# My Mom Doesn't Understand



## Sonics1AndOnlyGirl (May 25, 2013)

Hey everyone. So I have this problem. The weather is starting to get colder, being the middle of September. Now I have a space heater for a heating set up. One day I went to school and I guess my mom saw that the space heater was on and she unplugged it. When I got home my hedgie's thermometer showed 64 degrees! I quickly shook his house and he immediately hissed at me so he was fine. 

My mom is complaining to me that the space heater will raise our heating bill too much. She tells me using a regular desk lamp will give him enough heat. Yeah right. At night the light goes off so then he wouldn't be getting any heat. I don't want my little guy to freeze so how can I convince my mom to let me use the space heater?


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## Annie&Tibbers (Apr 16, 2013)

Put it on a thermostat so it only turns on when the temperature is too low. Then, it is only on when the lamp is insufficient.

Alternately, calculate the monthly cost of the space heater:
(wattage x average time on per day x cost per kw/hr x days in a month)/(1,000)

Offer to help pay for it.
Compare that to the cost of an emergency vet visit, decreased immune system, and related health issues.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

You could get a CHE with a thermostat to control it. It looks like a light and is what a lot of people use to heat their cages. They use less power than a space heater because they only heat the cage, not the whole room.


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## Erizo (Jul 25, 2012)

You have two issues here.

1. Your mother needs to understand that if the cage temperature drops to 64 degrees, your hedgie may die. Full stop. Most people recommend 72 degrees as a bottom. I have established a bottom of 75 degrees. Mom can (perhaps should) come here to learn about this if need be. (You should have a digital thermometer in the cage at all times.)

2. The best way to do what is needed is something that you and your mother will have to work out together. Most people find that a combination of heating the room to about 65 degrees (by whatever means) and using CHEs over the cage, do the job, and find additional cost to be minimal. (It costs me more to cool her cage in the summer than to heat it in the winter, and it gets seriously cold here. 

Using only a room heater will definitely jack up your electric bill. The initial cost of the CHEs is an investment, to be sure. However, I consider the operating cost of CHEs to be incidental. (And I am running six 150 watt bulbs over two 28" x 68" cages.)


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Unfortunately this is something that happens quite often. Parents allow their son or daughter to get a hedgehog without realizing that the hedgehog is going to most likely need to have a heating device on 24/7. Many people are not comfortable having a heating device on when nobody is home. The cost is often an issue as well.

Certainly a CHE/thermostat setup is cheaper to operate than a space heater and is safer too as long as it is securely attached to the top of the cage away from anything flammable. 

A regular lamp will not keep the cage warm enough. I wish you luck at convincing your mom.


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## zamxonk (Mar 6, 2013)

One thing I can think of - check out your local exotics vet (or vet tech) and see how knowledgeable they are about hedgehog temperatures. If they know the correct information, ask your mom to speak to them. She might believe it better from a vet than from you or us. Then show her with a digital thermometer that the lamp is not enough.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Agreed with above comments. And try stressing to your mother that you've done a lot of research in order to care for your pet to the best of your abilities and you know what kind of equipment and temperatures he needs. If it'll give you any comfort, I had to fight with my mom quite a bit after I first found this forum. I'd had Lily for about 5 months, but had a lot of things not really up-to-par. We didn't have a heating set up, she was on wooden bedding, and eating hedgehog food. I had to fight my mom on most things that I changed, but I stood my ground and she gave in each time, albeit unhappily. After awhile, she stopped suggesting that I double-check with my breeder (who'd suggested all the things I was doing) and just let me figure out what was best for my baby girl. Hopefully your mom will see that you do know what's best for your little one and will let you keep him healthy and safe.


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