# Lighting For The Cage



## mollytatertot

After reading a few threads I'm beginning to see my lighting might not be sufficient for Olive. Her cage sits out of direct sunlight but in a sunny room. It's a room we don't use much though so the lighting is pretty regular in the sense that no one is staying up until 3 a.m. with the lights no or anything but as I've been reading the change in the seasons can be troublesome for little hogs. I've had her since December 2010 so we're been through nearly two winters together and she's never attempted to hibernate but I'm thinking maybe more regular light might improve her mood a bit and it sounds like it would be better for her altogether. I keep her cage heated with a red heat bulb and monitor with a thermostat (it is my understanding the red light goes unnoticed by her as she is colorblind). 

I would really like to get suggestions for lighting if it seems like the natural light isn't enough. Could I use any sort of house lamp as a light source or should I buy a specific light for the cage? I already have an additional lamp base (I used to have a to use stronger heat bulbs that my normal lamp couldn't accommodate) so I also thought perhaps I could buy a white-light heat bulb and alternate between the white light and red light so I could extend the light of the bulbs (currently I have the red lamp on 24/7) perhaps keep them on timers.

Examples of your own lighting set up and suggestions welcome, please and thank you!


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## alyssinreality

I just use a normal desk lamp next to Diggorys cage and it is set on a timer. It goes on at 6am and off at 10:00pm. I think that I am giving him too much light and not enough dark though so I am slowly working it up to go off at 9pm. For heat I use two ceramic heat emitters that sit on top of his cage and are regulated by a thermostat. I have read that the red light can cause some hedgies to be inactive though because a lot of hedgies won't come out to play at all if there is any light in the room. I know that even if I'm laying in bed with my laptop out emitting a soft glow, Diggory will not come out.
Even though hedgies are pretty blind, they can still see light so you might want to consider getting ceramic heat bulbs so olive can have complete darkness at night?


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## mollytatertot

I will look into these ceramic heat bulbs! Olive is pretty active at night (she an avid wheel runner) but especially if ceramic heat bulbs last longer I would definitely be interested in switching over. Thank you for the suggestion!


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## Rainy

I have two hedgies. Izzy (I just found out) is very sensitive to the infrared light. She wouldn't come out to eat, wheel or poop even. However, Harvey has always been on an infrared light and has absolutely no problem doing whatever he want to do (which is mostly wheeling). :roll: For daylight, I use a cheep under-cabinet lighting fixture, which I ziptied to the top of the cage. It's on a timer that runs from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm. Here's a pic.


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## GoodandPlenty

If I can piggyback on this question:

I have two clamp lamps with 75 watt bulbs about 40" above the top of the cage. I started with one, but didn't feel like that was enough light to count as 'daylight'. I'm curious as to how much light power people are using.?

(It has started to warm up a bit here during the day and I've noticed that the lights, despite being a good bit above the cage, are adding about 5 degrees to the temperature (measured at the bottom of the cage). (I have a second thermometer in the room to monitor the room's ambient temperature.)

To take daylight out of the equation, I have the blinds drawn all the time in this room. My lights switch off at 6pm and some light does 'leak' in, so it isn't exactly dark dark and the days are getting longer. Should I black out these windows? It wouldn't be that hard.

The bathroom is through this room, so we've got little penlight for tiptoeing through without turning on the overhead light.


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## moxieberry

Blacking out the windows isn't necessary. Some extra light isn't a problem as long as it's not interfering with the hedgehog wanting to come out when the lights are off, and daylight is gone during the night anyway.

Ares' cage has a 60 watt bulb in a 8.5 inch dome that sits directly on top of the cage, which is plenty. It's nice and bright and he definitely knows it's there. It does seem to add a few degrees to the temperature of the cage, but that just means our other heating methods don't have to work quite as hard during the day.


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## LarryT

I just use the overhead light in my hogs room, it's a CFL 60 watt daylight bulb, works fine.  For heating I have a space heater, works great if your hog has it's own room.


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## GoodandPlenty

Pics:
http://www.serenebreezes.com/Sophie-images/whole-room.jpg
http://www.serenebreezes.com/Sophie-images/buttoned-up.jpg

The setting sun streams more light through those cracks than I would have guessed, but maybe I shouldn't worry.

60 watt bulbs. Wow. I thought that one 75 was pretty dim.?

I would have used the room ceiling light, but this setup was better for putting the day on a timer. Her day is 5am to 6pm. I've moved lights-out up a bit because together time is like 4pm - 6pm.


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## Nancy

Because I have a room full of hedgehogs, I don't bother with spot lighting. In the morning when I get up and go check on everyone, I flip on the ceiling light in their room. It is on until after I've finished cleaning, feeding and cuddling usually about 8:30 and I turn it off as I leave the room. It is on every day, regardless if it's a sunny day or cloudy. The only time I sometimes don't turn it on is extremely hot days in the summer but they have their own room a/c so the heat from the light isn't such a big deal. 

Overnight, it totally depends on the individual hedgehog if a bit of light is okay. I know of some who needed almost pitch black. I've had a couple that did okay with a bit of light coming in from the streetlight, but were so much more active when the light was blocked. 

Keep in mind also that some fluorescent light hum and some flicker. This can be annoying, not only to us but to some hedgehogs. When I used to quarantine in my sewing room, I had a couple of fluorescent tube lights in there and noticed when I had those lights on, a couple of the hedgehogs would be very restless during the day. If I turned the lights off and used normal lights, they were fine.


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## emglass217

is a regular ceiling room light enough or do i need to get a lamp to keep by cage? im bringing my boy home saturday. i am planning on getting him a heat emiter to keep him warm ..


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## SquirtleSquirt

Emglass, you should try creating your own thread. This post is 4 years old!!


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## nikki

This thread is from 2012, please check the dates before posting on a thread and start your own thread with your question. Thanks.


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