Chinchillas Keeping Cool With Booze

[elvisthechinchilla]

I just thought I would share one of my tricks for keeping my boys cool since here in upstate NY we just had a 2 week heat wave where it was up to 80 almost every day in the middle of march...

To keep them cool i put some vodka in their water and they seem to loosen up and relax... JUST KIDDING! :tease:

I put a bottle of at least 30 proof liquor in the freezer and since the alcohol doesn't freeze you get almost no condensation and the glass bottle stays cold at least twice as long as a water bottle!! wrap it in fleece and youve got a chill spot for 3-4 hours. just keep rotating the bottles and you will be good to go.

Rubbing alcohol is also a cheaper option for some people, it also will not freeze.

Let me know if this helps anyone out.

 

[GizmotheChin]

Thank you for this information. I was not aware that alcohol didn't freeze. So can you just put the rubbing alcohol into a glass jar/plastic bottle and then wrap it in fleece?

 

[ChinnyMom]

i would not feel comfortable using liquor or rubbing alcohol bottles in a chin cage, even if the bottle was super thick glass. accidents happen and having a big puddle of liquor or rubbing alcohol that a chin could have access to is dangerous.

 

[FutureDVM]

i would not feel comfortable using liquor or rubbing alcohol bottles in a chin cage, even if the bottle was super thick glass. accidents happen and having a big puddle of liquor or rubbing alcohol that a chin could have access to is dangerous.

That was my first thought as well. I mean, I'm probably being overly paranoid, but that isn't something I'd ever want to risk.

 

[AZChins]

You can just freeze waterbottles for coolness. I had a customer who would put ice cubes into a large glass jar and then would wrap it in some fleece or a small towel. That seemed to work. Chins are way too sensitive, I wouldn't put the rubbing alcohol in either. With water ice all you have to worry about is the chin getting wet...

Still having something in the freezer in case the AC or power goes out is a great idea. We have a generator here to run the A/C should we lose power and extra window units just in case we need them. When I had a lot fewer chins I used to keep frozen water bottles in the freezer in case of an emergency. And, when I travel with chins I take frozen waterbottles with me in the car in case something happens.

 

[addictedtochins]

I had gotten a bottle of Kaulua for Christmas, the cat jumped on my lap on the couch, sniffed at it and recoiled in horror. We had Momma chin out another time, let her sniff it and she stick her long pink tougue in for a drink instantly. Did not expect that....She liked it and wanted more. Of course we will never do that again, but I don't trust that they wouldn't get into it somehow and kill themselves

 

[seachin]

Sorry, have to be sciency here. Ethanol alcohol does freeze...at -173 degrees F....and 84 proof drinking alcohol will freeze at -30 F. Just sayin.

 

[Don Ciccio]

Sorry, have to be sciency here. Ethanol alcohol does freeze...at -173 degrees F....and 84 proof drinking alcohol will freeze at -30 F. Just sayin.

I'm pretty sure the OP was referring to a household freezer, which on average is at -2 F. If it really does cool twice as long as water, I'd consider using it for a heat emergency. A bottle of Absolut is very thick, I've dropped a few in my time from standing height :wacko: without breaking. There is no way a chin is breaking it, especially on the bottom level of the cage. Its no riskier then covering a plastic icepack filled with who knows what with fleece, which I've seen recommended in this forum.

If during a poweroutage it means giving my Chin a few extra hours of coolness and avoid dying of heatstroke, I'd take that risk.

 

[rainey]

To keep them cool i put some vodka in their water and they seem to loosen up and relax... JUST KIDDING! :tease:

Hahahahaha that made me laugh out loud!

I've actually done this before when I didn't have a frozen water bottle.... good tip! Also when I put it in the cage I had it on the floor and then secured it to the side of the cage with wire/sisal so that it wouldn't fall over and potentially break.

 

[~Alex~]

I had gotten a bottle of Kaulua for Christmas, the cat jumped on my lap on the couch, sniffed at it and recoiled in horror. We had Momma chin out another time, let her sniff it and she stick her long pink tougue in for a drink instantly. Did not expect that....She liked it and wanted more. Of course we will never do that again, but I don't trust that they wouldn't get into it somehow and kill themselves

On a random note...My chin always tries to catch a drink of my soda...so bad!

haha on the related topic: I keep frozen water bottles in my freezer for this..never thought of the alchohal! I would think too if there was nothing else you could wrap frozen vegetable package in fleece and set it in the cage too. I would NEVER use a typical ice back with the blue things in it. Thats just asking for trouble! Even if it was wrapped in fleece. Whats nice is my room doesnt get super warm at all. its all tile now after a flooding incident and it is the coldest room in the house. Yay for that~

 

[AZChins]

Years and years back I actually used packages of frozen veggies to keep my chins cool for a few hours when the power went out on us...I think that was back in 2001 when I "only" had maybe 100 chins.

Chins go for anything sweet. I wish that they'd leave soda alone. Ernie would totally go for soda though...he has a wicked bad sweet tooth! Alex - I should give you some frozen juice bottles sometime just so you have them.

 

[ticklechin]

On a random note...My chin always tries to catch a drink of my soda...so bad!

haha on the related topic: I keep frozen water bottles in my freezer for this..never thought of the alchohal! I would think too if there was nothing else you could wrap frozen vegetable package in fleece and set it in the cage too. I would NEVER use a typical ice back with the blue things in it. Thats just asking for trouble! Even if it was wrapped in fleece. Whats nice is my room doesnt get super warm at all. its all tile now after a flooding incident and it is the coldest room in the house. Yay for that~

The ice packs with the hard cases filling is non-toxic, most are made from hydroxyethyl cellulose and even if eaten in large doses only cause GI irritation in humans. This product is used in food packaging like the waxy stuff in cracker boxes. I am more worried about the plastic case than the filling when I use them, they are only used supervised. None of the ideas listed here should be used unsupervised in a cage except frozen dust or tiles, IMO.