# African Pygmy Hedgehog & Heat Mat/Ceramic Heat Emitter advice needed



## NalaBaby

Hiya,
I have an african pygmy hedgehog who is 6 months old. I have a Snugglesafe heat pad to keep her warm but its not efficient. She's tried to hibernate once (properly but thankfully came round quickly) and is sometimes a bit sluggish/unresponsive so I need to heat her up to bring her round properly.
I know it's not ideal! I am looking to get some sort of proper heat source for her. I've been looking for months (after first time she hibernated but I am very confused)

She lives in a 3ft viv and I don't really understand all the heat mats/CHEs so I have a few questions (bear in mind I am totally clueless and I have spent ages online but I just don't get it!)



*Heat Mats*
1. I've heard heat mats are a fire hazard, however I know they can be regulated by thermostats but will only heat what they're in contact with. I have a total paranoid fear of a house fire and would be worried she chewed it.
She's currently kept on fleece. IF I bought a thermostat and heat mat
i) What size/watt of heatmat would I need?
ii) How would I actually get it in her cage? My viv has 2 small holes at the back, on the top, that look like they would be for wires, would I have to take the plug off, thread it through and put the plug back on again? 
iii) If I managed to do the above - where would I put it? On wall/under the fleece?
iv) Since I'm worried about chewing - would this be OK?
Petnap Flexiguard 33 Metal chew proof electric Cat Dog heat pad mat 33cm x 22cm: Amazon.co.uk: Kitchen & Home
It's designed to stay on all the time and warm enough for dogs/cats to sit on without getting burned?

*Ceramic Heat Emitter*
2. If I went for the more expensive option of the Ceramic Heat Emitter. What exactly would I need? I know it sounds stupid but I have no idea?
i) From looking online I gathered I need a 100w CHE bulb and a holder
ii) How could I attach it to the roof of my viv (so I didn't burn my hedgie) - would I have to drill a hole in the top? I'm no good at DIY so this is not ideal.
iii) Which thermostat would I need? I never realised there were so many types? Does it just clip on or how does it actually attach to the thing to regulate the temp?

*Oil filled heater *
3. I also considered a mini oil heater with thermostat to heat my room. However, my room is quite large. My house obviously has central heating which is on when people are in the house, but it's off during the night and when folk are at work so it's not ideal. Would this be a good option? Or will it cost an absolute fortune to run?


Thank you very much for any responses. As you may have gathered I am totally clueless. I have no idea how any of this works or how they would attach! It would also be very helpful if you could post links to exactly what I should buy for my spiky baby.

:notworthy:


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## polar

I use the 33'' petnap flexiguard with mine. I have no complaints, its best to maybe have a stat set upto it as I know when I first got mine it was 28c, although the hog seemed fine I was not happy about it being so hot. A stat allows you to control the temp which is good because temps can flutter from high to lower.

I have not used any other types apart from snugglesafe's as a back up, but I cant stand them.


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## MattsZoo

Hi there

I use the Pet Nap Flexiguard 33 that you linked above, I bought it from the Pet Nap site and bought the Fleece Cover for it too so my hog wasn't lying on bare metal! I use a thermostat with mine too, a Habistat Mat Stat just to regulate the temp and turn it on/off if it gets too hot/cold. I have the thermostat set at 23oC.

My hoggie is in a viv too and my advise is whack out the drill! I drilled a hole in the side at the bottom, took the plug off the Heat pad and threaded the wire through and popped the plug back on, this way the heat pad is flush with the viv wall and there are no exposed wires to chew! Then I drilled a hole big enough for the thermostat probe to go through, slightly higher up the viv wall and drilled a hole in the top of his house for the probe to be placed in. I feel like I'm not describing very well haha but you might understand 

Basically there is no wire from the heat pad for him to chew as it is flush with the viv wall and the probe from the thermostat is inside his house, but is held in place against the ceiling  Hope that helps :2thumb:


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## NalaBaby

Thanks for your replies.

I have ordered a Habistat Mat Stat and my friend who works in a reptile shop is going to get me a Ultratherm heat mat on his discount (yay)

Should hopefully have them both by Monday. Plan is to try and lift off the viv lid (sounds easier than it probably is?) and use the hole on the back top for the wire to go through and tape the mat on the side of the viv out of reach of the hedgie?
Not sure where I'm going to put the probe from the thermostat though? Is it possible to have that in the viv without drilling holes? There's another hole at the back of my viv (along from the top one) but it's at the other end. Do you think I could thread the probe through that and stick it up against the wall nearer the heat mat?
Why am I so thick? :whistling2:


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## Shell195

Im not sure a reptile heat mat taped to the side would actually make the viv warm enough......


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