Temperature question..

[Adam-]

I read that hedgehogs need to live in 73-85 degree weather. My house right now is 71 degrees, but is probably a little less than that. So should i turn up the heat or put a space heater on him temporarily and look into buying some alternate heating source?

And another question, as for food is there anything else i should mix with the royale canine? Like some kind or ratio mixture?

[hemi_mygirl]

It really depends on what would work best for you. Turning up the heat, or using a space heater will be fine, as long as it can maintain a consistent temperature of around 75 degree Farenheit.

As for the food, if you mix two kinds of food, a 50/50 split is fine. If it's three or more, try to split them as evenly as possible. However, if one variety has greater than 15% fat (ideal is 9-11%, I believe), use less of that food.

[horsegal]

I think it is generally better to have a mix instead of only one food. You could add Chicken Soup for the Cat Lovers Soul Light, Wellness, Wysong, and several others. You could also look at labels and find a good food in your area. Check the old threads and you can find just what to look for in a food.

[HamorHollow]

At 71, you should be good for a young and healthy hedgehog. If it gets cooler, your hedgehog might start getting sluggish and try going into a false hibernation. I have a space heater in my hedgehog room, but that really isn't an economical solution for 1 hedgehog.

What I recommend is picking up a small reptile heating pad at your local pet store. Paste it to the bottom underside corner of the cage. if your hedgehog is cold, he can go to the pad, if not he can move off it.

I've used the reptile heating pads for the better part of 13 yrs and have never had a problem with them. They don't get hot enough to melt thee cage or burn your hedgehogs or anything like that.

On the other hand, I did manage to melt the side of a cage with a heating light........

[HedgeMom]

Under tank heating pads need to be thermostatically controlled and checked frequently because they are famous for overheating and burning the animal.

[HamorHollow]

Under tank heating pads need to be thermostatically controlled and checked frequently because they are famous for overheating and burning the animal.

The worst that has happened to me is that the pad has stopped working.

Do you know anyone who has actually had a hedgehog that has gotten burned.

My thoughts are that hedgehogs are pretty smart (seriously, I can tell you stories about them communicating to plot against me) and if something is too hot, they will move.

[Melody]

No, but I know of baby birds that have gotten burned on heating pads. This owner really must have been a total dimwit - he put the newborn baby (naked) parrot directly onto a heating pad. It burned off all the babies toes and blistered it something awful. Then he was like "well, that's what I was told to do" and took it to a bird store. Fortunately, the store owner put salve on all the wounds, put the baby in an avian incubator, and hand fed it. It recovered nicely, but of course it still had no toes. Everyone who went to the store fell in love with the little guy-- and he ended up in a wonderful home who appreciated him handicap and all. When I use a heating pad, it is when it goes under something else - like a terrarium or aquarium (where you raise baby birds). I only put it under 1/2 of the tank, and I always cover the heating pad with a towel. There is also bedding in the tank. So it's pad, towel, tank with Carefresh or whatever, critter. For birds in cages I have clip ons that hold a ceramic heating bulb, I guess like you use for reptiles. I also make sure there is good ventilation so it doesn't overheat.