# REPEATED hibernation attempts



## Sela (Apr 10, 2010)

Okay, I definitely should have asked about this earlier, and I feel stupid for not doing so. I figure I'd better ask now, because Quillamina gave me a scare this afternoon.

Quillamina is often cold when I first get her up. Today her belly was practically frozen, and she was unresponsive for the first minute or so. I stuck her right in my shirt and kept her on my skin until she warmed up. She is now fine and sleeping in my lap, but I don't want to repeat this. I can't use a space heater in my room for two reasons, the first of which being that it is PATHETICALLY tiny and there is no room. (None of the other rooms in the house are big enough to move the hogs to, either, so that won't work.) The second reason is that we've been having 30+ degree weather (That's celsius, for those who use farenheit) and yesterday, it was, in fact, 43 outside with the humidex. I will be buying a space heater for winter (when I can afford it, I'm still broke) but there is no way I can possibly use one right now.

I really need help, guys, I can't let this keep happening to my Quillypig. I don't know if she's actually been trying to hibernate, but she's been really cold, so I imagine she has. I cover the hedgehog houses partway with blankets overnight, just enough to cover the places they tend to sleep, but not so much that the cages can't ventilate. Should I get a heating pad to put underneath the cage, or would that cause damage to the plastic? I really don't know what I should be doing for my poor girl, and for Loki as a pre-emptive strike. I don't want this happening to my boy, too.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Do you have air conditioning? If so, it is probably either too cool for her, or is blowing on her. 

If you don't have a/c, she should not be attempting hibernation with the temps we've been having lately. What about lighting? The days are definitely getting shorter so if you aren't turning on a light in the evening, she may not be getting enough. 

Other than what I've already mentioned, possibly she is sick.


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## Sela (Apr 10, 2010)

We do have AC, but she's away from the vent and the vent is covered most of the time. She has light all day, I turn it on when I wake up and turn it off around one AM when I go to bed. She gets at least twelve hours of light every day.

I don't see how it could be because she's sick, because this isn't a new development, she's done it for a long time. She goes in my shirt every time it happens and warms up in there, and then she's fine. She's still eating and drinking well, still gobbles her mealies, and she's still wheeling like crazy. What sort of symptoms of illness should I be looking for, aside from her being cold?


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

What is the temperature inside the cage? 

It could be that she is just one of those hedgies who need the higher end of the spectrum for temperatures. There are some hedgies who hibernate at 22, yet most are fine at 22. It could just be she needs her cage temperature to be up to 25, 26, while Loki is fine with the lower temperatures.

It's a temporary fix until you get the space heater, but could you get a normal human heating pad for her cage? So that at least she won't hibernate while she's sleeping. Or if you have a snuggledisc, to heat it up and leave it with her every morning.

In the winter, you may have to keep an eye on Loki. Because if you bring the temperature up to Quillamina's preferable temperature, it may end up being too hot for him, thus causing HIM displeasure and possibly decreased activity.


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## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

Wow that is a frustrating and scary problem. I can' imagine how she could be cold with such warm temperatures lately. Unless it's the AC making the room too cold. I know my apartment gets freezing when the people upstairs turn on the AC. (I now live in a basement apartment with heating and cooling systems controlled by upstairs neighbours). We have all of the vents completely covered over and it still gets cold close to the vents. 

Maybe try adding some extra heat to the cage, snuggle safe disc, human heating pad, I made a little hot water bottle for Quigley. I used one of those thick plastic juice bottles (specifically a minute made one) and just wrapped it in fleece (a big piece that went around twice), tied the top and bottom off with fleece strips, and now I just boil water, untie the top, pour it in the bottle close it up, and it's good to put in the cage. It stays hot for a long time and I put it under the fleece next to where he is sleeping.


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## Sela (Apr 10, 2010)

Immortalia: I'm not sure what the temperature is, I don't know what kind of thermometer to use. What would you suggest? I can definitely get a heating pad, but a snugglesafe disc...I don't know, are they even available in Canada? I haven't seen anything like that in any of the pet supply stores here.

I will definitely keep an eye on Loki, I have to be sure this doesn't happen to him. My mother suggested that maybe before it was due to the cancer, since we don't know how long it had been dormant, and now it could be because of a hormonal imbalance or something after her spaying, I don't know.

