Heatwave warning for the UK - How to combine lots of little measures to save lives.

I'm seriously worried this morning. Woke up at 5am, my bedroom hadn't dropped below 28C all night and when I went into the piggies room I was horrified to see it was 27.1 despite having all the windows open all night.

I've now set up a temporary run in the kitchen, which is currently the coolest place in the flat. I don't know if this is a good idea or not, I thought maybe the bare floor would be more comfortable for them.

The windows and curtains are closed on the south east side, I've got the windows wide open on the other side - facing north west - to try and get some cooler air in but there isn't even a hint of a breeze. I'll close them soon, it's supposed to be 24C already. They're saying 33C later today , feeling like 36 🥵 This is frightening. I had wet sheets over the windows in the piggy room yesterday and a fan going, frozen water bottle, etc etc but just couldn't get the temperature down. The last few days it's gone down overnight but last night - no difference. I just don't know what more i can do.

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LondonLady said:
I've now set up a temporary run in the kitchen, which is currently the coolest place in the flat. I don't know if this is a good idea or not, I thought maybe the bare floor would be more comfortable for them.
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Excellent idea. I think you look for the coolest room.

I was horrified last night as 29;degrees at 9pm last night . Despite frozen water bottle . Window shades everything suggested. One piggie looked very bad (;flat on the floor with legs out behind her) so I took them both to the coolest room which was still 26. I couldn’t set up a temporary run, so in their vet boxes with plenty of hay. Mine are awful for using water bottle . Have tried very water device so I’m giving water by syringe now.

They were very happy this morning although rather annoyed at going back and forth. They are always annoyed at any break from peace and quiet. Better than heatstroke !

I’m going to do something similar today . I let them feed in their cage and then move them back and forth. They are not staying in the hot room tonight that’s for sure . I think in this freak weather you just do whatever you can.

Cooling down tomorrow apparently.

Good luck everybody.
 
This is the time of year when I tend to seriously consider giving up on keeping guinea pigs after these two. The logistics in the summer are a nightmare... and summers aren't going to get any better in the future.

I moved them to the basement yesterday, but the humidity in insane (78% in the basement, and about 70% in the living room where they usually live).

Good luck to everybody--and don't forget to take of youselves as well !
 
AidaB said:
We currently have 24.4C downstairs, pigs are on the floor at 22.6C.
Upstairs however is 34plus. 🥵
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I hear you. My flat is spread over 2 floors of attic. In the top, which is just one room, it goes to at least 30°C during the day and in the past few days 33-34°. There's a stair between the floors but no door so heat comes down as well. I haven't measured it, but still below 30° in main part of flat. I don't have guineas to keep cool, so don't have to know the exact temp. I often sit with my feet in a basin of cool water and that helps.
 
It’s not Guinea Pig related but I keep thinking of getting air con in the January sales.

Next year definitely. Just been shopping and wanted to stay in the supermarket. Lovely. I’m saving up now !

Mine downstairs but still 26 degrees which isn’t great . Sitting in their pet carriers. As good as gold. They had a nice lunch and loads of hay. Frozen Water bottle in sock.

Had a real fright last night with the little one. Ok now.
 
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Minx yesterday enjoying some damp facecloths. They ignore the pet coolmat when its in their cage, lying on the floor under the sofa instead.

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We made tents from fleece, which are proving cooler for sleeping than the beds.

Thermometer say 26.9, I wish it was wrong 🥵
 
Where I live, it has dropped from 29 degrees yesterday to 17 degrees today. Much nicer.

The girls didn't seem too bothered yesterday. Caught them napping in places they rarely nap, like underneath the water bottle. That's about it.

They live in the coolest room in the house and the sun doesn't touch it until around teatime so I have the window open until that point and then close it and shut the blinds. The only other thing I did to prepare for summer was to take all Gaia's floof away - which she complained about at the time but I think she enjoys being without it (I see her doing sneaky popcorns).
 
Looking forward to the cooler weather….. which isn’t here yet!

Hope everyone & everypig is ok.

