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Post by polly on Jun 25, 2015 18:57:07 GMT
Just a quick check to see if those members with chinchillas are coping wth the higher temperatures ok. It's starting to hit the low twenties here, 21 - 22 degrees. My chins are all comfortable at the moment, with plenty of air flow going through the chin room. If the temperature goes any higher, I'll be employing cooling methods for them all.
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Post by kaliska on Jun 25, 2015 20:08:17 GMT
Areas of the US are having record temps with states that normally stay under 80F (26.6c) seeing up in the 100s (37.7+). I'm sure some of those people are in serious trouble because they might not even have air conditioning. I'm not sure how easy you can get a single room ac unit there either. Luckily after having a 95F near record day the first week of June that worried me we are in the 70s with 60s at night. Nearly all houses in Iowa have full house AC units anyway so it doesn't really matter what outside temps are.
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Post by lacquerista on Jun 25, 2015 20:09:19 GMT
I am ashamed to admit I had no idea Degus and Chinnies can't sweat until I read your post. My goos are partially in front of a widow (because they seem to love sunning) and my house can reach higher 20's at times of the day.
Can I put a fan on them to keep them cool? Where I live, AC costs $5000 to install, and windows aren't designed for portable units.
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Post by kaliska on Jun 26, 2015 0:18:06 GMT
Pretty much only larger livestock and the smaller breeds we made from them can sweat. Dogs can sweat a little through their paws but they are usually using those to walk on hot surfaces. It is something to keep in mind about most of our smaller animals and one of the arguments I bring up when someone is talking about giving plain salt licks to small animals. They aren't using salt the same including in the heat.
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Post by moletteuk on Jun 26, 2015 14:37:41 GMT
From what I have read, it seems that degus cope with higher temps much better than chinchillas. I have only rarely heard about overheated degus, and most do love to sun themselves and love a heatpad. We used to have a regualar member in Spain where the temps reached the 30s (C) and she never reported any problems. Do watch out for signs of overheating though, lethargy, loss of appetite etc, particularly as I think you are in USA, which obviously has some much higher temps than UK.
You can provide a little cooling by putting rocks or bricks in the fridge or freezer and into the cage on rotation, obviously wrap them securely in something to avoid freezer burns.
I have often wondered whether fans will have any effect on animals that don't sweat. They work in humans by increasing the rate that your sweat evaporates, which increases body cooling. I guess you could try one and see if the degus/ chins seem to appreciate it.
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Post by polly on Jun 26, 2015 16:30:08 GMT
All my chinchillas have chilled terracotta plant pots and saucers on rotation and they love them. I also place the ice packs for cool bags in metal tins and place them on top of my cages. The surrounding air temperature drops by about three degrees and the chins love to sit under them. Fans can do some good if allowed to blow over a large bowl of ice cubes. We did this last year when the temperature hit thirty celcius for four days. I also place tin foil over the glass in the front door to reduce heat rising up the stairs. I have found that chinchillas cope much better if they are allowed to adjust gradually to temperature changes. All out of cage exercise is halted during the higher temps.
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Post by moletteuk on Jun 26, 2015 17:32:37 GMT
Some great tips there  Regarding the thing about chins particularly overheating when they exercise or free range - are chins not very good at recognising when they are getting too hot? Or do they want to have fun more than they want to stay the right temperature and get carried away that way? |
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Post by natnat899 on Jun 26, 2015 22:39:14 GMT
I have an air con so I generally just stick that on a timer of a few hours once or twice a day.
But granite slabs/terracotta are extremely helpful, put them into the freezer to make them cold - always wipe off the frosting. You can put the sand into the freezer - my chinchillas and degus go absolutely nuts, lol
Freezing bottles and then putting them on top of the cage provides a cool spot underneath the bottles (the cold air drops). You can put a spare water bottle into the fridge so they have something cool to drink.
I find putting a net curtain in the window helps to stop the room heating up too much as well - it keeps the direct sunlight out, I also pull the blinds down slightly to block out some of the sun as well.
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Post by lacquerista on Jun 29, 2015 1:04:07 GMT
I bought an air conditioner. I'm a sucker for my pets.
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Post by kaliska on Jun 29, 2015 6:07:34 GMT
Chinchillas go until they are forced to stop pretty much. In their cage with limited area and things to do they seem to sleep a lot but if you get them out they will bounce for sometimes hours. I have one that will put herself away in the cage. Most of the time when out and finally tired of bouncing they continue looking around for things to expend energy destroying. They come from higher up in the mountains than other south american rodents kept in the US. They don't have to worry about heat and it is very dry. They can't get wet. Their coat is designed for warmth and does not do well in humidity so providing water sources or misting like people do for rabbits doesn't work. We have usually 1-3 hairs per follicle. They have 50+.
