# Is this lighting appropriate and safe?



## Morel3etterness (Dec 5, 2009)

I came home today to see my baby trying to hibernate. He was in a tight ball and would not open up for anything. My room did feel a bit on the cold side so I decided to quickly turn the heat up and wrap him in a blanket. I placed him directly next to the heater where I finally got him to eat one piece of food...though still tucked in a ball haha.... then I put him under my shirt until he full uncurled. So the scare pushed me to get a heating lamp.

I bought a 75 W infrared nocturnal heat lamp and then bought the heat lamp clamp attachment separately. I have attached picture just to show how it is set up. For those of you using this, how safe is it to keep on for hours? How good is this light for the little one? Is there any hazardous precautions I should be taking with this typing of a light in my room?


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## pixiedreamer (Nov 11, 2009)

Hey stranger! 

From what I've learned, you should get a bulb that emits no light because it could confuse your lil guy and disturb his sleeping habits.




EDIT!: I highly recomend a Zoo Med Repti Temp 500R Thermostat and a digital thermometer  the thermostat keeps the temp at the same level constantly and the digital thermometer will tell you what degrees the cage is at. Better control overall and if your lil guy likes it warmer or cooler, you can change it easily  you would probably need a higher wattage though for the bulb  I have a 150w and my cage is at 76 degrees F constantly 

Hope this helped


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## Morel3etterness (Dec 5, 2009)

the guy said it has no affect on him lol


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

SOME hedgies are soooo sensitive that YES, the red light WILL affect them, and they won't come out. 
SOME hedgies are ok with the red light.
If the activity levels drop, take it back and exchange it for a ceramic.

*** MAJOR EDIT*

I forgot to add... You MUST have a thermostat, otherwise, you can risk burning your hedgie.
And since you had no idea what the temperature even IS, you need a digital thermometer as well.


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## SnufflePuff (Apr 16, 2009)

I'm glad you got a heat lamp  so many people don't realize how important they are and it drives me crazy!!!!!!! lol.

That being said...

1) I'm not sure how much heat nocturnal heat lamps give off....so you're gonna have to wait for someone else to tell you if it's warm enough or not, but I kinda have a feeling it might not be. I know some hedgies really hate the red light too so you need to make sure your hedgehog is still willing to come out to eat/run/play with it on at night.

2) Heat lamps are safe IF used with thermostats. Which means you're gonna have to go out and buy one. I use the Repti temp 500R, google it. Basically you set the thermostat to a temperature and it turns the heat lamp ON when it gets too cold and OFF when it gets too hot. Without a thermostat you risk burning your little guy into a hedgie crisp and possibly your house as well so I would defintely pick one up. Also make sure its a THERMOstat, not a RHEOstat...two entirely different things. 

3) Make sure you have thermometers so you know if the heat lamp if making it too hot or not working to make it warm enough. Should be between around 78 F ish...but it depends on your hedgie, some can stand colder, some can stand hotter. 

4) Those lamp clamps SUCK. I had one and took it back because apparently it is an extreme fire hazard if not used with the correct heat bulb (which you don't have) ...and the wiring lets heat escape, I find and doesn't center it in the cage making it less effective than dome lamps.

Also if you are worried about fire hazards, simply secure the lamp clamp to the cage using zip ties (those white things that zip tight), it works quite well. 

and finally please see the thread on heating in the housing forum for all the neccessary details you need to know about heeating, temperature, heat lamps, thermostats, etc. 

This is research that should have been done BEFORE you got your hedgie but I am not here to judge because I, like many others did not realize this very important fact until I already had my first hedgie and found myself scrambling against the clock to correct it so the important thing here is that you are fixing the problem now, just make sure you put the time in to fix it the right way


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## SnufflePuff (Apr 16, 2009)

Morel3etterness said:


> the guy said it has no affect on him lol


trust me whoever the "guy" was, he had no idea what he was talking about. Pet store employees often know very little about species other than dogs, cat and maybe reptiles and even then they know nothing. Besides he was just extrapolating. Infrared lights don't bother reptiles (which they were made for) so he probably just figured the same goes for hedgehogs.


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## Morel3etterness (Dec 5, 2009)

Haha thanks a lot guys...very important and safe info for me. Im sure i will be dumping my wallet over this heating supply.... I hope this lamp will do for the time being.


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## silvercat (Oct 24, 2008)

Lighting in general could have also been a cause for the hibernation attempt. Hedgies should have a light source during the day, particularly in winter where the days are shorter. In the photo I see the heat lamp but not a regular lamp. Do you leave the room light on? There has been posts about how not enough light can trigger a hibernation attempt regardless of the actual temperature.

Myself, I have a desk lamp attached to Sylvie's cage which is on a timer to be on 7am - 7pm.


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## Morel3etterness (Dec 5, 2009)

No, I do not keep my lights on. I will fix up something today since I will be at work for 8-10 hours. My parents are nuts about fire hazards and freak every time I have something plugged in while I am not home. AND SOOOO I will have to figure this one out. I could move his cage to the hallway while I am gone and keep that light on.


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