# Hibernation attempt! PLEASE HELP



## LyzziFall (Oct 2, 2009)

Hi so earlier today I posted a topic about trying to figure out how my thermostat works because I could not get it to stay at a constant temperature.

When I came home this afternoon from work I found the cage was at a whopping 84 degrees! freaking out! I turned it down to get it at 77. I came upstairs to find him more huffy than usual and now found him in a hibernation attempt.

PLEASE help I do not know what to do or how to regulate his temperature.


----------



## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

I don't have any experience with hibernation attempts. Right now, you can put him under your shirt so he's warmed by your core. Try to get the thermostat to regulate the temp in the cage. Keep him warm under your shirt until his stomach feels warm and he's acting normally. I sent a message to one of our members who has lots of experience with this, but I don't know if she'll get it or not. 

Hopefully someone with more experience will be along soon to help. Keep a very close eye on him in the next few days and if he seems off, get him to the vet for a check up.


----------



## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I'm guessing the attempt was caused by the sudden drop in the temperature more than anything. Like Rainey said, get him warmed up first thing. I always preferred to stick Lily under my shirt to warm her up, it was the easiest, quickest, and safest way to do it. You can also use a human heating pad set on low if you want, just make sure you stay with him. You'll want to make sure you his tummy is nice and warm and he's walking around normally before you put him away for the night.

For the thermostat, that's always an annoyance. I looked at your other thread, and you said you have a Zoo Med Reptitemp? That's the same kind I had, and while I had a bit of playing around with it initially to get it to the right temperature, I didn't usually have problems with it afterwards, barring big changes in my room temp. What's the room situation like? Does your room temperature vary much? Is his cage anywhere where there might be drafts, or is it a very open cage (like a C&C)? All of those things can affect how well the heating set up works. What wattage CHE bulb do you have?

For tonight, I'd try to get the thermostat to stay around 77 before you go to bed. Hopefully without it dropping he'll be fine for the night. If you have any alternate ways to control the temperature for his cage (space heater, etc.), you might use those for tonight and play around with the heating set up more tomorrow.


----------



## LyzziFall (Oct 2, 2009)

My issue is that I don't understand how to get the thermostat to evenly monitor his cage temp! Sorry I'm just scared and frightened.


----------



## LyzziFall (Oct 2, 2009)

Lilysmommy, I just saw your post.

His cage is pretty open (Its a guinea pig cage) and its under a window but I don't know if I have ever felt a draft from the window though. I think ints my fault. My room is upstairs where it gets very hot and when I came up stairs and saw the temp so high I freaked, shut it off and opened the window (not the one above his cage) a tiny bit to cool down. But even then his cage temp was at 78. I remember d from my years of reading to put him under my shirt which I did and he started to wake up. Now I have him wrapped in a fleece blanket in my lap with the space heater on near by. He is up and not curled up any more but he is not moving around much. He will eat little bits of food if I give it to him. I do not have a heat pad unfortunately.


----------



## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

Do you have a thermometer that monitors ambient air temperature? You know, like something you put on the wall to see how warm it is in the room? I would use that and slowly turn the dial either up or down until it is the temperature you need. 84 degrees may be uncomfortable, but it's not going to cook your hedgehog. Just slowly turn the dial up or down to get the temp you want. In the mean time, just make sure he's warm and acting normally before you go to bed. If the thermostat is fluctuation a lot, then you might have to return it because it's defective. If it fluctuates just 3 to 4 degrees then that is kind of normal.


----------



## LyzziFall (Oct 2, 2009)

Hey Rainy. The issue with the RediTemp is that it has no numbers on it to set a direct temp, just a high/low dial


----------



## Rainy (Jul 27, 2011)

I understand that. Just use a thermometer to determine what the cage temp is at right now, then just turn the dial (the tiniest amount) either up or down to get the temp you need. That's where a room thermometer inside the cage is helpful.


----------



## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Just take a deep breath! Trust me, I know how scary hibernation attempts are. Even after going through several with Lily, whenever I picked her up and felt a cool belly, my heart would sink and I'd start freaking out about it, even though I was getting used to dealing with it at the same time.

Not curled up is good, just give him a bit more time. He should continue warming up and moving around a bit more pretty soon, I'm sure. My room is upstairs as well, and I have the same problems with it in the summer. Just remember for the future - high temperatures are less dangerous than low. So even if it gets up pretty high again, try not to panic too much. Check on him and see if he's stressed out before you take any drastic measures. Unless they're a hedgie that likes cooler temperatures, they usually aren't too bothered by it. It's best to bring the temperature back down slowly if they're not stressed by the heat, so you avoid shocking them with the sudden temperature fall. 

