Temperature Issue

[ProudChinOwner]

Hey all, well here in Ireland we have no fear of temperature getting too high :tease: but i was wondering how cold is too cold? Chins are downstairs atm in their cage but i'm getting a new one and would like to put it upstairs as its a LOT bigger then the one they have.

Problem is we have no heating at all upstairs (old house 160+ years old, and servants back years ago used live upstairs so it was a luxury lol) anyways and it can get fairly cold, my question is how cold is too cold? I have 2 babies that are 11weeks on Friday but the baby i will be keeping will be at least 15 weeks before i have the new cage set up. It can prob be 2degrees up there if not lower. So 2 degrees in Celsius would be 35 or so Fahrenheit.

Thanks in advance

A

 

[tunes]

My barn sits at 55 in the winter. They love it. They are super active and busy. 35 degrees? No. That's too cold. You would either need to put a space heater in the room or put the cage somewhere else.

 

[Megan]

Our chin room stays between 55-63 during the winter. Depends on the time of the year, or the weather that year. Heat is shut off, and a window is always cracked (it stays warm enough from the house heat filtering in, or if it's an exceptionally cold day, the heat gets turned on slightly). They do just fine, but I would not go any lower then the 55.

 

[Spoof]

Given an enclosed house or item of some sort they can regulate the temperature of that item to roughly 65. They can certainly survive those temps, the vet we had in Idaho kept her chins outside under a tree for eight years, they survived months of sub zero temperatures down to -20 and summers of 115+.

The real problem with the temps you are talking about is freezing water bottles and the fact that you yourself are not going to be spending a whole lot of time there. Face it, nobody likes to sit in a freezing room. ) Chins burn a lot of energy to regulate themselves in extreme temperatures and yours will drop weight. Below 45 drafts become a problem, they steal what heat they can generate and tax the immune system. You'll start seeing URI's and a lot of sluggishness.

I left my chin room window open in Idaho for an entire winter one year, been there and paid those vet bills. I don't recommend exposing babies and breeders to temperatures below 55. It was common back in the day to keep pelters very cold for fur density reasons, but I'm not aware of any that went below 45.

 

[tunes]

Given an enclosed house or item of some sort they can regulate the temperature of that item to roughly 65. They can certainly survive those temps, the vet we had in Idaho kept her chins outside under a tree for eight years, they survived months of sub zero temperatures down to -20 and summers of 115+.

Gads Tara - don't post that crap. Every new person looking for an excuse not to buy an air conditioner will come, read that, and say "Oh, but the VET did it and it was fine!"

As an aside - That would be one vet I'd never use. Wow.

 

[menagerie]

Given an enclosed house or item of some sort they can regulate the temperature of that item to roughly 65. They can certainly survive those temps, the vet we had in Idaho kept her chins outside under a tree for eight years, they survived months of sub zero temperatures down to -20 and summers of 115+.

Gads Tara - don't post that crap. Every new person looking for an excuse not to buy an air conditioner will come, read that, and say "Oh, but the VET did it and it was fine!"

As an aside - That would be one vet I'd never use. Wow.

I'm with Tunes, I think giving out this kind of information on a forum is dangerous and lots of chins will needlessly suffer.

This summer one or two people on some of the UK forums were telling everyone it was OK not to use a/c and to "acclimatize" their chins to higher temperatures. The result of this horrible advice was that several people left their a/c's off and quite a few chins died of heatstroke.

 

[alpayton]

I believe what temperatures are well tolerated is somewhat related to what temperatures the animal is used to being in. I believe that for humans as well. I mean, you take someone who's born/raised in say...Hawaii or southern Florida, I believe they would tolerate the heat much better than someone who's born/raised in say Maine or Wisconsin. Opposite being true for colder temps. Now, will ALL people born/raised in the different area suffer from heat stroke or shiver constantly when in the other area? No...but I can tell you, being from KY, I don't like it when it's very hot OR very cold, as the climate where I'm from is fairly moderate. I'm sure I'd live if I were exposed to high heat or cold, but I definitely won't like it and neither will my body (stress). What I'm trying to say is this...just because you won't die from it, doesn't mean it's the best thing for you. I think it's best to regulate the temperature that a chin is in, not just let it go however hot or cold and hope for the best. Why stress the chin if not absolutely totally necessary?

