Warming things up.. safely

[valeriee123]

Hi! I'm new here. I'm planning on getting guinea pigs pretty soon and i have a question about warmth. Sometimes in the winter my house gets a little chilly and i read that you can put a towel on top of the cage to keep in warmth, but i was wondering if i could put some sort of flat animal heater on top of the towel and then put another towel on top of it? I think it might not work because heat rises. I thought about putting a bed sheet over the entire cage because sheets do a pretty good job at trapping in heat, but i don't want to suffocate the piggies. does anyone have any ideas of ways that I can keep the cage warm?

[Toadies]

Hi Val! I use a flat kennel heater on a reastat(sp?) turned to the lowest setting. I put it under the wire bottom of the cage and coroplast. The bedding in the cage (piddle pads and beach towels) adds a little more insulation and distance from the heater. You have to hold your hand on the cage floor for several seconds before you feel the mild warmth. The heater is only under part of the cage so the piggies can get away from it if they get too warm. I also cover their cage with a doubled bed sheet at night, leaving a corner uncovered for ventilation. The heater stays on 24/7 as long as it is cold weather. A bonus is that it also helps keep their cage floor dryer, as the heater make the pee dry up faster.

[SkinnyPiggys]

What temp. do you keep your house at in the winter? As long as you are comfortable, the piggies should be fine.

[valeriee123]

we try to keep it anywhere from 72 degrees F to 75 degrees in the winter. But on weekdays my mom doesn't turn on the heat until about 3:00 pm, when everyone is home from school (she says it saves money). So I want to keep my guinea pigs warm during that time.