# Cost/benefit of moving cage



## abbys (Oct 13, 2012)

I'd really like to give Pig a bigger living space as his current cage is only 48"x18", and the way my apartment is set up the only place big enough to do that is the kitchen table/dining nook, which I don't use. I could set up a really big C&C cage there.

There would be some heating issues and before my electricity bills go through the roof I wanted to see what your opinions are on whether it would be worth the cost as long as he has lots of room. And if so, what are some ways I could keep it warm without relying on the CHEs.

1. The cage would be padded on the bottom, and I could probably put it on the dining table since I don't use it, but the linoleum floor would still make it cooler.

2. The heater under that window doesn't work.

3. The window is big and would just suck out a lot of the heat.

I'd have to crank the living room thermostat up to at least 75 to have any effect on the kitchen area (which would cost $100/mo), so a lot of strain would be put on the CHEs. I could hang thermal curtains on the window at night, but I'd have to take them down in the day so he gets enough light. OR I could leave the kitchen light on during the day and leave the curtains on, but I still don't think that would make enough of a difference in the temp.

So what do you think? Is it worth it? Am I overlooking anything I could do to keep the heat in, like the curtains, that would make this feasible from a money perspective?

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## SpikeMoose (Dec 9, 2012)

Ugh, the constant battles of hedgie dreams vs. hedgie budget.... It could be done, with some insulation for the cage! And some insulating curtains for the window would go a long way with heat loss. Have you seen some of the reptile enthusiasts set-ups? Some of the ones they come up with can be transferred into something that works great for a hedgie. Closed sides, a top that is insulated with foam and a cutout for heat lamp.(heat rises!) and an open front. I can't find a picture of the kind of thing I am thinking of, but I will be on the lookout!


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## SpikeMoose (Dec 9, 2012)

When I was worried about the power went out last winter I put blankets over my hedgie kids cages... before we lost power I noticed that with no other adjustments insulting the cages, which are 2x4, the temp went up a bit!


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## abbys (Oct 13, 2012)

Hmm, I could try moving his cage over there for a few days with a blanket on it and see what happens, at least before it gets too cold. Thanks!  And I'll look around at some of the reptile setups. Would those cages have enough air circulation?


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## SpikeMoose (Dec 9, 2012)

I think that would be your best bet! And some of them do, not many though. The ones with an *open* front (screen/bars) get a good amount of fresh air in without quite the extent of heat loss of an open top! I would modify something with an open front and some vent holes in the sides to allow for a little extra ventilation without a draft.


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## abbys (Oct 13, 2012)

I think I could probably make something like that. And by "I" I mean my boyfriend. But he loves his quill baby, so I think he can be convinced.


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## Annie&Tibbers (Apr 16, 2013)

To deal with lighting after you have an insulated top, get a timer ($5-$15) and an LED light. Strip-lights that are usually more decorative than functional can be incredibly power-efficient while providing enough light, cheaper than even an LED bulb, and far, far cheaper than leaving an incandescent on all the time.


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## GoodandPlenty (Feb 4, 2012)

I've got some experience with this from a similar situation. You can probably make the nook work, but you will almost certainly want to get away from that window and outside wall as much as reasonably possible.

It's an open space, which makes heating difficult. However, it looks like open 'living space', meaning that I assume that you will have that area at 65 degrees or more no matter what.? If so, you are on your way to being okay. You can use CHEs to bump the cage temperature to 75 degrees. NOTE: If the CHEs are on a lot - then you have a problem and will need to add insulation. CHEs shouldn't actually have to work very hard to provide the boost!!!

If the space will already be heated to at least the 65 degree range, then heating bills should not go through the roof. If the space is not expected to be at least in that range, that you do have tricky problem. The space is very open and the addition of a room heater may not even be helpful.

Relying on CHEs to provide the boost that your hedgie needs in order to be comfortable on safe is perfectly okay. More than that - it is desirable. There is only a problem if the CHEs are on a lot during the day or night. Then you need to help them out.

Yes, the window will probably be a huge problem. You want to get as far from it as possible. When I had this situation, the windows weren't that big, but it was the outside wall of a 1920s brick building. I know a bit about air leakage. The bizarre thing was that Sophie's two cages were only feet apart. Her first cage was no problem at all. Her second cage, right on that outside wall, gave me fits.

It gets down in the teens here in the winter and stays there at night. I was mostly okay. The room heater held the room at 65 degrees. The CHEs on Cage #1 hardly had to do anything to keep the cage at 75 degrees. But that @$%@$ outside wall.

The CHEs on that cage were working hard to keep up - a major safety issue IMO. I added four layers of fleece wraps around the cage. I was hopeful at first, but they just weren't effective. I added fleece layers over the top of the cage - around the CHEs (but in a safe fashion). This was a HUGE help and got us through the winter. The fleece covers held the extra heat that the CHEs provided and the CHEs went back to not really working all that hard to do their job. Without the fleece covers over the lid, heat was simply escaping too fast. I really only mostly needed them at night and didn't much use them during the day too often.

I upgraded Sophie to wire linen-shelving cages and changed the location of that second cage. But if we had gone a second winter there, I would have bought a big roll of insulation, pulled the shades so that no one could see in, insulated the window from the inside, and then covered the whole thing with fabric or fleece to keep the room from looking bad.

Medium weight fleece, folded four layers thick. They just lay over the top. Double check CHE placement for safety, and you're fine. You can see the cage wraps attached with binder clips around the back and sides

http://serenebreezes.com/Sophies-pictures/cage-covers-2-a.jpg

http://serenebreezes.com/Sophies-pictures/cage-covers-2-a-cr.jpg

http://serenebreezes.com/Sophies-pictures/cage-covers-2-b.jpg

http://serenebreezes.com/Sophies-pictures/cage-wrap-test-c.jpg

Video:


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## abbys (Oct 13, 2012)

Thank you so much! Yes, it's at least 65. I like it cold so I usually keep the ambient temp around 67-68 (his cage is always 75), but if he's going to be close-ish to a window I'll gladly turn it up a degree or two. I can put him up against the wall in the picture, which is shared with the neighbor's dining area (the other wall faces outside to the porch).

So ~$15 for a light timer, $30 for some thermal curtains, $15 for some extra fleece, a happy winter heating bill, and a hedgehog in a pear tree. I can work with that.


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## ajweekley (Aug 8, 2013)

And if you want to hold off on the curtains, you can insulate it by hanging a blanket and then covering the blanket and window with the plastic weatherproofing window stuff you get for drafty windows. I would still replace it with something nicer-looking, but if you need to hold off until the next paycheck or whatever, that would do the job.


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## zamxonk (Mar 6, 2013)

You could also look into weather-proofing the window and that side of the wall. Putting clear plastic sheeting over the window would help hold in heat and eliminate drafts, etc. I'm not an expert, but I volunteered once with a nonprofit that went and weatherized homes for people who couldn't afford to do that and were having trouble paying heating costs. It can help a lot.


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