Keeping Benjamin Wam in Cold Oregon Winter -

[HamsterMama]

The thing to be careful of with heat lamps is it doesn't get too hot close to the enclosure.

I know. That is huge. That is my biggest concern.

 

[Maz]

To be honest some kind of room/space heater would be better. The ceramic type heat lamps aren't as risky, but if it's too close it risks being too hot and if not close enough it wouldn't really do much. Is it really cold where you are?

 

[Rescued One]

Hi,
FYI Zoomed specifically warns AGAINST using the heat mats on plastic - that would be precursor to Maz's fire/melting concerns. The better option is a heat lamp at one end of the enclosure. You can also put a layer of cardboard on the floor of the enclosure for extra insulation.

 

[Rescued One]

I know. That is huge. That is my biggest concern.

If you put a small 50 w infrared outside one end of the cage it will not overheat the whole cage. It should be 6-12" away from the cage to start.

 

[HamsterMama]

To be honest some kind of room/space heater would be better. The ceramic type heat lamps aren't as risky, but if it's too close it risks being too hot and if not close enough it wouldn't really do much. Is it really cold where you are?

I really appreciate this feedback. I do have room heaters, but the room is HUGE, and without central heating in the house, it takes a lot to warm it up and keep it warm. We are running two heaters for him at night, and it is skyrocketing our monthly electric bill by more than 300 dollars—it's really taxing the budget. Before Benny, we used comforters to stay cozy (ish).

That is why I am focusing on localized heating rather than room heating; I want to keep Benjamin’s spot at 72°F-ish without trying to heat the whole 40–50°F room.

We plan to test this setup thoroughly for 24–48 hours before Benjamin goes anywhere near it. We’ll be using a digital thermometer to track the air temp and an infrared temp gun to check all the surface temps, too.

I’ll share the results here in case anyone else finds themselves in a similar situation with a huge, cold room. It’s kind of stressful, but I am resolved to find a safe solution that works.

Wish me luck! Thank you again.

 

[HamsterMama]

Hi,
FYI Zoomed specifically warns AGAINST using the heat mats on plastic - that would be precursor to Maz's fire/melting concerns. The better option is a heat lamp at one end of the enclosure. You can also put a layer of cardboard on the floor of the enclosure for extra insulation.

OH, thank you! Good ideas!

 

[HamsterMama]

Hi,
FYI Zoomed specifically warns AGAINST using the heat mats on plastic - that would be precursor to Maz's fire/melting concerns. The better option is a heat lamp at one end of the enclosure. You can also put a layer of cardboard on the floor of the enclosure for extra insulation.

Thank you for the heads up! I completely agree about the heat mats—that’s exactly why I’m avoiding them and going with an overhead ceramic heat lamp instead. Since it will be suspended above the mesh lid on a stand, it won't ever touch the plastic. I also love the cardboard insulation idea for the floor—that is GREAT. I’ll definitely add that to my setup to help keep the warmth in! Thanks for looking out for Benny.

 

[HamsterMama]

Thank you, everyone. I’ve carefully considered all of your input, and you raised valid concerns. After a lot of thought, I’ve decided that there’s no way I can be fully confident this heating setup could ever be 100% foolproof, and I’m not willing to take any risk with Benjamin’s well-being. Because of that, I’ve decided against using a ceramic heat emitter.

Instead, we’ll be moving Benjamin’s enclosure into our bedroom closet at night so he can have his own little “bedroom.” It’s actually a fairly large closet, but it’s much better insulated than our bedroom and will be far easier to keep warm safely using a small space heater (with the closet door cracked open). We’ll also be closely monitoring the temperature and humidity inside his enclosure. The thermometer can be set to a specific range, and an alarm will alert our phones if the temperature rises above or drops below that range by more than a few degrees.

I truly appreciate the care and concern shown here. I’ve been worried about how best to resolve this, and your input helped me step back and rethink the approach. I’ve now found a solution that gives me peace of mind and poses no risk to Benjamin. I’m grateful to all of you.

