Hot UK Weather Warning - How Can I Keep My Piggies Safe Indoors and Outdoors?

Wiebke

Wiebke

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Please be aware that temperatures in the southern part of the UK can climb over 30 C in the coming days.
Do not underestimate even temperatures around 25 C - without any safety measures runs and hutches can quickly turn into death traps!

Please take the time to carefully read our Hot Weather, Heat Stroke and Fly Strike guide, which combines all the health information with a collection of all possible ways you can keep your guinea pig safe and alive!
Please read and bookmark the link as you are going to need it a lot with climate change in full swing and the summers getting hotter quickly with every passing year. Here is the link: Hot Weather Management, Heat Strokes and Fly Strike

I would rather not see you over dead or badly damaged piggies with GI stasis (no or very little gut movement and therefore no appetite) and heart problems as a result of bad overheating!
 
Thank you for this!😃 I will be careful with my piggies through the hot weather and will make sure they stay cool😉💕
 
Too hot here today (27 degrees but up to 32 predicted for the next few days). Piggies were taken from the shed and put on the lawn from 8am until 9am and then brought indoors at 9am as it was already starting to get too warm out there. They are desperately hoping to have some more grass time later this evening when it cools down!
 
Bumping this again, very hot weather forecast for the UK wednesday and thursday this week- keep your piggies cool and safe, they can overheat so fast!
Sadly we always see some heatstroke fatalities on the forum after an unexpected british heatwave, piggies dont sweat and are not good at regulating their body temperature, if you can please keep them indoors in a shady cool spot and follow the excellent forum guide on keeping them cool!
 
PigglePuggle said:
I have filled my freezer with lots of 250ml smoothie bottles full with water, ready to put in socks and tuck in all the hidey houses as mini cool pads if needed!
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Tried this last year and my piggies ran from them as if they were going to be eaten :eek:

Will give Betsy her summer trim tomorrow now her fur has grown back over the bald patches following her spay and she doesn't look like a scraggly madam any more.

Edited to say will keep them in the garage tomorrow as it is cooler in there.
 
Betsy said:
Tried this last year and my piggies ran from them as if they were going to be eaten :eek:

Will give Betsy her summer trim tomorrow now her fur has grown back over the bald patches following her spay and she doesn't look like a scraggly madam any more.

Edited to say will keep them in the garage tomorrow as it is cooler in there.
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Yes my piggies arent at all keen on the cool packs either but probably because they've never really been too hot! I still pop a couple in the cage if the thermometer reads 24 or above, I'd rather they ran about wheeking that there's an unpleasant cold damp item in their bed and complaining at me than they went all quiet and overheated :) running away from the bed ice lolly and wheeking in outrage is more healthy than napping for too long in a hotspot if the temperature is a bit too high!
 
And if it gets very hot then the hair clippers I bought for piggydaddy to lose his lockdown sheep hairdo are silent and cordless, Blod and Jezzy could always get extreme haircuts for summer! The clippers are of course for piggydaddy but as soon as we tried them out I thought, these will be great if we ever need to shave a piggy!
 
Betsy said:
Tried this last year and my piggies ran from them as if they were going to be eaten :eek:
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I never had much luck with cool packs in the past either so when it gets really hot, I put a damp towel in the freezer, then put that on the cage, which cools it down a bit.

And I'm lucky enough to have a basement, so when things get desperate, I move them there. It's a lot less comfortable for their human slave but it's much cooler.

Right now, my girls have been moved from the family room (with the south-facing window) to the living room (where there's a shutter). It's their first summer so they're a bit nervous about the change, poor little ones. Here's to hoping the heatwave won't last too long...
 
Ice pods and water bottles ready...fan on, flyscreen down & doors open. Outdoor run covered over ready for its friends to arrive. Thermometer is always there.
I know I am going to be wearing a dent in the path by checking every 30 mins in their welfare 🥺
 
It's already 23C here at 9am this morning! I had to turn on the aircon so the piggies and both hubby and I can cope today. If any of you can invest on a portable aircon, I really can recommend it. Looks like piggies won't be able to get out again today. It was warm yesterday but it was drizzling a bit so we didn't let them out. My poor piggies haven't been out the lawn for a long time. 😞
 
Rivervixen said:
If my mum needs to wrap an ice pack in a towel is it fine if the piggies start pulling at it? I remember last year I had them both trying to eat the tea towel I had it wrapped in, I have guinea goats :)
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mine do the same. I don’t think they actually eat any of it though. So I think it’s fine.
 
My boys were in their run this morning before it got too hot. They are now inside with all the curtains shut, a fan on but not blowing on them, a willow bridge with a cool damp tea towel over it and an ice pack wrapped in a tea towel. As many precautions as possible taken 👍 It currently 28°C outside! 😥
 
Well I half covered the cage with a damp sheet before going on my walk, and popped a couple of frozen bottles in... then came home to find 4 piggies piled on top of each other in the hottest sunniest part of the cage, and the other 2 in fleecy tunnels lol! Still, at least they had the option!
 
PigglePuggle said:
Well I half covered the cage with a damp sheet before going on my walk, and popped a couple of frozen bottles in... then came home to find 4 piggies piled on top of each other in the hottest sunniest part of the cage, and the other 2 in fleecy tunnels lol! Still, at least they had the option!
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Nowt as queer as pigs! It's a bit hotter down here... but so far I am able to keep the room temperature to 23 C so we shouldn't go over 25 C at the worst by the evening.
 
21 degrees indoors here and about 25 outside, it may get hotter indoors on Ollie and Tallulah's side of the house when the sun gets round about 4 or 5pm, got the blinds closed already and Tallulah is wondering why it is dark in the daytime!
 
PigglePuggle said:
21 degrees indoors here and about 25 outside, it may get hotter indoors on Ollie and Tallulah's side of the house when the sun gets round about 4 or 5pm, got the blinds closed already and Tallulah is wondering why it is dark in the daytime!
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Since our room runs the length of house we get sun from both sides at different times of the day...
 
Mine are in a north facing room which is a pleasant temperature. They are getting very fidgety though, 2 out of 3 pairs are having dominance skirmishes. I think they are wondering why they haven't gone out for grass today. They can go out this evening when the sun has gone off the garden and it hopefully cools down a bit. I've just walked down the garden with bare feet to bring the washing in and the concrete path was too hot to stand still on. Whilst I'd like it to be a bit cooler I hope my little jig wasn't a rain dance!
 
teddymouse said:
Don't forget wet sheets at the out side windows help low temperature even more.x
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We are fully sheeted up here! You can see a picture in our hot weather guide.
Anyway, I am glad that this tip of mine is making the rounds! I've never seen elsewhere before I did it and found it pretty effective. :tu:
 
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