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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2014 20:41:10 GMT -5
I wasn't sure where I should put this.
I am worried about what I am going to do about Mister during the summer. I have read that they shouldn't get over 80 degrees and it could be life threatening. It almost got that hot today and it's only the beginning of spring. How can I keep it cool enough for him during the summer I am planning on buying an indoor thermometer to put on the wall by his cage to keep an eye on the temp in the room. There is an air conditioner in the room he is in but we are hoping to not have to use it most of the time since we can't afford it.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2014 20:59:45 GMT -5
You can try putting ice cubes in their water bottle/bowl, or even giving them the ice cubes to play with and cool down in the process!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2014 21:03:34 GMT -5
Is that enough though im talking about when it gets 100 degrees or so. For my rats I just blow a fan on them and give them ice cubes and frozen water bottles but there not as sensitive to heat as ferrets.
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Post by Jeremy's Boggle on Apr 14, 2014 21:21:08 GMT -5
I'm afraid he will have to move to an air conditioned space. If it gets to 78 in our house all of the ferrets start getting floppy. A fan blowing across a wet towel and frozen water bottles can help in the short term.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2014 21:46:42 GMT -5
I took Cooper to visit family in the desert about a month ago, and it was already getting pretty hot. It wasnt hot enough to run the A/C though, so it was above 80 degrees in the house. Poor Cooper is used to our chilly apartment, so he kept laying down on tile to try and keep cool.
My solution?
Wet towels and drape them over the cage. Then get a fan and use it to direct airflow into the cage where it will run over and bounce off the towels, bringing cool moisture into the air like a swamp cooler.
I just put a little personal fan inside his cage and directed it at the top of the cage where the towel was draped so it would bounce off the ceiling, opposite wall, and then flow through the cage. I first tried a bunch of towels all over the cage, but that made it around 60 degrees inside the cage, which was a little much. Then I decided to just use one towel draped lengthwise over the cage with a blanket covering the rest of the cage, except for the side with the fan to allow for airflow.
The result? One happy and very spoiled ferret stretched out and asleep in his cage.
The only thing this will cost you is the little bit of electricity it takes to run the fan, the water to soak the towels, and a little bit of time every few hours (we'll say like 4-6) to wet and wring out (if you don't you could end up with mold) the towel(s).
Also, binder clips are great for pinning towels to the bars of cages.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2014 21:56:51 GMT -5
Do you have any pictures because that seems like it might work. Im not worried about it immediately since its supposed to only be in the 60s for the next week. My husband wont let me use the air conditioning enough to make it worth it for the ferret and it is in the living room and the living room is open to the hallway and kitchen so it would take a ton of electricity to cool the whole area down. I might also put him in the bathroom and run cold water since we don't pay for water here if it gets really hot.
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Post by bitbyter on Apr 14, 2014 23:19:27 GMT -5
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Post by Sherry on Apr 15, 2014 8:32:47 GMT -5
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Post by msav on Apr 15, 2014 21:04:04 GMT -5
I wish it was emphasized more to prospective ferret owners that keeping ferrets cool is a must!
I feel your pain about the air conditioner costs. I went through the same thing when I realized I had to run the ac to keep the house under 80 even when I am not home.
I eventually bit the bullet. I cancelled my TV, Landline phone, and other non-essentials, and made room in my budget for the $300 electricity bills. (this may not be an option for some)
everyone talks about how expensive a ferret is, but seem to not point this important expense out. maybe most are in climates without this extreme, I don't know.
I am always prepared with frozen water bottles in the freezer in case they are needed in emergency.
I also believe the older the ferret is the more important it is to keep them cool.
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Post by kraesmom on Apr 15, 2014 21:15:26 GMT -5
I know with chinchillas, they started selling stones to put in the cage for them to lay on because it feels cooler. Might be more budget friendly to look for granite or marble tiles at the DIY store? You could maybe find terra cotta tiles or saucers and soak in water for a while first. The water evaporating due to the porosity might help with cooling too.