AC and heat here for my chins - regulated to around 60-65ish. I have to live here too!

 

[Spoof]

Gads Tara - don't post that crap. Every new person looking for an excuse not to buy an air conditioner will come, read that, and say "Oh, but the VET did it and it was fine!"

What about the ones without heaters? <cough>
.. and they did die, mom was 9 and baby was 8, to "I'm not sure what killed them, went out there one day and mom was dead, baby died the next day". Yea. In my experience many vets do not take care of nor spend time with their pets.

As an aside - That would be one vet I'd never use. Wow.

The worst part is I sold them the chins.

and to "acclimatize" their chins to higher temperatures. The result of this horrible advice was that several people left their a/c's off and quite a few chins died of heatstroke.

I remember reading those and thought it was interesting because the temps in my barn stay 10-20 degrees higher than the highest temperature they keep their barns at.

No matter what we post, people are going to do their own thing. I always think "you bought this chin and cage, don't you want to have it indoors to play with it and spend time with it?"

I agree with Amanda. )

 

[Claire D]

I'm definitely with Meanie & Peggy. Also with Amanda - what chins can tolerate is not the same was what is beneficial for their health and welfare.
Just because they can tolerate extremes of temperature does not mean they should.

What I'm trying to say is this...just because you won't die from it, doesn't mean it's the best thing for you. I think it's best to regulate the temperature that a chin is in, not just let it go however hot or cold and hope for the best. Why stress the chin if not absolutely totally necessary?

The physiological effects of heat may not show initially but there can be damage done at a systemic level which will shorten a chinchilla's life considerably. Heat stroke can kill months or even years down the line due to organ damage - it's not a risk I am willing to take.

 

[beccajean220]

So I am going to use my bedroom as the chins room and I was wondering if like 70-72 degrees would be too warm for a chin. If I had a special chin room I would use a lower temp but the only place to put the cage is in my room. This is also where the window a/c unit is.

 

[tunes]

Beccajean - 70-72 should be okay. I would have some type of ventilation (cracked window) and air flow (fan aimed at the floor) to make sure he stays comfortable.

 

[Spoof]

That's a fine temperature for chins beccajean. )

 

[InkedupTara]

Mine do not like it about 69 or their ears start to get pink. I keep it at 67 year round for my chins. If I had it at 72 my chins would be very warm at playtime.

 

[beccajean220]

During the winter would it be safe to open the window a crack to keep the room cool?
The cage would be on the same wall as the window so I dont think it would have a draft. My room has dark red curtains and I have wood floors so it's cooler than most other rooms in the house which is nice.

 

[tunes]

Yep. I keep a window open in my barn all winter long, about an inch or so. I like to have the fresh air coming in.

 

[beccajean220]

I just went out and bought an indoor humidity monitor and placed it in my room. I just want to make sure what the conditions in the room are and make sure I can get the right temp in the room during the winter. In the summer I will be using a window a/c so that should be no problem to maintain a specific temp. Lol im neurotic but so long as I'm gonna be a good chinparent I don't give a darn.

 

[Brittney]

I have around 12-20% humidity where I live, and I keep my house at 72 in the winter and summer. At night it gets down right chilly. Anywhere from 30-60 degrees currently. I tend to watch the weather before bed and look at the thermometer outside. If it is around 50 or 60 outside, I sleep with the windows open, and the boys are very active. If it's lower than 50 I keep the windows closed which means it will be 70 in the house at night for them.

 

[alpayton]

I have around 12-20% humidity where I live...

I *wish* I could have 12-20% humidity! Sheesh, we're lucky if it's down to 50% around here. Matter of fact, it's 56% right now! UGH!

 

[beccajean220]

Well I used the humidity monitor all last night, a few hrs before I went to bed I cracked the window and the temp was around 57 before bed I closed the windows and during the night it never got over 70, now my question is that too quick of a temp change? Humidity never got over 51%, a humidity lvl between 40-60% is good right? Right now it's 68 with a 41 % humidity lvl.

 

[Carol~Anne]

35% F... I'm terrible with converting from Celsius but isn't freezing point 32% F? If so that is WAY too cold. You're going to have chinpops at that temperature. :breath: