# Hedgehog Shopping List



## Yurusumaji (May 25, 2011)

*Cage*
90-quart Sterilite Bin

*Heat & Lighting*
100W Ceramic Heat Emitting (CHE) bulb
100W Sun Glo bulb
(2) 10" Fluker's Clamp Lamps
Digital Thermometer
Zilla Temperature Controller
Tork 401A Timer

*Accessories & Toys*
Snuggle Sack
Loose Fleece
Carolina Storm Bucket Wheel
Food & Water Bowls
Igloo
Toys

*Travel & Emergency*
Carrier
Hand Warmers

*Food*
Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul Light
Wellness Indoor Health
Wysong Anergen Canine/Feline Diet with Lamb & Rice Dry Food

I'm not positive on these food choices, but I'd love to hear feedback on those as well.

Several things are very specific, this is because I put prices on my personal list to give me an idea of what everything costs and so I know which one I want to buy specifically. I tend to check reviews on pretty much everything to be sure I'm not buying something that is known to be of poor quality or something of that sort (I checked several temperature control devices before finding the Zilla one through Google).

Anything that needs to be added or changed, please let me know. Thank you.


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

A 90 quart bin is way to small,once you have everything in there it will be very cramped. You could buy another bin and attach them using 4inch PVC pipe.  Good luck with feeding the Wellness,none of my hogs have ever touched the stuff.


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## Yurusumaji (May 25, 2011)

What size does everyone on here use? For those of you with connected bins, how do you heat them both?

I was going to go for a shelf grid cage like I have for my rabbit, but I feel it would be better to have something more solid and enclosed to hold in the heat.


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

My hedgies have their own room so heating for me is very easy,I just use a space heater and keep the room sealed off. If you make a C&C cage you can use coroplast for the walls and it will help hold in the heat. Here's a link to lots of cage ideas viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1860&start=0


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## Yurusumaji (May 25, 2011)

I've already viewed the cage thread, but thank you.

I'd still rather have a bin cage though, so if anyone can answer my questions about them that would be great.


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## CanadienHedgie (Feb 4, 2011)

It's not safe to have CHE's with a bin. CHE's get REALLY hot, and it can melt the bin.


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## Sarahg (Feb 18, 2010)

CanadienHedgie said:


> It's not safe to have CHE's with a bin. CHE's get REALLY hot, and it can melt the bin.


I have used a CHE with a bin. It's not a safety risk unless it's touching the plastic.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I don't use bins for my hedgie, but I agree with connecting two bins together, it sounds like a good idea. Gives hedgie more space, and you could perhaps make them into two "rooms", with one having the sleeping area, and the other having the wheel and food/water, or something. For heating, if you can't use a space heater, you'll probably need to have a CHE for each bin. Because they hold heat in so well, I'd think you would only need a 60W CHE, or maybe 100W, depending on what temperature the room around the cage is. I would suggest getting the bins all set up well before you get the hedgie, and get the CHE bulbs, one of each wattage. Make sure you can return them before you buy them. Try the 60W for a few days, see if it can handle the temperature of the room changing, and how steady it keeps the temperature in the bins. If it can't keep it warm enough, try the 100W and make sure it doesn't get /too/ warm instead. Or, if you want, keep the 60W for summer and 100W for winter? The important thing is keeping the temperature safe and as steady as you can. Another suggestion I'd give for the bins is cutting holes in the side all the way around, for added ventilation.


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## Yurusumaji (May 25, 2011)

Thank you for the ideas.

I'm very concerned about heat because I keep my house around 70°- 72°F for our long-haired dogs and cat. This is the main reason I want to use something more enclosed that will hold in more heat as my home will be a little chilly for a hedgehog.

The 106-quart bins are bigger, so I'll probably get two of those and then just heat them individually. The Zilla Temperature Controller power strip will have ample space for the extra CHE anyway. Also, thank you CanadienHedgie for reminding me to add lamp stands to the list. 

I plan on having everything ready before I even start looking for the hedgehog. I might try and see if the bins are close enough maybe I would be able to heat them both with the CHE over the middle of them. I could probably do it with a 100W, but it would definitely take some experimentation.


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

I use a 75 watt CHE with my sterilite bin and it works great. It was $35 at Petco. I bought steel closet shelving at Menard's and cut it down to size and use that as a "lid", and the CHE barely makes it warm.

Keeping your house at 70-72* should be fine as long as you have the thermostat.


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

Oh! Also make sure that you drill holes around the bin for air flow. I drilled a line of holes 7" up from the bottom of the bin, every 1.5inches. I used a smaller drill bit and it really did the job!


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