For those of you with basements.

[whiskers387]

Who keeps theiir chin in a basement? We are making a move from Texas to NY and i was going to put the chins in the basement up in NY, my mom says it will never get above 70 in the basement and i should sell my A/C but im just wondering, do basements really stay that cold? Even in the summer if it only gets up to about 85?

 

[Stackie]

I have my chins in the basement. I don't know how cold it really stays because we have central air and the vents go down in the basement as well. I wouldn't sell it just in case.

The other thing you have to worry about n the basement is humidity. It can get pretty high down there so I usually run a dehumidifier during the spring, summer, & early fall.

 

[Sasha]

We don't have central air in the basement so it can get pretty warm during the summer. Especially since we have huge windows that let light in (which I've now covered up). I would personally keepthe a/c just in case central a/c stops working. We've had our a/c stop working over summer so thank goodness we had the portable one because the whole house got too warm. (and this is coming from aCanadian where the summer weather is mild).

 

[mishellyshel]

im with stacie............we have most of our chins in our basement. it is a finished basement with an extra kitchen and bathroom, but it is still the basement and humidity can be an issue although we do have central air. in the hot humid jersey summer, i run the de-humidifer.

hold on to the air conditioner until you go thru the summer there.

 

[jags]

Years ago we had our chins in the basement. I still ran a small AC in the window to make sure the temp never got to warm and it also works as a dehumidifier to take excess moisture out of the air. Dehumidifiers work well to take moisture out but also raise the temp as they put out hot air when working. With an Ac unit it puts the heat out side while taking the moisture out side also.

 

[Ruby]

In my house the basement is always about 5-15 degrees cooler than the rest of the house, and in the chin room the temps range from about 75 max in the summer to 50 min in the winter. They always seem to be comfy, though in the summer on hotter days I do put a jar with ice in the cages in case they get a bit hot.

 

[whiskers387]

Ruby, what temperature does it get in the summer where you are? Also to other people, there are not windows in the basement that i will have

 

[naturegirl240]

I live in western NY. My chins are kept in a finished basement at it always stays a comfortable temp for my guys. I hope this helps

 

[mishellyshel]

i have central air, so it is usually about 5-10 degrees cooler than what i have the thermostat set on, which in the summer is between 70 - 75 (so basement is about 65).

but this past summer with all the rain & humidity i struggled to keep my house cool, it really took a toll on the central unit which the fan actaully broke once and the lines froze. it was so warm upstairs i had to bring all the chins downstairs.

i only have 2 small windows and we do have an outside entrance so there is a small amount of light coming in there and that is close to their cage, so they do get some natural light.

 

[Ruby]

Ruby, what temperature does it get in the summer where you are? Also to other people, there are not windows in the basement that i will have

It gets up to around 100 here. My chin room is the room farthest into the ground, though.

 

[alli713]

I keep my chins in the basement, and even in summer they're fine, with no a/c down there. It never gets above 65.

We're in the midwest though, so we don't have the scorching summers that other states do, but even when it's in the 80s outside it's nice and cool downstairs.

 

[starleomach]

At my parents house I had a basement. I would move chinnies down when it got really hot or if power failed. We have a small room type here (more for water softner and such) that you have to go outdside, that I have watched this year so that in a power outage I know I can move them down there. If it isn't too humid It is a good option in hot weather. But still needs to be closely monitored

 

[kogia]

I keep Jack in the basement over the summer. On exeptionally hot days, I tuck him into my parent's walk-in wine cellar just to be safe. (the cellar is dehumidified and kept at a crisp, 45˚F year round! )

 

[jenjenn2005]

When I first had my chins 12 years ago... I had them in the basement. It was semi-finished. I live in the middle of the country and had multiple problems with my chins in the basement. First off, there were lots of bug down there and we couldn't spray a lot because of the chins. The second problem was one night they got loose and because they were downstairs no one saw them or heard them. I had fed them around 10pm and played with them but at 5 am when my dad left for work they weren't in the cage. The last thing which was the big deciding factor on bringing them upstairs and putting them in my bedroom was my one chin got her leg stuck in the metal wiring on the side of the cage. She got caught in an area which there was no ledge so she couldn't support herself and was left hanging there for an unknown amount of time. As soon as I walked downstairs I could hear her screaming. I had checked on them around 10pm and didn't go back downstairs until about 6am. I felt absolutely horrible but luckily nothing was broken just badly cut and swollen. That day they were upstairs. As good as a basement sounds, I just find there is way too many problems keeping my chins down there.

 

[Rickman]

Might I suggest a baby monitor, if you're going to keep them in the basement?
At a low volume, you'd hear any problems.

 

[Laurie]

Whiskers moving to NY you're weather will be similar to Wisconsin and the temps can get higher than 85, but it shouldn't get that warm in the basement. I know in Texas most places have A/C because you're insane not too lol! Not sure if you'll have Central Air in NY but I think your chin will be fine in the basement.

Good luck on the move too! What a culture shock for you and your family. Try not to say ya'll because you will get laughed at up North lol!

 

[Gizmo24]

I live in NY..it can get pretty hot up here. I'd keep the AC just to be on the safe side. I have an old unfinished basement and its cooler than the rest of the house but not cold by anymeans.

 

[Bam.Bam]

When I get moved into the new house I want to put my chins in the basement if possible. They will be in one of spare rooms first because their play area will be wherever their cage is and the basement is only partially finished with a concret floor.. i'd rather have the chins play on carpet rather then dirty, uneven concret with who knows what could of been spilled on it and what not. We'll also have to see what the temp will be like down there.

 

[whiskers387]

So it sounds like it will be cool enough down there but ill keep the A/C to be safe, but if i do sell it the market wont be as big for it up there, but im going up at the end of March to close on the house with my parents so i will check it out then(and claim my room since my brother isn't coming with us )

Good luck on the move too! What a culture shock for you and your family. Try not to say ya'll because you will get laughed at up North lol!

Haha i dont know if i will be able to control the y'all, i say it way to much

 

[3CsMommy]

I live in western NY currently and plan to move Crash into the basement in the summer (if I'm still here at that time). The house has no AC except window units, but thus far the basement has maintained a difference of 5* to 8* F to the upstairs temperature at any time. However, the damp is a problem down there, even with a dehumidifier going 24/7. At one point, the house I'm in now got to over 100* on the ground floor, so the basement wouldn't have been safe for Crash at that point either. I'd definitely recommend both keeping the AC unit you have and getting a dehumidifier if you keep the chins in a sub level. It can get disgustingly hot and humid up here, so my vote is be prepared for the worst and hope for the best.

And if you move into our part of NY, please, say Ya'll all you want; I can think of 4 people off the top of my head that say it regularly: My landlady grew up in Virginia, and my landlord and my boyfriend both grew up in North Carolina. I'm from Ohio, but my father's family is all from Virginia, so I picked it up too.