The thing that worked best when we had a few days of broken ac was to set sealed containers of frozen water on the metal cage pans. Even on top of the fleece liner and covered in fleece (they were also all supervised with their containers all day) the cold still spread through the metal of the pan and somewhat the bars. It made the area of the pan to a couple inches above it many degrees F cooler than the rest of the cage and the entire cages a couple degrees cooler than the room temp. That is our emergency plan for such situations. We always have frozen bottles for the animals. Just in case.
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Post by natnat899 on Jun 29, 2015 14:42:30 GMT
Yh, I had a point when Peanut (my chinchilla) overheated during play time, we put him on a granite slab and he was ok after a few minutes - it wasn't even during summer, so it can happen.
I've heard you should put the chinchilla in the fridge (with the door open and supervised ofc) if he or she has heat stroke, but it sounds pretty extreme - couldent such a change in temperature cause the chinchilla to go into shock?
I've read a lot on how to prevent it, but not much on what to do if it does happen - I know you only really have a few minutes to act.
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Post by kaliska on Jun 30, 2015 3:45:21 GMT
Chins aren't going to cool that fast even in a fridge. They are designed for insulation and they can handle 40F as a normal temp. Getting cold down in that fur takes a bit so a short spurt in the fridge might be a good idea until you setup a cool spot for them to calm down and recover. Especially if they have begun having seizures from the heat. If you are familiar with snow think about exercising in the house in your snow gear until you are extremely hot and then going out in temps around 40F. You aren't going to instantly get too cold and if we ignore the sweat humans get you might never get too cold because you are wearing clothes designed for fridge temps and occasional slightly lower temps already. It's not like we pitched you in an ice bath. You will cool relatively slowly and only to normal body temp.
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Post by natnat899 on Jun 30, 2015 8:40:37 GMT
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Post by gracipet on Jun 30, 2015 20:21:58 GMT
Thanks for all the tips guys- weatherman here in Hampshire says its heat wave conditions- up to 33C tomorrow, so I have been really worried about my 4 chins overheating. I kept a close eye on them today (as it was warmer than it has been). They still insist in sleeping in a tight huddle even when its really hot!! I have ice packs wrapped in teatowls, pet friendly cool mat from pets at home (non-toxic) and have granite and marble cheeseboards that I regularly swap around and put in the fridge. I think its manageable for now but they are not in the best place, only place I can keep them is the conservatory. Trying to keep all windows and doors open whenever I'm in. I do the same with the Degus but I agree they don't seem as affected by the heat. Good luck everyone to keep those chinch muffins cool!
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Post by moletteuk on Jul 1, 2015 10:35:30 GMT
You need to be logged in to see the chiformative info, so I'll just summarise that if your chinchilla overheats to the point of loss of consciousness or seizure, they recommend immersing the chin in tepid (not cold) water until they come round and then wrap in a towel to dry off and let them rest somewhere cool and dark.
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Post by natnat899 on Jul 1, 2015 10:52:35 GMT
Ah, I thought the reference library could be seen by all. If you do have to do that though, make sure your chinchilla is properly dried off afterwards. Signs of Over-Heating Ears may flush bright red as the capillaries dilate. Chinchillas tend to lie down on their sides in the heat of the day, but should always be responsive. Any chinchilla lying down that is not responsive should be checked immediately. Breathing may become shallow and rapid. In severe cases, the chinchilla may lose consciousness and be limp and floppy when handled. Or it may be convulsing. It's judgement really, my chinchilla always sleeps on his side - for the first few months I was afraid he was unwell, but it's just who he is |
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Post by polly on Jul 3, 2015 18:50:22 GMT
Hope everyone and their chins have survived the heat wave. All my eleven boys have come through 31 degrees with flying colours, and that's without air con.
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Post by kaliska on Jul 3, 2015 22:04:48 GMT
I have a few who like to play dead chinchilla and scare us. Aisu gets poked a lot for it. Keck stretches into weird positions while all her feet remain touching her shelf.
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Post by natnat899 on Jul 4, 2015 0:24:01 GMT
Both of mine have come through well, Peanut is annoyed at me as I had to remove a fur ring the other day -- first time doing it, so I definitely wasn't as smooth as the 2 vidoes I watched, haha - bless him, he is starting to show me love again this evening.
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Post by polly on Jul 7, 2015 9:39:17 GMT
Glad to report that temperatures are back down to comfortable here . Chins were let out this morning for the first time in two weeks. They've really enjoyed their playtime, and plenty of bouncing and popcorning occurred. All chins love kisses and cuddles before they go back in their cages which is lovely. thought you guys might like this picture of Mark, my ten month old tan boy. Attachment Deleted |
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