# Hedgehog home location dilemma



## margolia.wind (Oct 4, 2010)

So this is a bit of a finicky question...but I'm going to ask it all the same and hope someone might be able to help.
I live in a small-ish apartment in a communal house, but I'm happy to share my little room with a hedgehog-friend. As she is due to arrive by the start of November, I am trying to get my head around arranging the room for her and her home. 
My room is a sort of thin-ish rectangular shape. One end has a window and the far end has the head of my bed at it. By my bed is a large dresser (35x20"); at the other end of the room, there is a lot of empty floor space.
The radiator is underneath the window directly and I can't move it as it's attached to the floor. 
What I am wondering is - is it better to put my hedgehog's home on the dresser where it will be removed from the possible draft and direct sunlight of the window but ALSO away from the heat source? Is being near a heat source like a radiator bad for a hedgehog? AT the dresser end of my room, she could be on the dresser (obviously) and therefor off the ground which sounds like it might keep her warmer. I'm in southern Canada and want to make sure I'm prepared for the winter. 
I will - regardless - buy a CHE heater and thermostat, of course, for the cage. 

Also a factor - how smelly is a regularly cleaned (with fleece lining) cage? If it's by where my bed is and I clean it and change the linings regularly, will it be, like, over-powering? I just want to be prepared if that is the case...

Sorry to be so...loquacious. I've literally been reading the forums the past week through and through and trying to puzzle out my options and what is best. Any guidance much appreciated. 

Merci!


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## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

Hedgehog cage should be away from direct sunlight and draft, so I'd say on the dresser. If you are getting a CHE I think it should be fine 

As for the smell... I have a fairly large room, and my bed is in one corner, and my cage in the middle.
I don't really smell it from my bed, but once I get around a foot or so around the cage, I start noticing the smell. It doesn't smell once I clean the wheel, but this is done every morning, so I will wake up to a smelly cage.


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## fracturedcircle (May 31, 2010)

yep, go with the dresser.


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## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

I'd go with the dresser also. I have seen lots of great ideas before on DYI for making a radiator cover and they seem like they go together easily and cost little. I just bring this up because you could always build a radiator cover so that you could put some of the things from your dresser onto the cover to free up space if you needed it. The cover doesn't touch the radiator at all so it doesn't get hot or anything so its safe to put things onto it.


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## margolia.wind (Oct 4, 2010)

Thank you - that was what I was thinking, but I needed the reassurance that I was thinking in the right direction. Okay, perfect. I will look for a home that fits on the dresser then and be ready for slightly smelly mornings. ;p
And thanks, Hedgieonboard - that is a great idea and might help immensely, in fact.

Eeee okay. I need to make a shopping list, I think.

*cage* - http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.j ... Id=2753281
*wheel* - flying saucer wheel (which I'm buying hopefully from another user on this forum)
*heat* - che bulb, light, thermostat (research to be done on Canadian locations), maybe a hand warmer
*liners* - fleece blankets (sears!) *I saw a recommendation to have something under the fleece to absorb? But if it's a towel or something like that, what if she burrows under and gets caught? I read a few posts that said that people's pets were going under the liner...
*Bathing* - Aveeno soap: http://www.aveeno.com/skincare/products ... rance-free 
*Light* - light with timer? I have to find somewhere to get this too
igloo-like-home - am making one, to fill with fleece strips 
*water/food dish* - ceramic. from PetSmart, hopefully
*food* - I have the Dry Food List open - I just have to figure out which are easily available to me. I'm a bit overwhelmed by all the numbers involved here though, admittedly...
*Litter* - I have a little cardboard box to cut the sides down of and line in paper towel.
*Vet* - I saw Dr. Munn (Toronto) highly recommended in other posts. I'll have to contact her still though.
*guide* - I downloaded the book found here: http://www.hedgehogbook.webs.com/download.html It seems incredibly helpful.

This is all ideas gleaned from various posts around the forum. If I have anything out of order or am lacking anything on my list OR you have any particular suggestions, please feel free to let me know, if you don't mind. I have a month now to get ready and I really, really want to be properly ready - hence my so-many-questions.

I am so greatly in gratitude. I would have been so lost if I hadn't found my way here.


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## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

Sounds like you are gonna have a lucky hedgie  The food list overwhelmed me too the first time. Off the top of my head these are some of the brands that Petco carries: Natural Balance, Solid Gold, Royal Canin, Wellness, Innova. I don't want to exclude Petsmart its just that after the first time going in there to get catfood I was disappointed with the bags they had on the shelves so I don't go there anymore for my hedgie food and can't remember the brands they have. 