Hedgielover: Yeah, it's pretty upsetting, I guess she just naturally has a low body temperature. I definitely have to do something about it. I don't really understand about the water bottle, could you simplify your explanation a little? xD I feel sort of dumb asking, but a homemade hedgie water bottle sounds like a good idea, I might like to try it.


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

Any digital thermometer you find in the reptile section is good to use. Mine's just a small black one, with a probe at the end of a long wire. This allows for you to place the probe anywhere in the cage. Mine reads both C and F. This is the one I have:
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752177

Snugglesafe discs can be bought in PetSmarts, or online. They are much cheaper online, but more difficult to return if the disc malfunctions. PetSmarts only sell them in the fall, when it's getting cold. It's something you will have to stalk, as I had to stalk the petsmarts around me for a few weeks before they finally had them in stock. If you find one, make sure you test it right away, and microwave it for 5 min, and make sure the heat lasts for at least 8 hours. The box says 12, but 8 seems to be the average.

Once you get a thermometer, you can better judge what temperatures she is more comfortable in, and know what temperatures she is hibernating at. Who knows, perhaps once you get it, it may turn out that your a/c is colder than you thought. Don't forget, a/c air feels colder than what it reads. So even if you have the temp set for 23, it may actually feel more like 21.


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## Sela (Apr 10, 2010)

I'll look for those tomorrow, have to go out anyway to do some work on our machines. I'll have to write down the information for the thermometer, and I'll look for the disc too, just in case they have them in early. I doubt it, but it's worth looking. I'll make do with the heating pad until then, if they don't have one. I'll also be sure to test it, thanks for telling me about that. o-o Wasn't aware that I had to.

Yeah, A/C can be hard to gauge. I'll definitely get that thermometer into her little house as soon as possible, hopefully I'll have one by tomorrow evening. Thanks so much for your help, everyone, and if you have any other suggestions, I'm open to anything.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

If you have air conditioning and no thermometer in her cage, it's a safe bet that the a/c that is too cold for her. Air conditioning always feels colder than it is. My hedgie room a/c never goes below 25c (77F) because otherwise, someone will be trying to hibernate.


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## Sela (Apr 10, 2010)

Sadly, we can't adjust the AC in each room individually. ...Actually, I don't know if anyone can do that, never heard of a thermostat that allows such a thing. She was nice and toasty today when I got her up, this is (thankfully) not an every day thing, but I want it to not happen, period. I'll be looking into getting a snugglesafe disc today, and a thermometer for each hog's house. I'll also try to close my vent. It's one of those stupid metal grates that sticks, though, so it may turn out to be impossible to do that. If that doesn't work, I'll ask my parents if we can replace the grate with something else so I can actually keep the stupid thing closed.

Thanks for all your help, everyone, I'll let you know how your suggestions work out.


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## zorropirate (Aug 13, 2010)

You can buy these really inexpensive magentic sheets that go over your vents to keep the air from coming in, I used them all the time at my Grandma's house growing up.


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## Sela (Apr 10, 2010)

Think we're just going to replace the grate.

Okay, so Petsmart had the thermometers, but (surprise, surprise) they had NO idea what a snugglesafe disc even is. I swear to god, you have to have an IQ of six to work there. (Seriously, nobody at the Petsmarts here knows ANYTHING.) Where would I go to order one online?


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

zorropirate said:


> You can buy these really inexpensive magentic sheets that go over your vents to keep the air from coming in, I used them all the time at my Grandma's house growing up.


Yep, and covering it with a book or towel works well too.


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## fracturedcircle (May 31, 2010)

Sela said:


> Think we're just going to replace the grate.
> 
> Okay, so Petsmart had the thermometers, but (surprise, surprise) they had NO idea what a snugglesafe disc even is. I swear to god, you have to have an IQ of six to work there. (Seriously, nobody at the Petsmarts here knows ANYTHING.) Where would I go to order one online?


amazon.


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

Ya, don't worry. No one at my petsmarts knew what they were either. There's only a few select individuals who know, and they usually only get like 10 in stock...at most each winter. I can look back at my posts as to which month I bought mine, to give you an idea of when to look. I was very happy when I finally found them, that I made a post to remind others to pick them up if they needed one. lol

My one vent is covered with a folded rug, and my other vent is usually covered with whatever pieces of clothing I have laying around in my room when needed :lol:

Edit to say... I've found some links you might be interested in...
This one is mine, when I finally found it. It was end of Sept.

