# Infrared Light?



## MissC

My BF is always looking to make things bigger and better and is not satisfied with the status quo. Lately, he has a bee in his bonnet (LOL...kinda funny to think of him wearing a bonnet...sigh...) ...anyway...he wants to use this bulb in Snarf's cage:

http://www.bigalsonline.com/Reptiles_Li ... tc=default

The description says: Ideal 24 hour heat source for all types of reptiles, amphibians, birds or small animals. Very little visible light provided so as not to disturb your animal's sleep patterns. Excellent for nocturnal viewing of all types of captive animals.

He is VERY excited: now we can see Snarf at night too!! And it would look so coooool. I am quoting.

I think A) it will bug the bejeezus out of Snarf; B) is unecessary cuz we have more trouble keeping his cage cool than warm without a heat lamp; C) would require the purchase of a Rheostat so is an uncessary waste of money and D) would use up yet one more outlet in our already 'oberly-octopussed' system.

I have reviewed my case with him and he has worn me down enough that I promised to do some research....

Soooooo....anyone know anything about these? Potentially harmful? Useful/useless?

Many thanks for your help!!!


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## Puffers315

This is what i bought originally for my first hedgehog and i mean it works heat wise, as long as you have a way to control the temp. Main worry would be if snarf is really light sensitive, he may not come out and play. My boy Loki is very light sensitive, he wont wheel unless he has total darkness, and i mean cannot see your hand in front of your face kind of darkness. I did an experiment with him one night in the summer. I took notice that i could use the infrared light from my mouse and see him in the cage as he didnt seem to notice. Tried the infrared bulb with him, he froze on his wheel. I dont have a rheostat to adjust the brightness, so you would need one, and even then it still may effect him.

If the main thing is seeing him at night, i would just spend the money on a cheap security camera with infrared night vision, itll cost about the same probably. You figure 20 for the lamp, 20 for the bulb, 30 for the rheostat. I got a security camera in Loki's cage, cost me about 80 at radio shack. wo


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## mel2626

LOL Now I'm thinking of my BF wearing a bonnet!! :lol: :lol: 
I think the main issue with the infrared light is that some hedgehogs are sensitive to light (even the red). So they may not come out at night because of the light being on. I know when I brought home Iggy, he had only an infrared light as his heat source. I too thought it would be cool to keep it on so I could see him in action at night. Well, I started to get worried that he wasn't using his wheel at night at all so when I took the light out and got him a CHE, he used his wheel the first night. I can't say for sure that he wasn't coming out because of the light, but removing it sure did make a difference. 

*Edit* because Puffers beat me! lol Plus I love the idea of the infrared camera instead. I'm sure that'll get rid of his bee!


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## MissC

Thanks so much for your help!! I don't think Jamie really cares that much about seeing him at night. I think he found something 'new and improved' and has to have it. :lol: 

Snarf isn't very sensitive to light - he and Jamie have about 3 hours of 'quality' time together every night after 'lights out': Snarf on his wheel and Jamie on his xbox, located next to Snarf's cage. (Which begs the question: why doesn't he just watch Snarf then? :?) 

Snarf is still out when we're up and around at 8am. He will stop wheeling until you announce yourself, give your finger a sniff, then continue on with his training. Once his much brighter timer light goes on, tho', he heads to bed.

So...if I'm understanding correctly: the infared won't do any harm unless Snarf doesn't like the extra brightness. I am leaning towards the idea of the camera. When Mr Techonology hears how inexpensive they are, I'm thinking he will completely forget about the light. :lol:


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## Puffers315

The only issues with an infrared I can think of would be the light issue, and if uncontrolled, could make the cage too hot. Other than that, I don't see were it would be a problem.

As for the security camera, search around, you can probably find a cheaper one, I know there was a $60 dollar one that was out of stock at the time, just make sure it has the AV adapter to plug it into the tv.


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## leosowner

I am liking this for a CHE
http://www.warehousedeals.com/Zoo-Med-R ... ce=froogle

can be set for whatever temp you need and even has a sensor that knows when to go on.

as for a camera. i have used many of those radio shack ones. i never got a result that i liked. we had a problem with people egging our house..(got them with the cameras) i had two cameras. one was my sony camcorder that was set up to my computer. Then i had a logitech webcam set up too. i installed logmein on the computer so that i could watch what was going on. the logitech webcam had software that would take a picture if any motion was detected. this was great because it only took pictures when it was needed to. i would try out the webgame route first. most are under 30 dollars. just pm if you need any help with the camera


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## Vladimirthehedgehog

I have tried a regular heat and light bulb for my hedgehog as well as an infrared light. The first night with the infrared light he was up for 2 hours running around eating, drinking, and on his wheel. But the past few nights he hasn't been out for too long and hasn't been eating and (TMI) pooping as much. so I was just wondering of something like this would be ok for him? http://zoomed.com/db/products/EntryDetail.php?EntryID=29&DatabaseID=2&SearchID=5 I just want my hedgie to be warm and comfortable since it's now winter and getting colder at night. Any suggestions or input would be greatly appreciated!


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## Lilysmommy

It'd be a good idea for you to start your own thread next time, this one is five years old & it can confuse people when old threads are brought up. 

But yes, what you linked is what you want.  It will give off heat only, no light. As you found, hedgehogs often won't come out & eat/drink/run if there is light at night.

However, you need to make sure your lamp is rated safe to use with a CHE bulb - it should say somewhere on the box or the lamp. If you can't find anything that says it's safe, you'll need to get a new lamp. They can be a serious fire hazard otherwise because of how hot they get. You will also need to get a thermostat to plug the lamp into, which will turn the lamp on & off as needed to keep the temperature steady. Otherwise it can fluctuate a lot based on the temperature of the room/house, and it could easily get too hot or cold for your hedgehog still.


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