We have finished the day….. with 23.5C on the floor next to the piggies, who are mostly ignoring the cold measures. The suns not quite moved off the front windows yet. (Upstairs is still at 34+ .)

I had forgotten how obsessed we get with temperatures in this weather, one of my best friends & I keep messaging each other our house temperatures!

Us, humans are a mess, my OH had to go into London today. Extra 🥵.
 
A bit worried since i will be at work most of the day, but i got the fan running and they have a cooling mat and frozen water bottles, also pushed their cage away from the window. Wished I put damp sheets over the windows, but there are still the blinds although not very thick. They boys don't use the water bottles or cooling mats at all, so I hope that means they are ok. Yesterday the tenp inside reached 25°C. I read somewhere that putting some cool water behind their ears can help cool them dawn.

I hope everyone and their piggies will be ok with those boiling temperatures. 🤞
 
Brillo went to the vet yesterday. 2 hours before we left for the 2am appointment OH wrapped the van in wet dust sheets as the sun was starting to get onto the van. No shade at the vets car park so he wrapped the van again with some damp sheets we took with us. I bet people thought we were weird but it worked, better to look odd than have an overheated piggy. The trip was too short for the air con to work but we were comfortable with the windows open. Brillo had an ice pod in his carrier as well as a cotton mat instead of fleece.
The vet did ask how we were coping with the heat, they are getting heat stroke animals in. I hope all piggies and humans can stay cool and safe this weekend.
 
piggieminder said:
Brillo went to the vet yesterday. 2 hours before we left for the 2am appointment OH wrapped the van in wet dust sheets as the sun was starting to get onto the van. No shade at the vets car park so he wrapped the van again with some damp sheets we took with us. I bet people thought we were weird but it worked, better to look odd than have an overheated piggy. The trip was too short for the air con to work but we were comfortable with the windows open. Brillo had an ice pod in his carrier as well as a cotton mat instead of fleece.
The vet did ask how we were coping with the heat, they are getting heat stroke animals in. I hope all piggies and humans can stay cool and safe this weekend.
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Good idea! I managed to keep my dual aspect lounge to 23 C with damp sheets and some early morning all windows and doors open airing yesterday.

We have some tips for travelling with piggies in hot weather, the link to which is also in our Hot Weather Guide: Travelling with guinea pigs
 
Wiebke said:
In view of the humidity, added to by some discrete spitting of rain, I think I have done well to keep the piggy lounge to 24 C again, to clean 3 more cages, wash another 4 loads of piggy stuff and wrestle soaked sheets in front of the roadside windows. With a broken hip recovery and my cancer treatment, this has been another day of really pushing it.

No love for hot, and especially not hot and humid days here! The piggies are in better shape than me. :(
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Weibke how many piggies have you got in how many cages? I did see your tribe page but with the names in Welsh my terrible brain couldn’t figure out if there was only one photo of each pig or more than one photo of each pig so I gave up!
 
Guineapiggirl34 said:
Weibke how many piggies have you got in how many cages? I did see your tribe page but with the names in Welsh my terrible brain couldn’t figure out if there was only one photo of each pig or more than one photo of each pig so I gave up!
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I have currently got 13 piggies in 5 cages. Two are still with TEAS in Northampton. Two trios and 3 pairs.
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From left to right: blonde and white Brangwyn 'White Raven' with agouti and gold Melangell 'Sweet Angel' - Barcud 'Red Kite' with his ginger sister Millyn 'Sweet Violet' (mother of Blodyn and Merlin with her brother Barcud) and his blond and white mother Modron 'Mother Goddess' (who is also the mother of Brangwyn and Baeddan, with her son Barcud).
At the back on the right are white and brown Esme and black Beti 'Betty' who now live with lilac Macsen 'The Greatest' and on the left you can see chocolate and white Dryw 'Wren' with blonde white nosed Lleian 'Smew'. Her buff-nosed cousin Llinos 'Linnet' is not visible.