For the liner worry what you can do is cut two pieces of fleece and layer on top or if you sew you can sew up a three layered liner. Me personally I just use one layer of fleece and papertowel under the wheel but you'll know more when you see how your hedgie uses it. Recently I found some really great hard plastic like placemats and I put those under the wheels and the papertowel on that it has been working good. Han****s and Joanns have been having sales for awhile too on some, not sure if they are still going on but they were a couple of weeks ago  The fleece blankets you are talking about work great too as long as any decorative stitching is taken off. 


Your list is great and you are gonna have one happy hedgie


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

In your other thread, you said that petsmart was close. So along that line of thought...
When you go check out the cage, see if you can find a Snuggle Safe Disc. They should be in stock now, but they run out FAST. Though if you can't find it, you can always order them online. THey're great for extra heating, especially for travelling. 

As for food, Petsmart carries Blue Spa Select. So that's definitely one brand you can think about using, as it will be readily available and close too! It's also a good food. 

For dishes, it may be cheaper to go to the dollar store for the ceramic bowls. Though some of us will end up collecting various assorted bowls as the months go by. 

Don't forget to pick up a digital thermometer while you're at petsmart. They're in the reptile section where all the heating lights are. Mine's a Zilla. 

As for timers, you can find them in Canadian Tire, Home Depot type stores. If you look at LG's thread on Heating Simplified, she has a picture of a timer.


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## Sheryl (Sep 9, 2010)

For the issue with fleece liner and the hedgie digging under it, what I do is I cut the fleece liner to be big enough to drape over the edges of the plastic cage bottom, and then I set the wired part of the cage on top of the fleece edges to hold them firmly in place. Wilson has never pulled them out and dug beneath the liner.


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## Tomato (Aug 8, 2010)

I had a nice reply typed out until my computer crashed... ugh!

Anyways, I'm in a very similar situation as you. Instead of a dresser though, I have a table/desk that my cage sits on. I ran an extension cord so now everything plugs in and works out well. Since you have a radiator to heat the room, it should be a decent temperature, and your CHE will simply perfect it.

I remember where, but there's an active thread talking about odour and using air purifiers... that's another option that worked wonders for a stale-air problem I had in an office. For pets in general I find cleaning often really helps a lot - doing their laundry (doggy beds), vacuuming (for hair and other particles), and baths help. I saw somewhere about a lavendar hedgehog air freshener too... no idea how good/bad that option is though.

For supplies... shae (apparently she like toquitos! lol) gave the idea of getting those small ceramic bowls from Dollarama, my hedgie dove straight in so that could save some $ too. I also got a Daytime fluorescent lamp from Dollarama that's absolutely wonderful. Timers you can get from anywhere like Zellers or Canadian Tire (maybe even Dollarama?). Liners I got fleece from Fabricland, they had a sale so I spent less than $8 on 8 liners. Thermostat I've seen only at one small pet store east Mississauga... I searched all the pet stores (atleast 5) in my area for thermostats and food but only found it in one. From online reviews, I ended up buying a thermostat online (industrial grade! ).

Goodluck with your hedgie! If you're comfortable, let us know where around Toronto you are and we may have better suggestions.


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## krbshappy71 (Jul 17, 2009)

The smell and noise of hedgehogs wakes me up at night, mine are in a different room. 

The room does smell first thing in the morning, badly, and I crack the window slightly while I'm gathering their wheels and checking on them. Just for a few minutes to air out the room, then it does not smell the rest of the day thankfully. Once those wheels are whisked out to be cleaned it really makes a difference! (even if there is still small poopies and pee on the liner)

From what I've read on here, cat food with fish in it will cause the poop to smell worse. 

Until you get your igloo made, I'd like to suggest a Kleenex tissue box. Remove the tissue and put in some fleece strips. Super cheap, easy, and you can get decorative ones for the seasons, ha! Mine like both the oblong shape and the short-square shaped ones lying on the side.


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## margolia.wind (Oct 4, 2010)

Thank you all so much for your kind replies. It's lovely to hear from everyone.

a) Food: I've been looking at the food list and trying to figure it out. The breeder will give me some of whatever she is currently feeding her so that I can switch over (which I have been reading how to do). So I should chose one food at first to switch to, correct? As it sounds like PetSmart will have the Blue Spa Select (thank you, Immortalia!) I think I will try to start with that and then maybe find out what would compliment that. It looks like - from the list here http://hedgehogcentral.com/CatFoodChart6.html - that I might need to supplement the fibre? Either way, I should wait to do that for until she's comfortable, correct? The food intimidates me the most, I think. Thanks so much.

b) Liners: Placemats sound like they might be a good idea cleaning-wise. Thanks! Maybe I will look into that. I can also easily sew something safe with multiple layers and leave it long enough to go outside the wire - that makes tons of sense.

