Keeping hamster warm in winter

honerbright

With the weather being as awful as it is, whats the best way to keep my hamster warm in the winter?
At the moment she lives upstairs in her cage in the spare/computer room and we turn on the heater for about an hour every night for her but jeepers its freezing in here even right now in the middle of the day with the sun (kind of) out.
She has some of that fluffy bedding which she spends most of her time in now but I dont want to give her more of that (infact I want to get rid of it entirely) because she has a sore leg at the moment and finds it difficult to climb in and out of her 'nest'.
We've also tried covering her house with a towel/old blanket but she just tore it to shreds and I don't want to do it again because i'd be worried she would injest it.
I would move her to the lounge permanantly but we also have a cat who i'd be wary of being around her when we're not there (she's an indoor cat, so its not like we can put her outside when we're not there etc and the lounge is also her domain)
Just a bit worried for her because shes nearing 2 years old and so she's getting a bit lazier and spending so much time in bed but its hard to know if thats due to the weather or age.
So yeah.. what would be my best way of going about keeping her warm?
Thanks so much

Sigma Force

Soft plain white kitchen roll can be used as bedding, using carefresh instead of woodchips (if not using it already) would be softer on the leg and warmer.
What type of heater are you using at the moment? If you got a mini oil filled radiator (should be no more than 30 or 40 quid) some have timers and keeping it on low at night would help keep the room warm. Keeping it on a low heat so the room has background heat will help. You can get saftey plugs thingymabobs to avoid any mishaps.

Vet bed is suitable for hamsters, never used it myself with them so not sure how much they would chew it.

There are snuggle safe heat pads but they can be too hot for smallies so you must be careful how hot you would heat it but for nearly the same price you could get a mini oil filled radiator.

Susannahmia

Mine gets at least an entire roll of of shredded up kitchen roll and toilet roll for a huge nest ,each bedding change

I'm always worried about how warm she is too as she is also getting pretty old and lazy. I must admit I leave the heat on especially for her if its cold.

I wouldn't use the fluff, apparently it can wind around their little paws and cause amputation or if swallowed can cause an intestinal blockage.

sadhbhc15

How about something like this..
http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dog_beds_baskets/dog_cushions_pillows_blankets/heat_pads_and_heat_pillows/129427

I have one for my dog and it's fantastic, stays warm for about 10 hours.

scottie pippen

what I would suggest is getting a heat mat (mostly used for reptiles)
places this under neat the hamsters cage,

if this is used with a microclimate mat stat you can set it up so the mat will heat up to your desired temperature.

Most pet shops have these, a medium sized heat mat for about €20
and the thermostat will cost about €35.

Have used this for gerbils with great success.

Scottie

Sigma Force

If using a heat mat be sure to only place it on half or 1/4 of the cage so the hammie can move away from it if the hammie gets too warm.