# New heating toys and Lily update!



## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Lily and I got some new toys! 

Lily got a new heating pad to go under her igloo, hoping that'll help her wake up with a toastier belly. I love the heating pad, it doesn't get scary-hot, which makes me feel better about having it under her. At the same time though, you can't feel it much at all through the coroplast, so I might move it into the cage, under her liner...I'm not sure yet, I'll see how she does with it where it is for a few days. 

And Lily (and I) got a new space heater, an oil-filled one, to replace our fan one. I've been iffy on the old one for awhile, as it's a cheapy $30 one I picked up. It doesn't always kick on when I first turn it on, and it dries the air out a lot. This new one is pretty big (around 3 feet tall, I think), but I was running it in the living room early (to get the weird smell out), and the heat feels great, and I'm hoping it won't dry the air out so much. I also feel a lot safer leaving it on while I'm not home and - best part - it has a timer! My room gets a lot warmer when our house thermostat kicks up to 70 (during the evening, when my dad's usually home), and I can set the new space heater to turn off during that time, then back on when the house thermostat goes back down to 68. 

I'm also looking into getting a warm-air humidifier and an air purifier, but I'm waiting on them for now, I want to see how this new space heater does first.

And now for the Lily update...

Still have no clue what's going on with her. :? Her poop went a bit green this past week, I think mostly due to the time change. I was an idiot and completely forgot to slowly change it, so I'm sure it upset her. She's been eating much better though, back to her usual amount. She's STILL not gaining weight though... She's at 411 grams as of last night's weighing. This is with her food fat %s being 12% (Solid Gold cat), 12% (Natural Balance GP&D), 17% (Wellness Small Breed Puppy), and 18% (Solid Gold Just a Wee Bit). She gets 10 kibble of each kind. She definitely favors the SG cat, and eats all 10 of that every night...I've been thinking I should cut down on the number of that kibble, but I feel bad with how much she likes it. She eats a few kibbles of each of the other three, sometimes a bit more of the SG puppy. I'm not entirely sure of her activity level other than I know she still does her exploration rounds of her cage (I hide 5 of the SG cat kibble to give her something to look for, since she looks forward to those hidden treats now), and runs on her wheel enough to dirty it each night. She seems normal otherwise.

So...definitely time for another vet visit? I'm just having a hard time telling if there really is a problem or if I'm just jumping ahead of myself and not giving her enough time to recover and start gaining. It just seems like forever since her weight's been steady in a GOOD range rather than "Making-Mommy-nervous" range. If I do take her in, what should I ask the vet about for possible problems? What tests should I ask for, or should I just kind of see what he thinks? Last time I saw him, he seemed to think the weight loss/lack of eating was just due to antibiotics, but that was a couple months ago...

I haven't gotten her out yet tonight for mealies and weighing, but I'll get some pictures of her from overhead when I do, if anyone is willing to take a look and see if she looks too skinny or okay. The vet said that her weight/size seemed fine, not really a concern, but I feel like she's just a bit too skinny...I'd rather have her on the plump side, with how quickly they can lose weight.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Here's the pictures. Looking at them, I'm starting to lean more towards I'm just freaking out because of her having been sick and losing so much weight, and maybe she's not as skinny as I think. But more opinions are definitely welcomed!

Before stretch:
http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt13 ... C04505.jpg
Stretching!:
http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt13 ... C04506.jpg
After stretch:
http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt13 ... C04507.jpg
And just looking cute:
http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt13 ... C04509.jpg

She was 410 grams for tonight's weighing, but I'm pleased to announce that her heating pad works GREAT!  When I took her igloo out to get her out, I felt the floor of her cage where the pad is under and it was nice and warm. Took Lily out and...toasty belly!  First time it's been warm enough for my liking in a couple weeks! She hasn't been cool at all, but definitely not toasty like now. Very pleased with the new heating pad! ^_^


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

You shouldn't need to turn the heater off when your dad is home and the house is warmer. The thermostat in the heater will keep it from turning on when the room is warm enough without it. 

Yay that the heating pad is keeping her toasty warm.  

Stretched out her sides do go in a wee bit but I think she looks fine. I wouldn't say she is skinny, certainly not overweight either. I wouldn't worry about her unless her weight keeps dropping.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Thanks Nancy! I'll try to stop being too paranoid about it for now then...Though that's easier said than done. :lol:

Still learning about the new heater. I had it on last night before going to bed and it was 78-79 degrees in my room when I got up there. Turned the thermostat control down a bit before going to bed, and woke up early this morning and it was 75 in the room. :lol: Thermostat doesn't have numbers or anything, so it'll be a bit more playing before I hit the right spot, I think. I'm aiming to keep it around 76-77 degrees.

Btw, this is the heating pad - http://cozywinters.com/shop/kh-1060.html I saw you had linked in it a thread, Nancy, and thought I'd try it out. It's pretty neat, it's set to be slightly warm with no weight on it. When there's weight on it (from an animal sitting on it), it'll warm up to 102 degrees and it doesn't keep getting hotter. And this is the new space heater - http://www.amazon.com/Delonghi-TRD0715T ... B000A33B1C


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

The heaters with the rheostat control are touchy and can be a trick to get at the exact spot. One thing I learned when turning it up or down was to only move the dial by about a hairs width. It also helps if you use a fine point marker and put some lines where the dial is so once it is at a certain temperature, mark where the dial sits. Makes it somewhat easier if you have to turn it up and down.