c) Heat: I called PetSmart and they have snuggle safe disc - hopefully it will still be there when I go tomorrow as they don't put things on hold...

d) Smell: I'm having trouble finding threads regarding the lavender issue for some reason, but I'll try to look into that more. I'm not super concerned - I just want to be prepared. If it's a bit stale in the mornings - that'll be something to prompt me getting out of bed!

d) Hideaways: thanks, krbshappy71. That would work perfectly. I have lots of spare tissue boxes. They're rather prettier than bright neon igloos anyway, really. ;p

Tomato - Your reply was very nice. Thanks SO much. It is so wonderful to hear form someone in the area aIs a lot of the advice I seem to find seems to pertain to elsewhere. It's very reassuring. I live right downtown in the city. I don't drive but I do have some extent of access to kind drivers and can public transport about if I need to.

Here is my concern for the moment:
Are there fire-safty concerns regarding the CHE light? I ask because I have a land lord and that is what worries me the most - I feel like it could potentially be an issue if they concerned the owners of my house. Does anyone know if there are resources about this or reassuring words/tips? I assume they can't be starting fires all over or you wouldn't all be using them and recommending them and pets often use them - but any advice would be much appreciated. The rest is all lined up now and I'm feeling really good about it.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

A ceramic heat emitter is basically as safe as a light bulb if used properly and you take precautions. Make certain you get a fixture that says it is approved for ceramic heat emitters. Some are, some aren't. Get a 10" fixture. Not only does it spread the heat out further in the cage but the metal of the fixture doesn't get as hot as a smaller fixture. 

You want to wire the fixture to the top of the cage so there is no way it can possibly slide off. Most fixtures have little holes along the bottom edge that you can put wires through. 

You need to make sure there is no way curtains or anything can fall against the emitter. The emitter falling off the cage or something flammable laying against it are really the only fire concerns. 

If anything goes wrong with the emitter it will just burn out, just like a light bulb. An emitter is the safest of all the heating options as long as you use it properly.


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## margolia.wind (Oct 4, 2010)

Thanks Nancy. That's very helpful.
Sorry to be the question-monster. I have one more inquiry (for now). 
Someone is selling this CHE on Craigslist at the moment: http://images.craigslist.org/3n03k33lb5 ... 7a1f02.jpg
Is that suitable? It's hard for me to see properly but it doesn't look that differnent than the one linked in the stickied heating thread (by LizardGirl, I think?) This person is selling it for 20$, so it sounds like it would be worth me buying it from her if I can.


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## EryBee (May 23, 2010)

First off, congratualtions on your impending hedgehog friend! Second, sounds like you are doing everything right!


> Until you get your igloo made, I'd like to suggest a Kleenex tissue box. Remove the tissue and put in some fleece strips. Super cheap, easy, and you can get decorative ones for the seasons, ha! Mine like both the oblong shape and the short-square shaped ones lying on the side.


I bought a nice, roomy igloo for my hedgie, and he ignored it. I put in a simple tissue box (slightly modified to add extra entrances) and he loves it. Just goes to show sometimes the simplest solution works best.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

margolia.wind said:


> Thanks Nancy. That's very helpful.
> Sorry to be the question-monster. I have one more inquiry (for now).
> Someone is selling this CHE on Craigslist at the moment: http://images.craigslist.org/3n03k33lb5 ... 7a1f02.jpg
> Is that suitable? It's hard for me to see properly but it doesn't look that differnent than the one linked in the stickied heating thread (by LizardGirl, I think?) This person is selling it for 20$, so it sounds like it would be worth me buying it from her if I can.


Personally, I wouldn't buy a used emitter. How do you know the person hasn't used it for half or more of it's life span. At least a new one, if it burns out in a week or month, you can return it.


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## margolia.wind (Oct 4, 2010)

EryBee - Thanks! I'm kind of hoping that mine will be the same cause I don't like the colours of the igloos. ;p Also I need something to make and prepare while I wait the 20 more days for her...

Thanks (yet again!) Nancy. I think my reservations were along that line. I went to PetSmart today and they only had a CHE by All Living Things (100watts). It is black, but the lady (who seemed knowlegeable) said that there wasn't a difference. Anyway, I bought it because the PetSmart is a long way for me, but I can return it if it's wrong. I hadn't seen that brand mentioned on these forums yet but it looks trustworthy...Does anyone know if it's alright to use this one?
I also bought a 10" Flukers Clamp Lamp suitable for max 250watt CHEs. 

Other than that - I have a cage, food, dishes etc and more shopping to do tomorrow. (;


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Don't forget the thermostat. It is the most important part of the CHE setup and is not safe to use an emitter without one. You may have to order the thermostat online but if you are near a Big Al's they might have it. Try phoning around to stores that specialize in reptiles.


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