Size of heat pad?

Elaine67 wrote:

Helen,

If I go for that option (taping to the back of the viv) should I site it inside or outside the viv?

When I was looking at mats in P@H someone was talking about the benefit you mention - heat conduction throughout her tower. I'm not sure what was in it - just that they were nice and warm...

Also, with the whole area warmed should I put a cool tile or something similar in to provide somewhere for the hog to escape to if needed?

As ever, thanks for your advice.
Elaine

Sorry Elaine, missed this one.

Taped to the back of the viv and it will provide an ambient temperature - set the mat stat to 22 degrees, I personally do not go higher through choice - she will be toasty warm in her nest box and as the mat is on the back she will not overheat - don't use cool tiles.

Will add here as I seem to do a lot, my hoggie room temperature sits at 21 degrees, i have a back up fan that will click on and off if the temperature drops below 20 degrees - hoggies are all toasty warm, do not attempt hibernation - have the window open on a warm day and opened when cleaning out for an hour in a morning on a cooler day to give a blast of fresh air - I am still a firm believer that if you set temps higher, you have more problems in sudden cold snaps.

I have my heating set overnight that if it drops below 23 that my heating comes on . I have ever had one hibernation attempt and that was a couple of years ago .. x

Thanks Helen,

I'll pick up a little fan heater that'd be just the job. - It'll bridge the hours between the central heating going off'n'on during the colder months (if I haven't over-written the central-heating timer and left the heating on) and shouldn't cost much to run as it'll be off-peak. I've bought one of those little heatpads you put in the microwave. I have read the warning post about them but I only plan to use it when I'm collecting my baby hog or in extremis if the heating failed. If there was a powercut I'd heat it in a pan of hot water - have a gas cooker. I've been looking at pads that run on 12v - again as a fall-back item or for in the car. We've big and beefy leasure batteries for our caravan so it all else failed I'd connect a mat to one. I've been trying to come up with as many contingency measures as possible.

Melody, thankyou for that very kind remark, but as Lou says it's no more than anyone taking on a new species should do - I just like to get things nailed down in my head so there's fewer 'surprises' when my beastie arrives. There's always a surprise down the road - but I like to have knowledgable peeps I can call on - like yourselves - and having a good theoretical knowledge before installing the animal is a must as it keeps those surprises to a minimum.

Elaine

Have assembled the viv I bought. It's a LX36 Vivexotic with 3 pre-installed vents in the back - 2 at the top and 1 at the bottom. This has caused me a bit of a problem in that the clearance between the top and bottom vent(s) is about 10" and all the mats I've looked at are a standard 11" depth.

Does anyone know of a mat that comes in a slightly narrower size (not the 6" ones) or alternatively could I get away with covering the lower vent as I'm fitting extra to the side walls?

If all else fails I'll tape it to the floor of the viv...

Thanks so much for your help.
Elaine

If you are fitting extra vents you can cover the lower vent Elaine x

Ahhh...Phoo!

Thankyou Helen!

The lx is generally too narrow I think elaine... should have been the vx but double check xxx

OMG! Your right Josie.

This viiv's 15" deep not 18". I could kick m'self. I just wanted to cry when the measuring tape showed I'd been an idiot.

Chris has been the voice of calm reason. If I have problems He'll treat me to the "bl**dy big, beastie bling-thing" of my choice! I should be able to use this until the hoggy needs a wheel. Space-wise it works out as 3.75 cubic foot using the formula Helen states in her sticky post 'Getting ready for a Hedgehog' so I'm just about Ok short-term. I usually get my caged pets out twice a day - post school-run (during cage cleaning) and every evening so in addition to plenty of taming love'n'hugs I'll make sure my lil prickly-titch get's plenty of exercise.

I always planned to buy a 4ft viv at some point - When I do the 3 footer can sit on top of it and be used for storage or emergencies.

....Still want to kick m'self!!

The 15 inch is really small you can't even get a litter tray in it ..x

I nearly ended up ordering the lx, until I wondered why it was cheaper and Luckily I double checked the measurements beforehand xxx

I did as well untill Helen pointed in the right direction, I got all confused with the measurements.

I had my girls doing their "Mum, MUM... MUUMMM!" routine and ended up totally in a muddle - should have left it, but just wanted to get it ordered. I had both in my basket - deleted the wrong one! At one point I had a third option - one with a stand... That'll teach me to do anything with the girls around.

I've found a smaller litter tray (for kittens) that will fit. If all else fails I'll have to bite the bullet and get shot of the viv and start again. It may be a bit back-to-front having equipment (wheel, tray, etc) and no housing but at least I'll be able to check everything fits.

Have heard from the breeder I contacted at the weekend. Will post more in chat..

Thanks for your help folks - it's appreciated.

Just to let everyone who's read this thread know...

I bought a Zoozone (dark-blue) this morning after checking it's the right one with Melody (thankyou again)

I'm back on track again. Must look at those cute fleece sets!

ATB
Elaine

No worries at all Elaine, always happy to help

Check out Helen's and Sheila's fleece liners...

xoxox

Will Do!