It was around 80 here on Sunday (snowing today...gotta live ohio weather)...I took my boys outside in the playpen with the canvas floor as a roof. They liked the cool grass and digging in the dirt. I also gave them a large, shallow pan of tepid water to play in that they seemed to enjoy as well.
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Post by goingpostal on Apr 15, 2014 22:30:57 GMT -5
Air conditioning for hot days is a must, mine get very lethargic and clearly unhappy when it is warm, they have their own window unit set at 73 and it runs a lot in the summer even living in MN. Humidity is low here which helps but if we are unable to be home or it's really hot we move them to our basement into a dog kennel for a bit, it stays quite cool year round there. Dark curtains, tile, frozen water bottles will help in a pinch but are not a long term solution. Animals don't sweat like people so just fans won't do anything unless you are running them with a wet towel or over ice like suggested.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2014 23:32:50 GMT -5
I wish it was emphasized more to prospective ferret owners that keeping ferrets cool is a must! I feel your pain about the air conditioner costs. I went through the same thing when I realized I had to run the ac to keep the house under 80 even when I am not home. I eventually bit the bullet. I cancelled my TV, Landline phone, and other non-essentials, and made room in my budget for the $300 electricity bills. (this may not be an option for some) everyone talks about how expensive a ferret is, but seem to not point this important expense out. maybe most are in climates without this extreme, I don't know. I am always prepared with frozen water bottles in the freezer in case they are needed in emergency. I also believe the older the ferret is the more important it is to keep them cool. There is no way I can do any of that we have a roommate that pays for half of all that and wouldn't be willing to cancel anything or pay all of it. My husband would probably be much more likely to give up Mister which is not happening then run the ac most of the time so running the ac more then like a half an hour a day which isn't going to help much isn't an option either. Anyway even canceling everything that isn't essential for us wouldn't make up for the money it cost to run the ac it would probably only be about an extra $100. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2014 23:37:42 GMT -5
I know with chinchillas, they started selling stones to put in the cage for them to lay on because it feels cooler. Might be more budget friendly to look for granite or marble tiles at the DIY store? You could maybe find terra cotta tiles or saucers and soak in water for a while first. The water evaporating due to the porosity might help with cooling too. It was around 80 here on Sunday (snowing today...gotta live ohio weather)...I took my boys outside in the playpen with the canvas floor as a roof. They liked the cool grass and digging in the dirt. I also gave them a large, shallow pan of tepid water to play in that they seemed to enjoy as well. I was planning on getting him chinchilla stones we used them at the pet store I used to work at. I also can't take him outside we live in an apartment and I don't think people would like him outside and would probably complain and make us get rid of him. |
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Post by bitbyter on Apr 16, 2014 8:34:44 GMT -5
Can you get a window unit and cool one room? That is cheaper than cooling the entire house. Also, stones and ceramic tiles only work to a certain extent. Eventually they will get as warm as the environment around them.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 16, 2014 9:09:01 GMT -5
Weather in malta tends to get very hot in summer sometimes even reaching 40degrees which is equal to around 104 Fahrenheit. My ferrets were never lethargic during the last 3 summers and I hardly use AC coz it is bad for my allergies unfortunately. What I used is a constant fan as described above with a wet towel in front of it and during the afternoon I leave a frozen bottle in the cage. I also try to give them cold water to drink. Lets say till now they never seemed to suffer the extreme hot weather. What my little dexter once suffered was a mild cold during a heatwave... yes it was my fault >.< He was running around and jumping on the other ferrets all the time and when I picked him up I thought he felt quite hot (I think I was just paranoid really) so I put him a tub with cold water to chill... bad bad decision! he took a cold and I was worried sick for 2 days ... he came back to normal after a course of pills prescribed from the vet and again continued running and playing as usual. So bottom line, the fan and the wet towel is a very good method and the frozen bottle can be used in extreme hot weather. My boyfriend came up with a method for the towel to be always wet. Basically he left a container half filled with water and hanged the towers on top of it with their ends touching the bottom of the container. In so doing the water from the container gets absorbed by the towel and tadaaaa the towel is wet for a full day convenient particularly if you are not home  Just be careful that they are not in the direct sunlight coz that is pretty deadly even for humans i think. |
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