# Couple Questions



## Ramenstien (Jan 2, 2012)

I have a couple questions about housing and lighting.

My question about housing is, what are the cube grid things called that are used in a C&C cage? I went to Home Depot and they didn't seem to have any. I showed them a picture of what the cages looked like and told them they were made out of the cube pieces. Even though it may be a couple months before I get my hedgehog I would like to be completely ready for him/her when they get here.

My question about lighting is would it be ok to use a lamp of some sort for their everyday lighting or should I use the over head light? The hedgehog will be in my room so I didn't know what to do about leaving the light on constantly. Also where is the best place to get a CHE? I was thinking that when I go back to school I could set the cage and everything up so I could watch the heat. I really want to be prepared for my hedgehog before I get it. I don't want anything to go wrong once I get it. 

Thanks for the help!


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## Piratemama (Jan 3, 2012)

I saw the grids for the C&C at target, other places seem to have them more around back to school time. I got my CHE on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-ReptiCare ... 665&sr=8-1, the lamp to put it in at Menards for $6, the temp regulator here http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002CZ ... 00_details, a pretty low cost ($10) lamp from Target, and a $4 timer for the light.


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## Christemo (Oct 5, 2011)

Target's shelves are five squares wide, you need the ones that are 9 across. Bed, Bath and Beyond has them.


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## Ramenstien (Jan 2, 2012)

Oh alright then. Thanks for the help! I was also wondering where do I get coroplast?


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## Christemo (Oct 5, 2011)

Sign shops, or I've heard you can get it at Staples/Home Depot/Office Max, but I'd call them to check.


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## Ausage (Jan 5, 2012)

Ramenstien said:


> I have a couple questions about housing and lighting.
> Also where is the best place to get a CHE?


Any pet / aquarium store that sells reptile supplies. Sometimes you can find them at Home Depot and other hardware stores much cheaper than the Reptiles models. A CHE should have 1) a ceramic socket to hold the light bulb and a metal dome to reflect the heat. Any part made of plastic are an no-no.

Online in the US you can get them at Big Al's online and Pet Mountain under reptile heating & lighting supplies. In Canada the online suppliers are Big's Al's and Pets and Ponds. I deal with Big Al's and Pets and Ponds and would recommend both although Pets and Ponds is often cheaper.


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## Ramenstien (Jan 2, 2012)

Oh ok. Thanks. I'll give them a call befor I go look. Also I'm not sure if anyone answered this and if they did I'm sorry. But is it ok to use a lamp of some sort for their daily light source? And what's the difference between an infrared CHE and one that isn't?


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## Ausage (Jan 5, 2012)

Ramenstien said:


> Oh ok. Thanks. I'll give them a call befor I go look. Also I'm not sure if anyone answered this and if they did I'm sorry. But is it ok to use a lamp of some sort for their daily light source? And what's the difference between an infrared CHE and one that isn't?


A little physics 101. Heat is the vibration of molecules. The hotter something is the fast the molecules vibrate. Infra-light is light below the visibile (to humans) spectrum. All objects give off infra-light relative to how hot they are. This is how infra-red cameras work. Also, when infra-red light strikes an object, it will cause it to heat up. (This is a big over simplification but it works).

Infra-red lights are used in cafeterias to keep food warm, because the light shining down on the food will keep it warm without heating up the room. They are also used for a few reptiles that not only need heat, but can also see the light. A ceramic heating element gets hot without emitting any light and heats the air around it which in turn will heat everything else.

So if you use an infrared light, the hedgehog will feel the heat, but the air it breaths will be cool. By contrast, a ceramic element heats the air and so heats everything in the habitat.


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## Ramenstien (Jan 2, 2012)

Thanks for the Physics lesson. Lol. What wattages of infrared light would be best?


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## Ausage (Jan 5, 2012)

Ramenstien said:


> Thanks for the Physics lesson. Lol. What wattages of infrared light would be best?


Personally I would NOT use an infra-red heating element. I would use a ceramic heater. The difference is the hedgehog would be warm under an infra-red light but cold as soon as it left the light -- i.e. when into its hut or the corner of the cage, whereas the ceramic heater will heat the entire environment. How much wattage depends on the room temperature and the size of the enclosure and ventilation. In the past I have used a 100 watt heating element to keep a 10 gal aquarium at 95-100 F with a room temperature of 70-72 F when treating sick turtles.


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## Christemo (Oct 5, 2011)

Regular light would work fine.
Look through the Christmas sale sections for light timers... you may be able to find one for cheap!


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## Ramenstien (Jan 2, 2012)

Oh. Alright then. Well that will work fine for me. But what about like the light that they need every day? Or is that what you are talking about? I thought you were talking about just a normal CHE Bulb.


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## chelsea.kang (Dec 2, 2011)

CHEs do not produce any light whatsoever, it only heats the cage.

For a light source you can just use a lamp with a regular light bulb. For example, I have this lamp (http://www.walmart.com/ip/Ms-Floor-Comb ... a/13278915). The lamp is plugged into a timer because I'm not always home at 7AM & 9PM. I point the little reading light at the cage so the light is kind of directed towards the cage so his cage is lit and the room is still fairly dark near my bed (that way if I'm sleeping in late the light doesn't wake me up ha).


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## Ramenstien (Jan 2, 2012)

Oh ok. Awesome! Thats what I wanted to know because I was afraid that I was going to have to leave my overhead light on all day and night. So the light doesn't have to be directly over them? Just in the general direction?


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## chelsea.kang (Dec 2, 2011)

Yep just light the cage from 7A to 9P everyday.


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## Ramenstien (Jan 2, 2012)

Alright! Thanks a lot for the help! Do you guys think that a sterilite cage would be alright until I can get all of the C&C stuff together?


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