 

[Socks' Mum]

Brilliant idea and extremely well thought out plan. Let us know how it works out. I'm sure it will be nice and warm in Benjamin's cage ❤

 

[Maz]

I'm afraid I'm going to be the doom monger here! Moving the hamster's cage daily doesn't go down well. It stresses them out. Usually it;s best to leave their enclosure in the same place all the time. Even moving it to a different room temporarily can extremely stress them out and change their behaviour. They thrive on "sameness" and familiarity.

Is his enclosure in your bedroom at the moment? Or maybe you mean the enclosure has a permanent home in the closet?

I just read your earlier post and saw you don't have central heating, and that can be an issue as yes electric heating all the time costs a fortune. Similar situation here but maybe not quite as bad and the room isn't huge - about 15 feet by 12 feet but draughty - we have partial central heating (ie radiators in some rooms but not all). The main room with the hamsters in we have an oil filled electric radiator. So it is an electric heater, but not as expensive to run as radiant electric heaters, or those panel heaters. I don't know if that would help. But yes it does make the electricity bill higher. We used to have a coal fire in that room (before they banned coal fires!) but even that only heated the immediate area and the rest of the room was cold without another heater as well. We use the oil filled radiator for ourselves, but have it come on for a couple of hours in the night so it doesn't get too cold for the hamsters. And have a thermostat set so it comes on again if the temperature gets too low.

That may or may not help! I'm not sure what the running costs of a ceramic lamp are, but as I understand it, it's the wattage of the appliance that increases the electricity costs. So for example our 2 kw oil filled radiator costs 4 times more to run than the small 500 w one in another room.

This is the small 500 watt one if it's any help. It does not heat a whole large room, but it does ensure the area near it doesn't get too cold.

De Longhi 500 watt oil filled radiator

Apologies if I've misunderstood. Maybe it's a huge empty closet where the enclosure could live permanently? Sounds like you need a big log burning stove!

 

[Maz]

There's another thread here about how to keep a hamster warm if it helps

Keeping Hamster Warm

Hi Everyone, I would love to get anyone's opinion on keeping my Hamster, Little Bear warm. I am thinking of getting a reptile heating mat that is temp adjustable or possibly a seed starter mat. Is this safe? Has anyone used one? If so any good brand recommendations? Per research: I have a...

www.thehamsterforum.com

I'm not sure what electricity charges are in Oregon, but in the Uk, that 500 watt oil filled radiator costs about 15p an hour to run. So if left on 24 hours a day (probably not necessary) it would cost about £108 a month which is about $144 a month. It's actually a radiator rather than a space heater (space heaters use more electricity). It would need to be close to the hamster enclosure - maybe 2 to 3 feet away as it would only heat the immediate area (but may take the chill off the rest of the room.

Apparently Oregon electricity rates are between 9 to 18 cents an hour for a 500 watt oil filled radiator (according to google!) If that's correct then at 18 cents an hour it would cost $129.60 a month if left on 24/7.

Not sure if that helps at all! The ceramic heat lamps are about 100 watt so the oil filled heater would cost 5 x as much to run - although may be more effective as it gives out warm air rather than a single hot spot. But a ceramic heat lamp might work if placed correctly - as per @Rescued One 's suggestion.

 

[Socks' Mum]

There's another thread here about how to keep a hamster warm if it helps

Keeping Hamster Warm

Hi Everyone, I would love to get anyone's opinion on keeping my Hamster, Little Bear warm. I am thinking of getting a reptile heating mat that is temp adjustable or possibly a seed starter mat. Is this safe? Has anyone used one? If so any good brand recommendations? Per research: I have a...

www.thehamsterforum.com

I'm not sure what electricity charges are in Oregon, but in the Uk, that 500 watt oil filled radiator costs about 15p an hour to run. So if left on 24 hours a day (probably not necessary) it would cost about £108 a month which is about $144 a month. It's actually a radiator rather than a space heater (space heaters use more electricity). It would need to be close to the hamster enclosure - maybe 2 to 3 feet away as it would only heat the immediate area (but may take the chill off the rest of the room.

