Lighting for play

Sorry starting up another topic i ahvn;t seen dicussed much.. i gather you guys don't tend to provide extra lighting to stop hibernation in wintertime.. but i wondered if anyone has had any sucess with altering the daylight pattern in order to get better timed playtimes out of their hogs..

(background to idea so feel free to ignore-- i used to keep some of my marine tanks on opposite lighting. initially due to overheating issues with halides being so hot in a south facing room i was having to freeze and replace almost a third of the water everyday (being a stodent couldnt afford a chiller. worked brilliantly, saved a fortune in elec all yr round, and meant that i got to see my nocturnals for a bit when i got home, before all the other fish woke up, also saved on having nighttime bulbs as with mylar sheet stuck on the windows (to reflect the heat away and bubblewrap in winter to save the heat) the tanks had low level lighting akin to good moonlight the rest of the time.)


right anywhoo. what i was wondeing is, if you set a light to come on a few hours before you wake up in the morning and go off before you get home from work. and not have the hogs home directly facing a window.. could you fool them so that even in summer they be awake when you got home from work and more up for playing (i've seen the phrase" doesn't like being woke up" a fair few times on adds for their sale, care sheets, etc) by shifting their day pattern a bit this wouldnt be so much of a problem, except perhaps if they are in your room and as you get to wake up too early.

having said that i'm pretty nocturnal anyways so i'd still have plenty of time, and used to sleep though 3 fishtanks in my room gurgling away with intense lighting so not really sure why i'm asking this. just came to mind so wondered if anyone had ever tried

You dont need to set up extra lighting in winter to prevent a hog from hibernating because they are not ment to, if they go into a state of hibernation they can die, and this only happens if they are not provided with adequate heating.

Im not sure about lighting in terms of a hog being active, my hog gets up at random times through the night as far as i am aware. If you want your hog out at a certain time everynight you would probably be better just getting them into a handling routine, i.e. handle the same time everyday and your hog will learn that around that time is playtime maybe? I think there are a few people on here who have hogs that know their routine, my hog just sleeps in his house most of the time till i get him out...

No iea if this post will be any use but hey i had a bash

Just quickly responding to this as my battery is running out and I'm too lazy to put the plug in, hence half an answer :afraid:

It is vital that you ensure your hedgie receives approx 12 hrs light each and everyday. This can be achieved in various ways. I'm fortunate that the room my hedgies are in is quite bright. I only close the curtains when I go to bed as they are in my bedroom. From appro 7am to 4pm they have natural light from the window. From approx 4 to 7 they have the light on in the bedroom.

Not providing enough light can cause a hedge to go into hibernation or cause stress that again can cause a hedgie to hibernate.

I go into my room or certainly try to go into my room the same time twice each day with some mealies to give my hedgies esp nursing mums. I find they are happy to come out and say hi for a mealie etc. They sometimes then go on to have a run on thier wheels or have a rummage around etc.

If I want to get one out during the day I will do so. I think it's important to get them out during the day for a few min e.g once a week then hopefully a trip to the vets will be a little less traumatic because they will have been used to being handled during the day as well.