Keeping Cool Is 84 degrees too hot for piggies?

[HollyH8]

Hey Everyone!
Now I still don't have any piggies but I'm wondering for future reference. Is 84 degrees in the house too hot for piggies? I live in Arizona so the outside temp averages 110 degrees and our electric bill would be ridiculous if we lowered the temp. Is there cheap and easy ways to keep them cool during the summers? Or is 84 degrees comfortable enough for them?

Thanks!

 

[melynda]

Guinea pigs do best between 65 and 75 degrees. Anything about low 80s gets dangerous as they're sensitive to heat.

 

[piggycuddles]

I agree with the last reply and if it's too hot some things you can do are put frozen water bottles in their cages, make sure they have shade, have a fan by their cage, high-water snacks like cucumber or romaine lettuce, make sure they aren't in direct sunlight, and provide unlimited cold water. Hope I helped

 

[bpatters]

Eighty-five degrees is the temperature at which they're susceptible to heat stroke. I'd keep them several degrees cooler than that.

 

[Artista]

If you don't have a/c, have a fan on hand even if it's just to circulate air. I use lunch box size ice mats in which I put fleece over it and in her tunnel, which helps to prevent nosing around under it. That's her cooling area which I always provide except in the winter when the heater is on. I live in CA so it's not as many days when the heater is on as compared to other states. They run higher than us so just because I feel cool doesn't mean she does. I've found her on it at times I wouldn't have thought so. Same with her fleece sleep sack. It's warm out and she's snug inside it. It doesn't always make sense to me so I provide both. Mooshy ignored the water bottles so that went aside. I do have a/c but I'm tight on money so it rarely gets turned on unless it's like in the 90s.

 

[HollyH8]

Thanks everyone! I do have a/c it's just that we keep it at 84 because it's soo hot outside and it would cost a lot to have it any lower. I'm comfortable at this temp so I'm assuming if I leave my overhead fan on the pigs would be comfortable too right? I guess I'll just use frozen water bottles and watery veggies to help keep them cool that is assuming I actually get some pigs lol

 

[Amalee]

I'm comfortable at this temp so I'm assuming if I leave my overhead fan on the pigs would be comfortable too right?

No, Guinea Pigs aren't human and they're covered in fur. Anything higher than 75 is uncomfortable for them and 80+ is dangerous.
I'll play Devil's Advocate here and suggest you reconsider getting Guinea Pigs if you can not provide an adequate environment or think you can just wing it.
The very least you can do is keep ice around their cage 24/7 during the heat, and if you can't do that, it wouldn't be responsible to own Guinea Pigs.

 

[HollyH8]

No, Guinea Pigs aren't human and they're covered in fur. Anything higher than 75 is uncomfortable for them and 80+ is dangerous.
I'll play Devil's Advocate here and suggest you reconsider getting Guinea Pigs if you can not provide an adequate environment or think you can just wing it.
The very least you can do is keep ice around their cage 24/7 during the heat, and if you can't do that, it wouldn't be responsible to own Guinea Pigs.

So does no one who lives in Arizona have guinea pigs? I would think I'm doing the responsible thing by asking questions and figuring out the solution before I adopt any piggies but please let me know if I'm wrong! I have no control over the a/c temperature since I do still live at home, I was simply wondering easy ways to keep them cool which I found the answer to from other posters but thank you for the input.

 

[spudsthepiget]

You could put a window air conditioner in the room for them; sometimes you can find barely used ones on craigslist for $70. I'd be worried about letting it get up to 84 with them in the house.

 

[StarTaleMaddnes]

Hey so I live in vegas which is very similar to Arizona heat wise, and I share the pain of air-conditioner cost... it's just brutal. What we do, because we keep the house at 82-84 as well, is the guinea pigs cage is never in direct sunlight, so there cage temperature never gets above 80 or so (I have a thermometer on there cage just to be safe) and I use frozen water bottles as mini air conditioners and frozen pads, and if you have a fan it should never be directly on them, near them is okay but blowing air on them can be bad for both you and the guinea pigs. I would say that if you don'e have a good spot in your room, or wherever it is you want to put there cage, that is out of direct sunlight pick a spot that is shaded in the afternoon when it's hottest. You can cover your windows in tinfoil as well which will reflect a lot of that sunlight and keep things a little cooler, if not a little tacky. Hope this helped you out.

 

[claudinehere]

Oh gosh, that temperature is like the usual temperature on a normal day here in the Philippines! Haha! That feels pretty hot already, so if you can't keep the A/C on the whole time, just keep them as comfortable as possible. I agree that you can just find a place where they are not exposed to direct sunlight, and maybe ice packs too (although that hasn't been very necessary for us as our home is always cooler than outside even without A/C). A fan would help them too, and keep them hydrated at all times! Piggies will always consume LOTS of water when they get hot and they consume it quickly!

 

[Artista]

My girl also enjoys ice water. I found small round ice cube trays so it fits in her bottle. I figure I don't like warm water when I'm warm, so I'm sure she doesn't either.

I'd do a search for keeping cool. There are other great ideas there. There are people from hot regions that have gps who can't use a/c.

Also regarding the fan, I keep it at a distance but it does blow toward her cage, not off to the side if it's really hot. Not sure why folks are saying don't do it. Just don't have it up close and blowing on them like a wind storm, but I put my hand in her cage and feel a nice breeze going through there.

You are being very responsible by researching and asking questions here before you get pigs. Most of us didn't find this site before hand, and found out the hard way which is no fun, especially if it results in death. So kudos to you and good luck in getting a suitable situation for pigs on such warm days. Again, use the search function for keeping cool. I remember reading other tips like putting ice packs over something and have a fan going to create a cool interior of an igloo or something. Since I have my set up that works for me, I just skimmed those threads so I don't remember everything.

 

[StarTaleMaddnes]

The reason I always suggest not blowing a fan directly into the cage is because guinea pig cages, not matter the bedding, are messy creatures. even if you clean your cage 3-4 times daily there will always be pet dander, hay dust, dust left behind from feces, and all sorts other unpleasantness. I don't want that being blown into the air around my home, and I don't want that dust saturating the air my guinea pigs breathe. Seems like a recipe for developing or exacerbating allergies to your guinea pigs on a human stand point and potential for respiratory infections for your piggies.

 

[Artista]

The reason I always suggest not blowing a fan directly into the cage is because guinea pig cages, not matter the bedding, are messy creatures. even if you clean your cage 3-4 times daily there will always be pet dander, hay dust, dust left behind from feces, and all sorts other unpleasantness. I don't want that being blown into the air around my home, and I don't want that dust saturating the air my guinea pigs breathe. Seems like a recipe for developing or exacerbating allergies to your guinea pigs on a human stand point and potential for respiratory infections for your piggies.

The bedding does matter. I use wood pellets in the kitchen and the rest is fleece flippers. There is hardly anything blowing around with a light breeze going through her cage, focus is on the fleece flippers area not the kitchen. When faced with a hot pig or possible particles blowing around I'd rather have the latter. Also, unless you dust and vacuum every day, the fan will be blowing particles around wherever it's pointed. I've never had a problem so it's up to the person and allergies they may have. I have none so I can't speak on that.

When Mooshy got a URI last year, it was from being in a small pet store cage with either paper or carefresh bedding. Once I got her a large c & c and use fleece flippers on most, no more problems. With fleece flippers, you can flip sections if you're concerned about an area rather than have to pull the whole thing to wash. Maybe that makes a difference.