# Controlling dark hours?



## Annie&Tibbers (Apr 16, 2013)

Lots of posts cover the importance of lighting, keeping hedgehogs on a 12-hour-light schedule to keep them from hibernating. Is the inverse -- keeping them on a 12-hour-dark schedule -- also important?

It's easy to control lighting in the winter, but should I be controlling dark in the summer? If so, does anyone have tips for artificial nights that don't involve trapping air? Throwing a cover or box over the cage would interfere ventilation and lead to overheating. My home consists entirely of windows and mirrors, so "dark corners" don't exist (a sanity-saving necessity in the winter months).

This is a belated-question, as after tonight the days start getting shorter again. If no one has information about this, I'll be reporting back in 3 months at the equinox on if a lighting cycle of "tonight is longer than the night before" until a 12-hour night is reached triggers hibernation attempts. And if it does, I guess I'll be back figuring out what happens if a hedgehog thinks it is perpetually summer with short nights. :\

Luckily, my quilly friend is happy with "shady-dark" instead of "pitch blackness" for his wheeling & roaming. He's far more obedient to the clock than lighting, regularly emerging before sunset and staying up after sunrise. I dislike that I'm performing an unintentional experiment on my friend, so if any other far-north or far-south hedgehog-keepers have experience, please chime in!


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## abbys (Oct 13, 2012)

I think both light and dark should be controlled as much as possible. I have a blackout curtain that I cut up and tied to the sides of the cage (it would also work if you use a bin), and I just make sure they're pulled down at night when I go to bed and I pull them back up in the morning. That way it leaves the top of the cage open for ventilation, along with a few gaps here and there. However, since blackout curtains are designed to insulate, it will keep the cage a couple degrees warmer which can get tricky with summer heat. But where I live, it usually cools down enough at night that it generally isn't a problem. I hope that helps!

[attachment=0:3pi0rew7]Cage setup.jpg[/attachment:3pi0rew7]


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## verucacherry (Jun 18, 2013)

I have the same cage! We have a blanket we keep the back and top covered with, as our house is very drafty. We pull it down further at night, and then let daylight work its magic (her room faces East with a nice big window) in the morning. Yes, my hedgehog has her very own room, and we're convinced she's the one actually in charge of the house. As does the dog.

I do think that regulating a 12 hr light/12 hr dark schedule definitely does help out. When the sun starts to set, P.B. is starting to stir, and therefore waaay less cranky when we get her out for bonding time.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

I have never worried about making sure they get 12 hours of darkness. I live in Northern Alberta and in the summer it doesn't get completely dark at night for a few weeks. It hasn't been a problem over all the years and all the hedgies I've had. I think as long as they don't get to much darkness in the winter they are fine. My light timer is set to turn on at 7 am and off at 9 pm year round.


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## Heavenly Hedgehogs (Mar 19, 2010)

I have my lights on a timer to control the dark and light cycles


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## Annie&Tibbers (Apr 16, 2013)

My friend threw tantrums when his cage had a cover (thus why I asked about non-cover shade solutions), but I'm less-north than Northern AB, so have less dramatic daylight-issues. Thank you for the story -- it's reassuring. I'll still be keeping a close check for the next while to ensure that the less-long-but-more-than-12-hour days aren't a trigger for my particular hedgehog.


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