Baeddan 'Boar' (front) and his half-sister Blodyn 'Flower' (on her favourite lookout on the hut) are living on a table cage to the left.
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Baeddan and Brangwyn are litter brothers (from Modron with her son Barcud) and Blodyn and Merlin were born together; they are the children of Millyn with her brother Barcud, who is the dad of all 4 babies. Barcud, Modron and Millyn were found dumped in dog walking wasteland in Cornwall and caught by a forum member in summer 2022. I adopted the family wholesale, including any resulting pups as my last piggy dream. They are bringing up the rear of my Tribe journey with multiple piggies.

Merlin and Sulwen/Sisu have not yet come home again since I broke my hip and was found to have an inoperable brain tumour. I have just started to be able to cage clean on my own again about 3 weeks ago when the kind lady who came once a week to cage clean became very ill herself. It is still on the taxing side and I have to spread the cage cleaning out over several days.

I do have a little blog on this forum although admittedly I haven't been posting all that often due to my health issues: Wiebke's Tribe: Sows and the City Boars
 
Wiebke said:
I currently have got 13 piggies in 5 cages. Two are still with TEAS in Northampton. Two trios and 3 pairs.
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From left to right: blonde and white Brangwyn 'White Raven' with agouti and gold Melangell 'Sweet Angel' - Barcud 'Red Kite' with his ginger sister Millyn 'Sweet Violet' (mother of Blodyn and Merlin with her brother Barcud) and his blond and white mother Modron 'Mother Goddess' (who is also the mother of Brangwyn and Baeddan, with her son Barcud).
At the back on the right are white and brown Esme and black Beti 'Betty' who now live with lilac Macsen 'The Greatest' and on the left you can see chocolate and white Dryw 'Wren' with blonde white nosed Lleian 'Smew'. Her buff-nosed cousin Llinos 'Linnet' is not visible.

Baeddan 'Boar' (front) and his half-sister Blodyn 'Flower' (on her favourite lookout on the hut) are living on a table cage to the left. Baeddan and Brangwyn are litter brothers and Blodyn and Merlin were born together.

Merlin and Sulwen/Sisu have not yet come home again since I broke my hip and was found to have an inoperable brain tumour. I have just started to be able to cage clean on my own again about 3 weeks ago when the kind lady who came once a week to cage clean became very ill herself.

I do have a little blog on this forum although admittedly I haven't been posting all that often due to my health issues: Wiebke's Tribe: Sows and the City Boars
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Wow it looks amazing! I wish I had space for such big cages! I was happy when my three got o and could have a 6 by 2 cage, but with butto;being difficult they are down to 4x 2 cages just squeezed inthe room with a pair In each.
 
Guineapiggirl34 said:
Wow it looks amazing! I wish I had space for such big cages! I was happy when my three got o and could have a 6 by 2 cage, but with butto;being difficult they are down to 4x 2 cages just squeezed inthe room with a pair In each.
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So many of them are mother and child, do you rescue pregnant ones from rescues? I know bonus piggie are a ‘thing’ esp with rescue or pet shop piggies.
 
Guineapiggirl34 said:
So many of them are mother and child, do you rescue pregnant ones from rescues? I know bonus piggie are a ‘thing’ esp with rescue or pet shop piggies.
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No, I am not a rescue or a breeder, just an owner. Most of my Tribe piggies (which are the Welsh-named piggies since I became a forum member 16 years ago but I have had piggies before that) are proper rescue adoptees.
Over the years I have more concentrated on adopting stuck-in-rescue piggies with social issues and finding them a companion they accepted.

Sadly, many sows arriving in rescue are pregnant and give birth there, so mother-daughter pairings in cases where there is an odd number of female pups are not all that rare; with more female pups, there have been some sister pairings I have adopted as well. The same as bonded boar pairs can be actually father and son pairings.

A few of my other piggies were private emergency intakes and one birth happened when I emergency holiday sat a local friend's workmate's newly pet shop bought piggies - within less than 24 hours of their arrival here. Little Llelo, one of the three boys born returned here when he was old enough for separation while my Tegan (the baby in my avatar) was a total fluke.

