advice, please?

[chinquillurker]

hi, all.

i often give my chin, taj, a ceramic bowl filled with ice cubes to keep her extra cool. i usually put this in her cage at night. but i was wondering...

would it be better to use crushed ice?

what is the likelihood of her ingesting some of the ice, as it is made with tap (not filtered) water?

also, is it true that cold air falls? if so, would it be better to put the bowl on top of taj's cage?

thank you all in advance for the replies.

 

[DanitheTulip]

Im not sure about the eating of it. but i put the ice in a ziploc bag and then wrap it in thin fleece. It makes an ice bed for them to snooze on. I just tried this for the first time tonight, and my little guy actually used it. :thumbsup:

 

[lauralynne]

I wouldn't do that, just because she can get wet when the ice melts and that's not good for her.

Many people use water frozen in plastic bottles and use a fleece cover over it. I think Annieo here on the forum makes the fleece covers for those.

If you're doing that every night, can you just keep the room cooler to avoid it completely?

 

[sheltiefan]

I try to keep my house cool so i don't have to do that. but incase of a emergancy I have 2 cans of soup covered in fleece in my freezer if it gets to warm

 

[mishellyshel]

i would be more concerned with the reason you feel you need to give them ice than them getting wet. how warm is the room??

i highly doubt a small bowl of crushed or cubed ice is going to cool a cage whether it is on the top or bottom.

if you feel you must give them ice, i would stick with 1 cube, the crushed is definitely going to make more of a mess. in addition to melting, poop can get in the bowl as well as other debris. also i would only use filtered cubes.

 

[Sandi]

Michelle is correct. Only filtered water for the chins. And I also want to ask how warm the room is for you to feel the need to give her ice?

i would be more concerned with the reason you feel you need to give them ice than them getting wet. how warm is the room??

i highly doubt a small bowl of crushed or cubed ice is going to cool a cage whether it is on the top or bottom.

if you feel you must give them ice, i would stick with 1 cube, the crushed is definitely going to make more of a mess. in addition to melting, poop can get in the bowl as well as other debris. also i would only use filtered cubes.

 

[xcdnchinx]

I use a ceramic tile that i keep in the fridge for a cooling area for my chin

 

[Chub_Chub]

I use those Rubbermaid blue ice blocks that are 7 X 7, and made fleece covers to absorb any condensation as well as to protect the little paws. My babies love their ice blocks after playtime. Only problem now is I want to buy more and they don't make the same ones anymore. Amazon may be my last option, which is still 3 times the store price I paid (not including shipping). We started using them a couple years ago because my bedroom gets crazy hot in the summer here, and despite what the thermostat says, it was never cold enough for my liking. Now we've gotten blackout curtains and taken other steps to block the sun from getting in the room, so this summer will be much cooler. :thumbsup: