Heat

[Akunaferret]

So, lately it's been freezing here, 45 degrees and thats FREEZING for southern california, or for me. I'm using a fleece blanket and a normal one, and still wake up cold.

I want to set the heater but i'm trying to figure out what tempature is the best. Will 70 degrees be ok? I live in a town home, the chins are down stairs next to the window and AC, away from the vent (there is only one heather vent down stairs in the ceiling) It warms up faster down stairs then it does upstairs. I want to make sure my chins are safe, but I also don't want to freeze to death and get sick from the cold hahah.

Can anyone please help me?

 

[RDZCRanch]

We set our heater to 62 in the winter. We found that if we set it above that, the house tends to get too warm as it warms up later in the day. Another blanket always helps as well! You can't have too many when you're cold.

My bed is layered with a sheet, two comforters, a blanket and another doubled up comforter. I get freaking COLD!

 

[Akunaferret]

We set our heater to 62 in the winter. We found that if we set it above that, the house tends to get too warm as it warms up later in the day. Another blanket always helps as well! You can't have too many when you're cold.

My bed is layered with a sheet, two comforters, a blanket and another doubled up comforter. I get freaking COLD!

I shall try and set it in the 60's, hopefully we won't be cold when we wake. The bf got dressed with a blanket wrapped around him this morning.

I'ved asked for more fleece blankets for xmas so maybe i'll get them and stay warm!

Thank you sooo much Tab <3

 

[Jenn]

my heater is also set to 62, but sometimes I'll turn it on for a short time, just until I am active enough to stay warm on my own. There is nothing worse than trying to get out of bed in the morning when it is freezing! Fleece blankets, wool blankets, and comforters are great. I also don't go to bed with socks on, but if I do, that seems to make a big difference and I do stay much warmer. At least the chins are happy, right?!

 

[GorillaJTA]

I sleep with my window open until it gets below 40 outside at night. Can you not close or cover the vent downstairs?

 

[Essentia]

We have our heat set at 67-68, and the vent is closed around the chins. I stay warmer while the area the chins are in stays around 62. They love it.

 

[caiti]

My room was in the fifties two days ago. We just turned the heat on yesterday for the first time this year and it was set to 67 for the night and I promptly turned it off in the morning. I don't think we've ever had it as high as that. With me, I have to suck it up since my chin is in my room but you could get a space heater for your room and turn the heat up minimally. Also, closing the vent is a good suggestion.

 

[Pleiades]

We set our heater to 62 in the winter. We found that if we set it above that, the house tends to get too warm as it warms up later in the day.

Exactly this, even down to the 62 degrees part! :high5:

Another thing you can try is an electric blanket at night. They're much more economical and energy efficient than trying to heat an entire house up to 70. So is the above-mentioned space heater. We have one and it's lovely. It helps you get out of bed in the morning if the house gets too cold. (It's set at 59 at night.)

 

[Silverrose]

It has been weirdly cold for socal hasn't it. I haven't even bothered with a heater tho, as I know my chin is probably enjoying the heck out of this weather. So I just walk around the house with a beanie and layers of blankets and socks (and sometimes mittens!) I know, I must look like a freak if someone ever caught me in my house wardrobe lol.

 

[Akunaferret]

I sleep with my window open until it gets below 40 outside at night. Can you not close or cover the vent downstairs?

sadly no, i can not, it's on the ceiling and its that crappy popcorn type ceiling.

It has been weirdly cold for socal hasn't it. I haven't even bothered with a heater tho, as I know my chin is probably enjoying the heck out of this weather. So I just walk around the house with a beanie and layers of blankets and socks (and sometimes mittens!) I know, I must look like a freak if someone ever caught me in my house wardrobe lol.

It has been stupid cold! I don't like it. The thermostat is now set to 70, and I'll turn it off before I go to work tomorrow, at 9 am. Rich will be here but eh he can use the blankets.

 

[greychins]

I second the electric/heated blankets. I'm one of those people where I am ALWAYS cold, and I would love to keep the house at 80 F, year round, but alas, I have chins. So I keep it down in the high 60's and use the electric blanket year round. It's great!

 

[caiti]

Oh yes, I forgot about electric blankets...they are wonderful. Except when you have to move around. Then is when the beauty of the space heater kicks in (especially if it's on wheels).

 

[LovinTheSmallAndFurry]

I know this is a bit of an old thread, but thanks everyone for posting your replies! I've been looking through the forums/threads for awhile now to find an answer to this exact question! I'm in Alabama and this past December/January were the coldest months I've seen in years. Even at 70, we barely felt the heat (we have two small windows in our living room, and they're covered in curtains, so very little sunlight coming in), and we invested in a space heater, which made a huge difference! This was one of my biggest concerns in getting a chinchilla, since our winters can be so brutal (summertime obviously won't be a problem; we HAVE to have A/C here in the south).

However, I am still confused on something. If I get a chin, I am planning to put him/her in the living room for now (though off to the side so it's not in the middle of traffic/activity). My boyfriend and I sleep in the living room right now (the bedroom has temporarily become a storage room), so in the winter we might have to use the space heater (my b/f gets much colder than I do; I'd be fine with blankets). As long as the heater is several feet away from the chinchilla--or if we just use electric blankets--will he/she be okay?

I'm sorry if this has already been clarified in a previous post. I've looked and looked but haven't found this specific question...where people use space heaters/blankets in the same room as their babies.

 

[Brittany]

Seems like you're getting some good suggestions. My only advice is to keep a thermometer near the chin cage so you can monitor the actual temperature. I go one at Wlmart for less then $10 that also has a built in humidity reader.

I know this is a bit of an old thread, but thanks everyone for posting your replies! I've been looking through the forums/threads for awhile now to find an answer to this exact question! I'm in Alabama and this past December/January were the coldest months I've seen in years. Even at 70, we barely felt the heat (we have two small windows in our living room, and they're covered in curtains, so very little sunlight coming in), and we invested in a space heater, which made a huge difference! This was one of my biggest concerns in getting a chinchilla, since our winters can be so brutal (summertime obviously won't be a problem; we HAVE to have A/C here in the south).

However, I am still confused on something. If I get a chin, I am planning to put him/her in the living room for now (though off to the side so it's not in the middle of traffic/activity). My boyfriend and I sleep in the living room right now (the bedroom has temporarily become a storage room), so in the winter we might have to use the space heater (my b/f gets much colder than I do; I'd be fine with blankets). As long as the heater is several feet away from the chinchilla--or if we just use electric blankets--will he/she be okay?

I'm sorry if this has already been clarified in a previous post. I've looked and looked but haven't found this specific question...where people use space heaters/blankets in the same room as their babies.

 

[Airyn]

Space heaters put out a LOT of heat, so you really need to be careful. I'm one of those people who's still cold in 80 degrees, so I can definitely empathize. Still, I would never put a space heater in the same room as my chins. It's just too high of a risk, especially if the windows are well insulated, as then the room can become an incubator really quickly. I have blankets draped on every piece of furniture in my apartment just in case I get cold, which is pretty much all the time.

Brittany made an excellent suggestion about the thermometer. It really is a necessity and you'll need to check it frequently in the summer, especially during heat waves. Since you're in the south and humidity's a factor too, you should see if you can find one that has the humidity and the temp on it. I got mine at Walmart for about $15, I think. It has a clip and a magnet on the back, so it sticks right to the cage. Very convenient!

Just some more food for thought... I'm in Pennsylvania and I needed to invest in a dehumidifier in addition to the AC, especially with the summers we've been having! I think the final count was 11 heat waves last summer, 5 of which were over 100 degrees.

Best of luck!

 

[Sandi]

This is the one that I got at Wal-Mart ($7). I now have 2 of them since the first one was purchased 2 years ago. It will measure both the temperature and humidity.

My husband uses a smaller and portable space heater in the basement where the chins are as well, but it's an open, finished basement. He uses the space heater in the area where he is and it will automatically shut off at 70 degrees, which is what we set it to. So if you can get one with an automatic shut off would probably be best.

 

[GorillaJTA]

Y'all need to toughen up and get some iron! I burn up over 70 degrees (I guess that is why I get along with the chins so well). I never noticed it until this winter, because my room tends to stay warmer than the rest of the house even when we rarely run heat, that the chins seem to be pretty good little heaters themselves.
Space heaters with a thermostat work well.
Lovinthesmallandfurry-
It is harder to keep a room cooler in the south than warm. While we might not notice the difference between 72 and 74 that much in the summer, the chins definitely do and you can see it in their activity levels.

 

[LovinTheSmallAndFurry]

Thank you so much everyone for your suggestions! And GorillaJTA---I'm with you. It takes a lot for me to get cold...unfortunately, my boyfriend prefers the humid summers (UGH!).

All of this information is incredibly helpful. These temperature situations pertaining to the chinchillas were among my main questions/concerns, since all of you have posted on how big a role temps play in their wellbeing.

 

[Spoof]

The reason you aren't feeling the heat at 70 is because the air is so dry.

That being said, with that low of humidity you have some play in the acceptable temperature for a chin. Also, the higher the cage off the floor the warmer it is. I have a raised house with 8' ceilings and the difference between the floor and ceiling is 15 degrees. My friend has one on a slab and there is considerably less play in the temperature. A cheap thermometer is a good way to go. Space heaters put off almost nothing in my house, I literally huddle in front of one, even with the heat set to 70. This is because thermostat is in the middle of the room - meaning the ceiling is 77, and the floor is 63!

I find my house equally difficult to heat/cool, though heating it is far more expensive.

 

[Magic_FROST]

Can I swap houses with ANY of you? I'm in northern MN. Its freakin cold here all year round. Well, except for that one Tuesday bank holiday when no mail comes and thats listed as mandatory in the Geneva convention. Then its blasted hot.

Seriously, any takers? Although, if youre from Alaska, Im gonna say no, lol.