Heating suggestions for Robo!

[aragneer]

Hi guys!

So my apartment has started getting very chilly! We've already upped Waffles' amount of sawdust and bedding and have given him two house options now - one is an upside down egg carton which is buried deep in the sawdust and the other is quite an open house with more room. He LOVES the egg carton at the moment..He's stood on top of it, pulling pieces of tissue to carry into it!

Anyway - any heating tips? His cage has ponly one air vent at the top, which is quite big so I put half of a towel over the top and a blanket around the edges to create insulation.

Also - I live in rural Ireland so my pet shops are not well stocked with heating supplies.

I have started giving him mealworms every day for breakfast or dinner to up his protein and stuff.

Any other ideas?

[AmityvilleHams]

Your best option might be just keeping the room itself at a specific temperature or temperature range.This depends on what is available,whether it has to be a small portable heater or something more complex.

[spacebyte]

I'm in the same kind of boat- it's snowing here already and our radiators don't work properly. We keep a fan heater on in Lunas room in the evening, but I would be scared to keep it on overnight in case of a fire..

I put a blanket over the end of the cage that she sleeps in. Heat rises.. it's colder on winter days with no clouds because the clouds keep the heat in.. My logic is the blanket will keep what heat she has in the cage...

I've also been putting a hot water bottle against the glass where her nest is- NOT in the cage- this keeps the glass round there warmish for a few hours, and gives some heat for under the blanket. She seems lively despite the cold, and I hope this is helping her!

A few people I've seen have bought those pet safe heat pads online which I'm curious about. Luna would probably chew on it, and they seem to get pretty hot, so I'm not sure how suitable they are for hamster. I might need to get one if it is okay- it's only November and it's freezing!

[Coco61]

Snuggle safe pads are a good idea. You don't put them in the cage so no chewing! Have a look at the thread Serendipity has started today on an external rail you can hang on the side of the cage and then slot the pad into it. Another way is to raise the cage with books and then slide the snugglepad under the cage where you want it but without touching the cage. They keep warm for some hours so can help either overnight or if you are out during the day.

[Pebbles82]

The snugglesafe's are better than a hot water bottle because they stay warm all night. They are quite hard rather than squishy as well. This is the rack (small towel rail!) I used to attach to the outside of the bars - the snugglesafe sits in it perfectly so it can be up against the bars on the outside in the nest/house area for example.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kitchen-Cab...oor+towel+rail

This is the Snugglesafe itself. Coco's idea of putting it under a tank/cage raised on books might work better for tank as no bars Either way it's an additional warmth source and the room still needs to be at a reasonable temperature as well, so a small oil filled radiator left on overnight near the cage/tank is a good idea too (not too close, but close enough that it warms that area as the small ones don't heat the whole room that well).

I'm using both at the moment - oil filled radiator on overnight (and during the day as well partly when no other heating), the snugglesafe at bedtime, and putting extra paper bedding out every night (and it is all being taken each night).

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SnuggleSafe...ds=snugglesafe

[AmityvilleHams]

A small wire shelf of some sort could be used instead of a towel rail if the heat pad needs to be used underneath a cage.Something like a dish drying rack would work,if it were available,and those should not be too expensive