Apparently Oregon electricity rates are between 9 to 18 cents an hour for a 500 watt oil filled radiator (according to google!) If that's correct then at 18 cents an hour it would cost $129.60 a month if left on 24/7.

Not sure if that helps at all! The ceramic heat lamps are about 100 watt so the oil filled heater would cost 5 x as much to run - although may be more effective as it gives out warm air rather than a single hot spot. But a ceramic heat lamp might work if placed correctly - as per @Rescued One 's suggestion.

Electricity is shockingly expensive (pardon the pun )

 

[HamsterMama]

There's another thread here about how to keep a hamster warm if it helps

Keeping Hamster Warm

Hi Everyone, I would love to get anyone's opinion on keeping my Hamster, Little Bear warm. I am thinking of getting a reptile heating mat that is temp adjustable or possibly a seed starter mat. Is this safe? Has anyone used one? If so any good brand recommendations? Per research: I have a...

www.thehamsterforum.com

I'm not sure what electricity charges are in Oregon, but in the Uk, that 500 watt oil filled radiator costs about 15p an hour to run. So if left on 24 hours a day (probably not necessary) it would cost about £108 a month which is about $144 a month. It's actually a radiator rather than a space heater (space heaters use more electricity). It would need to be close to the hamster enclosure - maybe 2 to 3 feet away as it would only heat the immediate area (but may take the chill off the rest of the room.

Apparently Oregon electricity rates are between 9 to 18 cents an hour for a 500 watt oil filled radiator (according to google!) If that's correct then at 18 cents an hour it would cost $129.60 a month if left on 24/7.

Not sure if that helps at all! The ceramic heat lamps are about 100 watt so the oil filled heater would cost 5 x as much to run - although may be more effective as it gives out warm air rather than a single hot spot. But a ceramic heat lamp might work if placed correctly - as per @Rescued One 's suggestion.

Oh, this is helpful. Maybe we need to swap out the other heater for an oil-filled radiator type as well. We need 2. heaters to warm this room. Thanks!

 

[HamsterMama]

I'm afraid I'm going to be the doom monger here! Moving the hamster's cage daily doesn't go down well. It stresses them out. Usually it;s best to leave their enclosure in the same place all the time. Even moving it to a different room temporarily can extremely stress them out and change their behaviour. They thrive on "sameness" and familiarity.

Is his enclosure in your bedroom at the moment? Or maybe you mean the enclosure has a permanent home in the closet?

I just read your earlier post and saw you don't have central heating, and that can be an issue as yes electric heating all the time costs a fortune. Similar situation here but maybe not quite as bad and the room isn't huge - about 15 feet by 12 feet but draughty - we have partial central heating (ie radiators in some rooms but not all). The main room with the hamsters in we have an oil filled electric radiator. So it is an electric heater, but not as expensive to run as radiant electric heaters, or those panel heaters. I don't know if that would help. But yes it does make the electricity bill higher. We used to have a coal fire in that room (before they banned coal fires!) but even that only heated the immediate area and the rest of the room was cold without another heater as well. We use the oil filled radiator for ourselves, but have it come on for a couple of hours in the night so it doesn't get too cold for the hamsters. And have a thermostat set so it comes on again if the temperature gets too low.

That may or may not help! I'm not sure what the running costs of a ceramic lamp are, but as I understand it, it's the wattage of the appliance that increases the electricity costs. So for example our 2 kw oil filled radiator costs 4 times more to run than the small 500 w one in another room.

This is the small 500 watt one if it's any help. It does not heat a whole large room, but it does ensure the area near it doesn't get too cold.

De Longhi 500 watt oil filled radiator

Apologies if I've misunderstood. Maybe it's a huge empty closet where the enclosure could live permanently? Sounds like you need a big log burning stove!

This 500 watt might just be perfect for Benjamin's "bedroom." I am not sure, will have to check what the one we have now is, as far as the wattage. I think it's 1000 - 1500. We do have a wood-burning stove, but my husband has COPD, and it's not clean enough energy. We miss it.

 

[Maz]

This 500 watt might just be perfect for Benjamin's "bedroom." I am not sure, will have to check what the one we have now is, as far as the wattage. I think it's 1000 - 1500. We do have a wood-burning stove, but my husband has COPD, and it's not clean enough energy. We miss it.

