean, there's plenty of spots where there is vellux liner, that he could curl up on, but I don't have another igloo. He was in the igloo for a bit, now he's curled up in the corner. I'm completely paranoid about the whole temperature thing, since he can't talk to tell me if he's hot or cold. LOL

His current cage is temporary for the next week or two while the hubby builds him Hedgehog Heaven, so we're just trying to make sure we do this right.

[Nancy]

A second sleeping area can be a hedgie bag or just some fleece or velux. If he is curled up in the corner, just put a piece of velux over top of him. Do you have a cloth in his igloo for him to snuggle in?

[thefairyhouse]

I have a hedgie bag in his igloo. I'm going to give him a little vellux "blankie" in his corner.

thanks!

[Pringlesmom]

Sounds like you are trying your best to keep your little one happy! Congrats! I highly recommend going to Nancy's website if you ever need more liners, fleece hedgie bags, blankets, etc. She is wonderful and her products wash and wash without a tear! I have the same cage you have now. I believe it is the biggest size they come in 40x16. Scoops never got out (thank goodness!) I had a smaller one of these cages for my Pringle, and he was more of a climber than Scoops and he still didn't get out. I think you will be ok.

[thefairyhouse]

Thanks for the words of advice. He did fine last night, and this morning after a little huffing was ready to come out and play with us. Hubby is currently drawing blueprints for Hedgehog Heaven...

We're doing a cage similar to the one on hedgies.com that was custom built, but with our own ideas added in. We've got a couple questions though--

1. Is it okay to have exposed wood inside the cage, or will he chew it all up? (our experience is with ferrets, a hedgie is a new adventure for us).

2. What do you all think of those red lamps that provide a little extra heat without light? The cage will be three levels for hedgie, with a big storage cabinet below (which puts hedgie up 36" inches and out of the constant bugging by some obnoxious wiener dogs that think they own the place :) ) -- We plan to have a heating pad under the floor of the bottom level, and the red lamp in the "ceiling". Is this a good plan? We set our thermostat in the house to 72, but of course, I worry about him getting chilly.

3. We're planning to use ramps between the levels inside the cage, and pvc pipe tunnels outside the cage (I saw a pic of a cage like this that Sarbear posted here a few weeks ago). On the ramps, we were going to use industrial grade carpet or astrotruf, but we're thinking that would be a pain in the butt to use in the tubes. Any suggestions of something to use in the tubes for a little added traction--maybe textured contact paper?

Thanks...

[Nancy]

One thing to remember is that any levels must be fully enclosed. I assume your levels will be full width of the cage which is fine. Ramps must be shallow angled and have sides to prevent hedgie falling off. What ever you use for the ramps needs to be something that is easily cleanable.

One thing to consider when building a wooden cage is that if the hedgie ever gets mites you will have to throw the whole cage out as you can never get the mites out of the wood.

I wouldn't use a red lamp. There are ceramic ones that emit heat with no light and they are much better to use. :)

[thefairyhouse]

Where can I get a ceramic light that emits heat with no light?

Yeah, our levels will be the full width of the cage.

[Nancy]

They sell them in the reptile department of pet stores.