Adopting a family or a bonded group was my last piggy bucket dream, so when a forum member caught the dumped trio of Modron with her not yet fully grown son and daughter (who were clearly closely bonded siblings) in dog walking wasteland in Cornwall, I offered to adopt the whole family including any babies, provided we could work out transport to the Midlands - which we managed.
Both sows were pregnant by Barcud. Millyn had her two pups in rescue in Cornwall and Modron had her two boys 6 weeks later here with me. The Cornish rescue (who was overflowing with piggies) and whose owner I had been in regular contact with for a few years made a major exception on my behalf. Modron must have fallen pregnant only shortly before they were caught and did only start to show just a day or two before she came here.

My little Cornish family is bringing up the rear in terms of me having multiple piggies or any piggies at all depending on my own and my husband's health, so they are very much a special last indulgence in my favourite breed and colours.

PS: Of course, all boars are neutered or were neutered as soon as they were old enough to only live with sows once safe.
 
I'm struggling today. Once this flat gets hot it's really hard to cool it down. The piggy room is still the coolest place in the flat (just) but it's still too hot. (I'm embarrassed to say exactly what the temperature is.) . I have to say Toffee and Spice don't seem to be distressed. I think they've adjusted to higher temperatures over time but it's still worrying. According to the BBC it's still 30C outside at the moment. And it's so exhausting, constantly re-wetting the sheets over the windows, swapping the frozen water bottles, moving the fan, etc etc, it's never ending, and it seems like this heatwave is going to go on for ever... Just feeling really depressed 😭
 
LondonLady said:
I'm struggling today. Once this flat gets hot it's really hard to cool it down. The piggy room is still the coolest place in the flat (just) but it's still too hot. (I'm embarrassed to say exactly what the temperature is.) . I have to say Toffee and Spice don't seem to be distressed. I think they've adjusted to higher temperatures over time but it's still worrying. According to the BBC it's still 30C outside at the moment. And it's so exhausting, constantly re-wetting the sheets over the windows, swapping the frozen water bottles, moving the fan, etc etc, it's never ending, and it seems like this heatwave is going to go on for ever... Just feeling really depressed 😭
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HUGS

You are doing fine. Remember that piggies will adapt to higher temperatures, provided that it is gradual and not sudden although 40 C is getting a bit too much.

You can also dampen a sheet that you peg over the cage so the cooler air from the evaporating water drops down into the cage and brings some temporary relief. It is the same principle that is used with the rough huge water jars in Arabic countries where the gradually evaporating air helps to cool down the living rooms. It also works with directing a fan against a damp sheet for cooling the air around it.

I have the same issue with my own bedroom, which doesn't cool down overnight at all. I do have a fan for those close nights. The piggies are downstairs and I spend I good deal of the day going round regularly to dampen the sheets over the large window panes of our dual aspect lounge with runs the whole length of our house. keeping the window panes as cool and away from direct sunlight is the most effective measure for me but I am at home all day and can go and spray them with a pumping pressure bottle filled with water instead of weedkiller comparatively easily.

We have invested in heat reflecting foil for the inside of our upstairs windows, which does help a little but not with what I call the airless 'London nights' where there is no breeze and nothing cools down that we get increasingly here, too. :(
 
My rabbit shed was 35 degrees today with wet curtains at the windows ... the rabbits are now on the front lawn in the guinea pig run (not used by gpigs yet).

I have taken the opportunity to bond them. It is going amazingly well.
 
Merab said:
Just to help us all feel a bit cooler.
The Alaskan wood tree frog freezes itself solid to survive the winter and comes back to life when the temperatures rise

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We were just discussing buying a chest freezer.. this was my idea to pass the heat wave 🤣

I'm glad the piggies seem to be coping well, luckily most of them are now strong and healthy unlike previous years. I however, had the clever idea to run an 8km race in 32c heat yesterday with my running club and then have some shots with the pool team, the headache I went to bed with has gone but I've felt rough all day 😂 lesson learned!
 
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