Hm...Are you going to be around your house tomorrow? I'm thinking a good thing to try for your heating set up might be to use the space heater to keep Schubert warm, and have him out of his cage. You could put him in a blanket in a playpen or in a plastic bin to keep him contained for the time. If it's the daytime, he should be sleeping anyway, so he wouldn't be bothered by this. Turn the heating set up off completely and unplug everything. Then reconnect everything and, with the temperature control set all the way to the lowest temp setting, turn it back on. Wait until the light goes out and check the temperature on the thermometer. Then turn the thermostat up a little bit at a time until the light clicks back on. Wait again for the temp to go up and the light to click off, check the temp. Then just repeat until you have the temperature around where you want it. Then watch it for awhile to see if it clicks and off to keep the cage around that temperature like it should. All of this might take awhile, a few hours or so. But it might help you get it figured out for where the best setting is. Once you have it figured out, you can also use a piece of masking tape or something to mark where you have it set, in case it gets bumped sometime.


----------



## LyzziFall (Oct 2, 2009)

Alright I will try but for instance I tried just barely moving it on the low end and boosted the cage up to 82.6 degrees. But that could be because I have the space heater on... but it is facing away from the cage.

Should he be shaking/ panting this much? I am going to take him into the vet in the morning. I just want him to make it through the night. I am so overwhelmed.


----------



## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Shaking and panting doesn't sound normal to me...How warm is it in the room now? You don't want sudden changes in temperature, whether it's going from warm to cold or cold to warm. I would turn the space heater off and just have your body heat warming him right now. I know I've said this already, but make sure you don't put him back in his cage until he's acting normally.


----------



## LyzziFall (Oct 2, 2009)

Well he is crawling around a bit now. But his sneezing has gotten worse and with the attempt I think I definitely have to take him into the vet tomorrow.

He just pooped. A lot. The first bit was normal. The next bit was much lighter... maybe diarrhea?


----------



## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Glad he's moving around!  The poop is probably just the result of stress from the night. Vet tomorrow is definitely a good idea, with the sneezing. For tonight, if your space heater is dependable and has a thermostat for it (and if you can stand it), I'd use that to keep your room to 75-77 degrees. If you can't stand that temperature, or if the space heater doesn't have a thermostat, try and get the cage thermostat as steady as you can.

Also, I don't think mentioned what wattage the CHE bulb is? If it's a high wattage, I'm wondering if that could be contributing to the problem of how sensitive the thermostat is.


----------



## LyzziFall (Oct 2, 2009)

Sorry I was just going to say that I forgot to post the wattage. its a 100 watt CHE. He has now gone back to just laying in the fleece blanket. I don't know what to do. My space heater does have a thermostat but not one that is marked with degrees only from - to + but it regulates that pretty well...


----------



## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Is his belly warm by now? 100 watts doesn't seem to be a lot, so maybe it's not that...My best suggestion is to try messing with it tomorrow how I described to see if you can get it to a steady temperature and keep it there. I would use your best judgement on which one you think will regulate the temperature best for tonight - the space heater or the CHE set up. If it makes you feel safer, you could always set your alarm to wake you up every couple hours to check on him, once you do go to sleep. If you're very concerned about him, check and see if there's any emergency vets nearby that you could call. Sometimes regular vet clinics will have an answering machine that lists some emergency numbers, if you try giving them a call now. If you can contact anyone with some hedgie knowledge or experience, they might have some other advice or tips for you to get through the night. Good luck, I'm sending all of my healing thoughts to your little guy. <3


----------



## LyzziFall (Oct 2, 2009)

I think I have the RediTemp alternating on and off at 79 degrees for now (I just saw it click on and off.) He is now crawling all over again so I think I will wait until the morning for a regular vet. His belly doesn't feel ice cold but I wouldn't say it is warm just yet...


----------



## LyzziFall (Oct 2, 2009)

I am also concerned that he did not get his does of steroid tonight. should I try to give it to him again? He is moving all over the place now, but I wouldn't say his belly is very warm... is it alright to put him back in his cage?


----------



## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Having numbers doesn't really mean much because often the numbers are not actually the correct temperature and you still have to adjust it. 

The Repti-temps take a bit of fiddling to get set up but once you do, you can use a marker or paint to draw a line on the dial and the housing where they need to be. After that, just go by the line if you have to increase or decrease the temperature. 

It's not that common for one to go into a hibernation attempt from 84 - 77 and most won't but if he did, then he is ultra temperature sensitive. I've had a few like that over the years. Try moving his cage away from under the window. Whether you feel it or not, most windows even very new hi efficient ones will radiate in some cold. In front of windows and on the floor are the coldest parts of a room and near a stairway or door opening there can be drafts. 

It helps to block off the back wall of the cage. Heavy clear plastic or coroplast works well. I use heavy plastic and hold it in place with binder clips. Then it can easily be removed if needed.

To get the Repti-temp set, put an accurate thermometer on the cage floor right under the Repti temp. Turn the Repti temp off and then very slowly turn it up until it just clicks on. Leave it for an hour or so and then see what the temperature is. If the temp is way low, turn the dial about 1/4". If it needs to go up just a degree or two, barely turn the dial. After you've played with it a bit, it will become easier. If once set, there is a huge fluctuation in cage temperature, it's possibly because of the cage location. Usually they don't fluctuate more than a degree or two.


----------

