# African Pgymy hedgehog-Heating vs plastic



## Bowiesmamma (Sep 5, 2013)

Hey all. 
I'm getting my first African Pgymy hedgehog next week, and I'm still in the process of buying all of his supplies. I'm a little unsure about what to do with heating.
I live in England and the room I'm going to be keeping him in isn't warm enough on its own, so I'm planning on getting a ceramic heat emitter and clipping it to the top of his cage. The only thing is, he's going to be living in a plastic tub/bin style cage.(I'll include pictures)
I'm a bit worried about overheating/burning him or possibly melting the cage. :sad:
Has anyone had any experience of using CHEs with plastic tub cages? Would I be better off with a heating pad? 

Any advice would be great. Thanks!


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## izz (Aug 1, 2013)

I dont know much on APHs but surely they need more space than that...


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## PresqueVu (Jul 27, 2008)

That's far too small I'm afraid. 

A Zoozone 2 makes a good cage for them, and some people use vivariums - I have mine in a 4 foot. You do need to make sure they have enough ventilation though in vivariums.

I use snuggle pads for my APH during the winter, but I actually live in a flat that is very easy to keep well heated so I never have to worry about the temperature here! Hopefully someone will come along with pointers on that.


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## MrJsk (Jul 29, 2012)

ermm.. I have seen Americans use this method which IMO is inadequate.

read this..
Log in

It explains different types of housing and also different heating methods!


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## ChazzieJo (Jun 14, 2012)

They'll need at least 3ft x 2ft worth of space, a 4x2 would be ideal.

Also if you're using wood shavings, I'd remove them, they can get stuck in hedgehogs bits and are well known to use respiratory infections which hedgehogs are prone to.

I would do a bit more research before buying tbh, that's not a suitable set up at all!


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## samurai (Sep 9, 2009)

Register with pygmy hogs uk forum as theres loads of pics of suitable setups and other advice on there. I agree it's not enough space, ideally there should be space for a wheel, bed area, toys (such as tunnels which take up quite a bit of space), food and water dishes plus some extra space just to move around freely


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## wriggley (Jun 23, 2008)

Unfortunately the other peeps are right that's way too small but that doesn't mean you can't link them together. If you can afford an alternative like a bigger enclosure, do that instead as I'm not sure you could even fit a wheel in there. And no wheel equates to a seriously pee'd of heghodge!

My solution that worked extremely well was hoggy underfloor heating. I/we bought Tesco value under electric blankets. Laid it in the run and covered with cheap thin off cut Lino. As I've always used a slate tile to put food dishes on to keep they're little nails down, they have somewhere to go if they get too toasty. Though never ever set too high and if there's a really cold night we put a heavy blanket over to keep the chill off and uncover them at breakfast

Hope this helps


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## fizavi (Apr 6, 2010)

i'd recommend a well ventilated viv! at least 3ft x 2ft. Also don't use the sawdust/woodshavings, this only causing problems in the long run, swap for something paper based or even fleece liners etc.. You will also need a 12" wheel and somewhere for it to sleep.


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