I feel for you - it's why we don't burn logs instead of coal now - the wood smoke affects my asthma.

 

[Rescued One]

There's another thread here about how to keep a hamster warm if it helps

Keeping Hamster Warm

Hi Everyone, I would love to get anyone's opinion on keeping my Hamster, Little Bear warm. I am thinking of getting a reptile heating mat that is temp adjustable or possibly a seed starter mat. Is this safe? Has anyone used one? If so any good brand recommendations? Per research: I have a...

www.thehamsterforum.com

I'm not sure what electricity charges are in Oregon, but in the Uk, that 500 watt oil filled radiator costs about 15p an hour to run. So if left on 24 hours a day (probably not necessary) it would cost about £108 a month which is about $144 a month. It's actually a radiator rather than a space heater (space heaters use more electricity). It would need to be close to the hamster enclosure - maybe 2 to 3 feet away as it would only heat the immediate area (but may take the chill off the rest of the room.

Apparently Oregon electricity rates are between 9 to 18 cents an hour for a 500 watt oil filled radiator (according to google!) If that's correct then at 18 cents an hour it would cost $129.60 a month if left on 24/7.

Not sure if that helps at all! The ceramic heat lamps are about 100 watt so the oil filled heater would cost 5 x as much to run - although may be more effective as it gives out warm air rather than a single hot spot. But a ceramic heat lamp might work if placed correctly - as per @Rescued One 's suggestion.

A 50 W zoomed infared (not ceramic) bulb is all that is needed provided a towel/cardboard, etc is used to cover the middle part of the enclosure "roof". I have one positioned about 12" above one end of our 6 foot by 2 foot floor playpen and it is nice and warm at that end without being too hot. The hammies are much more active in the playpen since we put it in.

 

[Maz]

A 50 W zoomed infared (not ceramic) bulb is all that is needed provided a towel/cardboard, etc is used to cover the middle part of the enclosure "roof". I have one positioned about 12" above one end of our 6 foot by 2 foot floor playpen and it is nice and warm at that end without being too hot. The hammies are much more active in the playpen since we put it in.

That sounds good

 

[HamsterMama]

This 500 watt might just be perfect for Benjamin's "bedroom." I am not sure, will have to check what the one we have now is, as far as the wattage. I think it's 1000 - 1500. We do have a wood-burning stove, but my husband has COPD, and it's not clean enough energy. We miss it.

This 500 watt might just be perfect for Benjamin's "bedroom." I am not sure, will have to check what the one we have now is, as far as the wattage. I think it's 1000 - 1500. We do have a wood-burning stove, but my husband has COPD, and it's not clean enough energy. We miss it.

Thank you for your concern, Maz! I totally recognize that you are correct — hamsters thrive on consistency and can be stressed by frequent changes.

For now, Benjamin is in the closet overnight, and during the day (the room is heated because I also use the bedroom as my office), he is pulled out of the closet and moved about four feet into the bedroom. I try to do it when I see him come out to get a drink or go potty in the morning, so as not to wake him, but he honestly doesn’t seem bothered by it much either way. I’ve also softened the “disruption routine” by giving him a high-quality treat afterward.

He now seems to associate the “rumbling” with treats and runs to the front of the cage, putting his paws up on the door — waiting for his treat. Rumble… rumble… time for my snack! Gobble, gobble… and then he goes back to bed and hunkers down for the day. It seems the best-case scenario for a less-than-perfect solution.

It is not ideal, but we love him and earnestly try to always do the very best we can. We are careful to gauge his reactions to avoid undue stress and help him live his best hamster life. Thankfully, we have had many, many successes and very few setbacks. I truly appreciate everyone's comments and help.

 

[Socks' Mum]

You have a lovely relationship with Benjamin

 

[HamsterMama]

You have a lovely relationship with Benjamin

Thank you, Socks' Mom! That is so kind of you to say. He’s a big part of my life, and this Hamster Mama (much like yourself, I know ) just wants him to be healthy, happy, and feel loved.