skin color and heat question

[chins1222]

i dont own a hedgehog but my friend does and i posting a few questions for her

she has an albino hedgehog and his skin is a purpleish color. is this normal for albinos?

i have not seen it yet so i am not sure how purple but when i have been to her house before i never noticed his skin being purple before

also she doesn't have a heating element on him and can't afford one right now, i know , i know, but i have already told her she needs one asap.

anyway i have an extra fixture i can loan her but i dont have a red bulb or CHE, would a regular heat bulb be ok to leave on 24/7 for now until she can get one of the other two?

i dont know a lot about hedgehogs since i don't own one, but i do know they need heat and i do know he is on a good diet(b/c i told her what to buy)
he is on wellness and royal canin mixed.

any help is most appreciated

thanks

 

[Kalandra]

Albino hedgehogs should have pink skin. Is there any chance the hedgehog anointed with something of similar color and has stained its skin? Otherwise, I would be afraid the coloring was from bruising.

So long as the temperature in the cage is 72+ the hedgehog should be fine. You don't exactly have to have a CHE to accomplish this. My hedgehogs are in the warmest room of my house and the furnace maintains the temperature pretty well, when needed, I do use a space heater to supplement. Basically so long as you can find a way to keep the cage at 72+ the hedgehog should be fine.

I would stay away from heat lamps that give off light. Many many hedgehogs will not come out in bright light, having a heat lamp on that emits light will keep the hedgehog from being active and likely from eating.

 

[chins1222]

yes i figured it would but i was thinking it would be better than nothing

they have a portable heater but it is only set at 69 degrees and they don't keep it on all the time so i am guessing the room stays cooler than that

i told her to turn it up and i am bringing over my temp gun to measure the temp in his cage to see exactly what the temps are

what can i do to raise them if they still aren't warm enough?
is a red heat bulb ok? i suppose i could buy one for her if they can't see red.

thanks

 

[Kalandra]

Red lights are hit or miss with hedgehogs. Some don't seem to notice it, others seem to see it just fine. Also don't forget that you need to include a thermostat with a CHE or heat lamp so that it doesn't over heat the hedgehog.

Another temporarily solution would be a heating pad. You can put it in sleeping areas so that the hedgehog has a place to get warm.

 

[chins1222]

ok i will see if she has one

or if we have a thermostat i can let her borrow as well
thanks