This was made by SnufflePuff, when they were annoyed with lack of Snugglesafes as well


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## smg323 (Aug 19, 2010)

http://www.snugglesafe.ca/orderCDN.htm

This is their website, but it says that they're out of stock until approx. October. (no mention of what year, haha!)

I have the same problem with one of my girls. No A/C in our place to blame though.
I have a small hot water bottle that I bought at a dollar store or something. It's covered in fleece & I bury it under her blankets, set her on top of it, and watch until she wakes up.

Scary problem!!


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## krbshappy71 (Jul 17, 2009)

I use SnuggleSafe disks for backup heat during the winter but Whyte doesn't like his. Maybe being younger he doesn't need the extra heat. Riley, my older boy, loves his snugglesafe, I cover it with an extra fleece blanket as when you first heat them they can get pretty hot and he likes to lay right against it. I haven't offered one to Much yet to see if he likes it, this will be my first winter with him.


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## Sela (Apr 10, 2010)

Kristina: Amazon it is, thanks very much, hon. <3 Appreciate all the advice from everyone, thanks so much, guys. <3

So I'm going to have to replace the heating pad I borrowed from my mom. Oh, it works okay, but there's a major problem: IT TURNS ITSELF OFF. After a few hours of doing its job, it automatically turns itself of, likely to prevent it from overheating, but it doesn't help when I need to keep Quillamina warm overnight. So we'll be hitting Wal-Mart later today (it's almost 1:30 AM right now, and I can never sleep until after two; yay insomnia!) to see about getting one that DOESN'T do that.

I also got the thermometers and hooked them up, and they work great. Thanks to LG for showing me which one to get, I have a really hard time reading anything that isn't digital, probably an Asperger's thing, so these are great. You were right, Nancy, it's freezing in Quillamina's house. Last time I checked the thermometer, which was about ten minutes ago, it said it was about 19 C in there. NINETEEN? I need to fix this, stat. I've thrown a nice, thick blanket over the spot where Quillamina is snoozing, (Not to worry, it's only covering part of her house, it can still ventilate properly) and the heating pad is right underneath her cube-pigloo, so hopefully it will help keep her warm for the time it stays on. I'm also going to insist that we go to Home Depot to get a new grate, one that ISN'T rusted shut. For now, I guess I'll cover it with a book or something.

A thought occurs. Nancy, since you make pigloo covers, you ought to know how to answer this one. If I were to make a fleece cover for her cube, would this help keep it insulated and lock some more heat in? I'm desperate to keep my girl warm, and I'll take ANY reasonable suggestion at this point. That thermometer needs to go up a few degrees, and fast.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Heating pads and snuggle safes do nothing to keep them warm at night when they are up and active. The *whole cage* needs to be a suitable temperature for her. Heating pads and snuggle safes are only good for providing a bit of extra warmth in bed for an elderly or ill hedgehog.

Using a heating pad as a cage heating option actually can make the hedgehog more temperature sensitive. Hedgie will go from being on a warm heating pad or snuggle safe out to a cage that is many degrees cooler, especially if the cage is not being heated. Going from that very warm to cool is not healthy for them.

Her whole cage needs to be at a suitable temperature for her by using either a space heater or a ceramic heat emitter and thermostat.

Yes, fleece over the igloo or her bed will hold heat in but again, the whole cage needs to be warm. At 19c, it's no wonder she is attempting hibernation.

The heat wave here appears to be over, at least for now. I went from the a/c on in the hedgie room yesterday up until late last night, and now I'm heading up to turn the heater on as the room temperature is dropping.


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## Sela (Apr 10, 2010)

I'll get the snugglesafe anyway to have it on hand just in case she needs some extra warmth this winter, but you're definitely right about me having to fix the temperature in her house. We have a space heater downstairs, I think I'm going to see about bringing that up (after having my dad flush out the spiders if there are any, those little buggers creep me right out) and giving it a try. It's pretty good, puts out a fair bit of heat, so hopefully it will help to solve my problem. I'm also going to insist that we go to Home Depot today to get a new grate for my vent, covering it with a book will only work for so long.

Thanks so much, Nancy, (and everyone else, of course) for all your help and being so patient with me. I feel like such an idiot for letting this happen.


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