Thoughts For Cooling Items

[EternallyCynical]

Soooooo. The hot weather's coming in again and I don't want my little chinnie to have any problems. We have central AC and because he's on the lower level of the house his area is a few degrees cooler on average than anywhere else, but I'm still worried.

I\m wondering about getting some glass jars or something to freeze some water in and use as a little emergency ice pack? My only worry is that the condensation would get him all wet....

What do you guys use in-cage to help keep chinnies cool? He's got some tile in there now but that's it.

 

[LilBubs]

I live in SoCal so it does get hot here, although humidity isn't a problem. We have central air, and he has one of those Chin-Chiller marble slabs. But his favorite thing is a sock bottle. We have little mini plastic soda bottles partly filled with water, which we keep in the freezer (lying down). I'll take one out and put it in one of my socks, which takes care of the condensation (he actually likes to lick the bottle when it's fresh out of the freezer, but yeah, if I leave it in there too long it gets wet unless it has a sock). When he's really hot after playtime, he'll drape himself on top of the bottle which is pretty cute lol. Anyway, it stays dry enough for him and keeps him cool. On most days, we swap one out in the morning and one in the evening, unless it's randomly cool or rainy.

 

[LilBubs]

PS: Some people may take issue with the fact that we use plastic bottles... Glass ones work too, but we haven't perfected the freezing process so they often break. Meanwhile Bubs is not much of a chewer, and has never tried to chew the sock or move it to chew on the bottle. So it works for us. Your mileage may vary if you have a plastic-loving chewy chin.

 

[Dreamlite]

What do you have your ac set at? As long as its under 70 he should be fine. If he has a very active play time he might get a bit hot. Tile is the best thing to help with ac.

 

[EternallyCynical]

Sorry, I'm in Canada so Farenheit confuses me! Right now since its still cool most days our AC isn't on and the heat only comes on if it drops below 23 degrees celsius (that's about as low as I can keep it without my mom getting crabby....). Because he's on the lower level its a few degrees cooler on average, so where he is its probably about 20-21, maybe a bit lower. I just worry because my mom is loathe to put on the AC and I'd really rather not have something happen while I'm away at school for the day :/ I've told her we're going to have to be really careful about keeping it cool in the house, I told her this BEFORE we got him, but she's not always a good listener. Last summer it would sometimes be creeping up to almost 30 degrees in the house!!! Personally I like it cooler too so even if its only at 24-25 I'm boiling..... at least I leave after my mom so I can slip the AC on before I go and she can't do a thing about it....

 

[obcsed]

First off, 30C (86 F) is way too hot for a chin at anytime. During the day when/if the chin is not active, 24C (75F) is acceptable for brief periods but lower is better. 21C (70F) is ideal but still needs to be lower when the chin is out playing or really active.

 

[CSquared]

It's always hot here in FL, and one thing that I do for the chins is keep them out of any direct sunlight and on the cooler side of the house. I also keep the shades closed after about 10am to help keep their room cooler. We also purchased a window A/C unit which runs in addition to our central air (yup,, I have them both going most days).

 

[EternallyCynical]

First off, 30C (86 F) is way too hot for a chin at anytime. During the day when/if the chin is not active, 24C (75F) is acceptable for brief periods but lower is better. 21C (70F) is ideal but still needs to be lower when the chin is out playing or really active.

I'm well aware that 30 is way too hot. I didn't have the chin last summer - before we got him I told my mom that this summer we'd have to be much more careful about keeping the air on so it DIDN'T get that hot. Pepper tends to just get stressed out of his cage so he doesn't come out of it much - he's got a 2 level CN to himself with a wheel he uses regularly and maintains a good weight so I haven't had him out in the bathroom for a while since moving him stresses him and he just gets himself worked up and into trouble no matter how much I chin proof....

I'm actually getting really angry at my mom right now since its starting to get up into the 20's again and she won't let me put the air on insisting its too early and that I should 'just open a window' despite the fact that its the same temperature outside as inside and no wind's freaking moving through right now. :banghead: :hair: I'm going to have to sneak the air on through the day before I leave for school. This pisses me off because I THOUGHT we'd covered this BEFORE I took in the chin and now she's being picky. It hasn't gotten up past 25 in the house yet and its cooler downstairs, especially since the chin's out of direct sun, but I still get stressed when it gets up to 25 in here.... its not comfortable for me and I know its not comfortable for him. I almost wish I was going to university next year instead of taking a gap year so I could be living in my own space with my critters and keep the place as cold as I want...

 

[ticklechin]

Put a small window unit in a small room, it won't cost much to buy-used or new on sale and it wont take much power, cheaper than a vet visit.