Keeping Cool Tips?

[BamRamsey]

I need a bit of help with this. I picked Ruffles up and he felt very sweaty(to me). So I read that placing a cool water bottle in the cage helps so I placed a cool water bottle in the cage between the 2 pigloos and the pigs are in there just sleeping. Any other tips? My window is constantly open due to the complaint of my room smelling :l

 

[millsma]

Is his cage clean? It's possible he is damp from laying in urine.

 

[Lasinalia]

Wrap ice packs in towels n put them in the cage (change when melted). Ice cubes in water, cooled vegetables.

 

[BamRamsey]

Their cage gets cleaned today so if he was laying in urine he won't anymore. And okay. I'll give that a shot they seem to get hot later in the day(we run the AC during the day periodically my window fan doesn't do much just cause even I get as hot as they do)

 

[Melissa123]

Pigs do not sweat all over their body- just the sole of their paws.

"I´ve read everything I could find relating to this subject and this what I´ve discovered:

The only place guinea pigs sweat is on the soles of their feet, nowhere else.

Guinea pigs, along with most other mammals, do not have widespread eccrine sweat glands like humans do.

The eccrine sweat glands produce the thin, watery secretion which aids the human body in maintaining a constant temperature. In most mammals, with a few notable exceptions e.g. the naked mole rat, the eccrine glands are found only on the of the soles of the feet and palms of the hands, where the secretions aid in friction rather than regulating body heat. Pigs (hogs, not guinea pigs) also have eccrine glands in the hairless skin of their snouts.

All references I have found to the use of rodents in laboratory experiments relating to eccrine glands make use of the skin from the soles of the footpads.

Guinea pigs use several methods to regulate their body temperature:

They seek shade to cool off or huddle with others to keep warm.

They shiver and fluff up their fur to keep warm, as well as burning brown fat deposits.

Their bodies respond to heat by increasing the blood supply to the skin, where it is cooled by the surrounding air (particularly in hairless, thin areas like the ears). In pink skinned animals you can see the skin of the ears reddening as the blood supply increases. Other rodents use the naked areas of their tails in the same way. Being tailless, the guinea pig is at a disadvantage and therefore particularly susceptible to heatstroke when the temperature of the surrounding air rises above it´s body temperature.

Correspondingly when in a cold environment, the supply of blood to the skin is reduced, thus conserving body heat.

So, there you have it folks. Keep those pigs in a comfortable temperature, around 65 - 75deg F is ideal. "

Found this here: http://207.58.139.33/~guinea2/forums/viewtopic.php?t=336&sid=ef2dd8b242208418c1641a057496e80e

 

[BamRamsey]

Thanks for the info!

 

[bpatters]

You need to know what the temperature in the room is. Pigs can't tolerate temperatures above 85 degrees without risking heat stroke, and even that is very uncomfortable for them.

How large is their cage, and what kind of bedding are you using? How often do you clean it?

 

[BamRamsey]

Cage 2x4 bedding is fleece. I cleaning every week but spot clean every day

 

[BamRamsey]

Cage 2x4 bedding is fleece. I cleaning every week but spot clean every day

Room Temp at this time is in the 80's since it is a nice day out we don't turn the A/C on, I'm going to put my window fan in front of my pigs cage. I'll go out tomorrow and get a little desk fan for myself and the pigs(cause my window fan isn't doing much of anything for myself)

I did give them a bit of ice cold water(I froze a water bottle and replaced their water), I am going to give them some nice cold carrots as well. I might need to trim Ruffles fur again though.

Hopefully when it rains it decides to cool off.

 

[Melissa123]

I would be worried with that high of a temp. They could easily have a heat stroke. They also have to be very uncomfortable- I would be and I don't have fur!

 

[BamRamsey]

Just put ice packs in between the igloos. I can't tell if they love it or hate it(cause their wheeking both of them) and I do need to go out and get scissors just for Ruffles so I can trim his fur I just don't know how short to cut it.

Video: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=491341710953452&l=4273916356267724407