I started out with the rheostat type in my old hedgie room and it drove me absolutely INSANE!!!!! That room faces west where all the prevailing winds are and this is a 200+ year old drafty house. When the wind blows, that room cools down fast. When the temperature drops outside, so does the room. I was forever turning the heater up and then the wind would quit and it would be too hot. Turn down, the temp drops overnight and the heater doesn't keep up. I finally replaced it with a digital thermostat and it worked much better for that particular room. My daughter had a rheostat type in her room with no issues at all because her room was in the new part of the house. One great thing about the rheostat type is, even if the power goes out for minute, once it is back on, so is the heater. The digital type, when the power blinks off even for a second, off goes the heater and it doesn't come back on until it is turned back on. 

Play with the heater. It will drive you nuts for a few days until you figure it out. One great thing about the oil filled heaters is they warm the whole room and there are no cold spots. 

I've never used one of those heating pads but I know of people who do and they all seem to like them. Glad it's working for you and Lily.


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## shetland (Sep 2, 2008)

Don't you always feel better when you hear from Nancy aka *The Boss!* Thank you for the update. I truly look forward to updates and stories about Miss Lilly! Pictures are an added bonus! Her last picture is so adorable: those perky ears, that teenie pink hand, and that ever curious wee face. I just love Miss Lilly!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow, Thanksgiving is coming up. What a perfect opportunity for more holiday pictures! (hint, hint).


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Nancy: Good idea to mark where it is once I find the right spot...I was thinking this morning that if it ever got moved out of the right spot I'd probably cry. :lol: Even with trying to figure out where to keep the dial, I still really like it! Hopefully I won't have too many issues keeping the temperature steady even with my room. It's not on the windward side of the house, but it's got attics on two sides of the room and a third side is an outdoor wall. I'm a bit TOO excited to have our new heating things, that's usually one of my big concerns with Lily, with how picky she is about her temp. And I really like having my room warm too!  

Shetland: It's definitely always a big relief to get a response from Nancy!  And :lol: I will definitely try to get some Thanksgiving pictures for you!


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

I like the looks of that heating pad... I may invest in one now that I know it works well for Lily!

I think she looks like she's at a good weight too. Milly looks almost exactly the same from an overhead view now and I think Milly is FINALLY at a good weight & body shape.

Lily is so adorable.  

Good call on the oil filled space heater. I got the "regular" kind and our power blinked out the other night and the stupid thing didn't turn itself back on. Luckily I'm using the space heater as a supplement to the CHEs because that definitely would've resulted in a hibernation attempt if I was relying on the space heater.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Thanks Hanhan! I'm hoping mine is the kind that will come back on after...I'm not entirely sure (and won't be convinced either way until it happens! :lol: ), but even with CHEs on her cage, if my room temp goes down too much, the CHEs won't be able to keep her cage warm enough and I'd probably still end up with an attempt. :? Still fiddling with the controls - came home and it was 79 in my room, so I tried moving it down a tad. Eventually I'll get it right. :lol: And yes, I definitely recommend the pad! I'm really happy with it! The only possible problem I can foresee with it is if there's any issues from having weight constantly on it and the temperature constantly at 102*, since it was made to go to that only with an animal sitting on it. It's doing great so far though.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Having the heating pad for Lily pretty much eliminates the concern of her getting cool if your heater goes off, at least during the day. When she is sleeping on the heating pad during the day, she should stay warm enough. It's overnight when the cage most needs to be warm as that is when they are up and active and most at risk of getting a chill. I'm not saying that it is okay for the room to get cool all the time during the day, but if the power did blink and the heater goes off while you are out of the house during the day, she should be fine with the heating pad. 

Of course if the power is off for an extended period, then the heating pad isn't going to work either.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Ah, right, I forgot the heating pad would come back on if the power just blinked. I don't think we have that happen often, I can only remember a few times, so hopefully it won't be too big of a concern. Definitely more worried about longer-term power outages though...Though if worst comes to worst and I'm at work during a storm, I could probably take a break and come home to check that everything's okay, if my dad/brother aren't around. Our power also doesn't usually stay off long, we have an adult foster care home in our neighborhood, so we usually are high priority to get power back on. Fingers crossed for an uneventful winter for everyone! Definitely the scariest time of year for hedgie slaves.


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

Lilysmommy said:


> Fingers crossed for an uneventful winter for everyone! Definitely the scariest time of year for hedgie slaves.


Seconded! I run home every chance I get when my mom and I are both gone for longer periods of time, just to check on Milly. I actually talked to our neighbor the other day about being Milly's "guardian angel" - this wonderful neighbor of ours walks our dog every evening that my mom works and she said if the power ever blinks out in our area when my mom and I are not home, she will come to our house and turn the space heater back on and call me. I love my fellow animal lovers <3


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Awww, that's fantastic! That'll be such a relief to you, knowing she has someone keeping an eye on her when you're away from the house.  You have a great neighbor there!


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