Keeping Warm Keeping pigs warm during power outage

[megamazing]

Hi, it’s been awhile. I’m not sure if I’m posting this in the right forum. Anyways, our power went out at home at 6:20 this morning. We have all electric, so we have no heat, lights, hot water or ability to cook. I had warmed up my guinea pigs heating pads before the power went out, but they only stay warm for a few hours, and once they wear out I won’t be able to again without going to a friends house, and I can’t keep barging in on someone. I’m at work now but the temp drops fast in our house and it was 67° F when I left. What can I do to keep them warm? Their bedding is already fleece with burrowing pockets. One of my two pigs is a skinny pig. I can’t boil water for hot water bottles (and even if I could I have nothing to put it in.) Is there anyhing I can do to keep them warm? We are looking at days of no power.

 

[teambenji543]

Maybe you could put extra blankets in their cage? This way they can burrow under them if they get cold. Do you have a basement? My basement is always much warmer when there’s a blackout. If it gets REALLY cold, then you could cover the cage with a blanket and move the cage to the center of a room.

Does your work have power? Would it be weird to heat up heating pads for your guinea pigs there? I mean you could technically also just cuddle with your piggies to keep them warm.

 

[Soecara]

Guinea pigs actually deal very well with the cold unless they are hairless. Guinea pigs have evolved to deal with the cold of the Andes mountains. There have been more than a few cases of guinea pigs unfortunately being dumped outside in the middle of winter, and being pulled out of snow banks that they must have been in for hours, and they have not suffered any ill effect from the cold.

Give them some things to snuggle up in like lose fleece blankets, or cuddle cups, and they should be ok.

 

[bpatters]

Put some hideys in the cage that will trap heat, like upside-down cardboard boxes with draped over them. They should be small hideys, not much larger than the pigs themselves.

Also, cover most of the cage with a blanket, but leave enough room for some air exchange.

The one you need to worry about is the skinny pig -- the haired ones will be ok. But watch the skinny very carefully. If it seems to be unable to maintain its body heat, you may want to take it to a friend's house until you get power back.

 

[ItsaZoo]

If there is heat at work, I would heat water in the microwave and fill a few thermoses.

Is there anywhere that sells chemical hand warmers? They would have to be placed under fleece where the pigs couldn’t chew on them but they generate warmth for hours.

 

[4boipigs]

How long is the power outage? What is the weather like? I live in Texas and when the power was out for a week in Feb and the temp in the house was getting into the 40s, the pigs were okay. I layered their cages in blankets, gave them plenty of food/water, hides, and checked on them often. Assuming this is not some catastrophic event, I'd see if someone will let you stay over, get a hotel room, see if you can board them at your vet, or find somewhere that allows animals and visit for a few hours like a pet store. Chances are they'll be fine.

 

[megamazing]

Thanks everyone. To answer questions, we likely won’t have power until Saturday. Their bedding is already fleece and they have burrowing pockets, like I stated. A friend let me use her microwave last night for their heating pads and then we put a hot water bottle in this morning while we went to work. My husband is leaving work early and will microwave the pads at his office to bring home to them and then we’ll reheat them before bed. I did cover their cage with a fleece blanket last night. If it’s still under 60° upstairs when he gets home my husband is going to take them downstairs. Our basement is my mother in laws home and it’s colder down there. I will have to work tomorrow so I can’t take them anywhere, and we have dogs and cats to care for too. Most of my town and neighboring towns have no power (200,000+ people,) and both of our vets are without power as welll.

 

[megamazing]

Put some hideys in the cage that will trap heat, like upside-down cardboard boxes with draped over them. They should be small hideys, not much larger than the pigs themselves.

Also, cover most of the cage with a blanket, but leave enough room for some air exchange.

The one you need to worry about is the skinny pig -- the haired ones will be ok. But watch the skinny very carefully. If it seems to be unable to maintain its body heat, you may want to take it to a friend's house until you get power back.

what are signs I should look for?