It’s getting hot! Are you ready? 🥵

I got up at 5 am to cool down the house as much as possible ahead of a real scorcher. I managed 19 C so I am hopeful about keeping the piggy lounge below 25 C and the need for further measures. Thankfully, we are early into the heatwave so the brickwork hasn't had time to really soak up the heat yet.

The all time record heat for Coventry is 35 C. We have been promised 33 C for today; just to put it into perspective. My watered sheets went all up as soon as the outside temperature had caught up with the inside and have just had a second dousing.

All household chores have been done, including working my way round the garden a bit further to get as much bindweed and brambles bit by bit out of my borders as much as possible while it was nice and cool - for my own mental health. Heat stresses me out, and our garden is mostly in the shade in the morning so that the best time for it.

We have added heat repellent sticky film to all upstairs windows that cannot be covered on the outside. It is shaving another degree or two off.

Keep yourself safe!
AidaB said:
Intruder alert…….Give us back our poo piles & remove these odd looking things!

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Remember, when you find these awkward things helpful, you are overheated. As long as you ignore the frozen waterbottles, your mummy knows that you are fine! :)
 
At 11am it was 30 in OHs workshop down the garden, 39 on the patio outside the back door and 21 in the north facing piggy room. We are so lucky to have that room with overhanging eves (not what I say in winter!), it never gets the sun on it . The old larder is also in that room, house was built before most people had fridges, the cupboard is next to a dark north facing passage way, open that door and the cold air cools the room. I have the clothes horse ready to drape with wet towels in their room if I need to but I don't think it will be necessary today. Ice pods are in the freezer just in case.
 
By the way, here is the heat exhaustion and heat stroke guide for humans; especially if you have older/frail family or you are working, travelling or physically very active in an environment without heat relief, experience these symptoms yourself or see a colleague being taken unwell:

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Please keep on sipping or drinking plain water constantly, especially if you are not in a cool room, if you are on medication or in an at risk category. It is important that your body has the necessary fluid to keep cooling down the body.

Keep in mind that the sense of thirst diminishes with older age, which is additionally increasing the risk from the heat pressure on the body.

Also note that it is more effective to have a lukewarm shower instead of a cold one. The lukewarm water lowers our body temperature but not so much that your internal oven comes online to warm you up again!

Take your own frozen bottle of water with you wrapped in rags (and then in a plastic bag or coolbox) which you can use to cool the face, neck and wrists if needed. Actually quite few things that work for your piggies also work for humans as well... :)
 
I'm so glad that my current house is so cool inside, my only real worries are my salamanders and axolotl, there's no hope of keeping them below 18c at this point but they're coping well enough.
Luckily now we have a new boiler, the radiators don't heat up when the hot water comes on so it's not hitting high temps in the piggy room anymore, the entire water tank system was removed!

Unfortunately the cars suspension has gone, no idea how we're going to afford to fix that.. but it does mean I'm going to be walking down to the athletics track tonight, 2 miles in the sun. Hopefully by 5pm it'll be starting to cool down, luckily I'll be going across and along the river and canal for some of it so there should be a nice cool breeze. Will take some water just in case, especially for after running around.

I won't share a photo because it's pretty NSFW, but the cat absolutely did not care there's a heatwave last night and lay himself over my stomach to sleep. Luckily he was only there a couple of house but I was melting! Shouldn't moan about the hear but I'll be glad to sleep in lower than 26c soon lol but at least that's the hottest it gets in the house.
 
We've just moved to a house with lovely big windows and big patio doors - which means it gets very hot very quickly, especially in the living room where the piggies live. I've had good success with sticking radiator insulator sheets on the doors and windows to reflect the heat (outside to stop the glass getting damaged) - its really helped keep the heat from the sun out and they are easy to stick on with some masking tape if you have big/awkawrd windows that sheet won't cover or hang on.

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Not my favorite weather... I'm constantly worried about the piggies during heatwaves. We moved them to a cooler part of the house, and we hope night temperatures will stay around 16-18C° so we can open the windows at night and cool down the house (and hope we don't get burglars with all the windows open :P)

My worst fear is having to go to the vet with them--we don't have AC in the car, so it turns into an oven in about 5 minutes. They've been asked to avoid all medical emergencies for the foreseeable future.

Keep safe and let's hope it will be over soon...
 
Currently stuck with 30c in our room (piggies and I share a room), trying to get it to cool off a little but nothing working so far. I do have a fan at medium speed and my windows open (shaded side of the house atm) with a little damp towel on my long haired piggies cage whom is extra hot compared to the others. Would it be a good or bad idea to remove their 1x2 fleece forest thingy (its one of those things with fleece down the all the sides) would remove a big portion of their hiding spots. Gosh I hate heat, can't wait for it to be coldish again!
 
Helen C said:
Not my favorite weather... I'm constantly worried about the piggies during heatwaves. We moved them to a cooler part of the house, and we hope night temperatures will stay around 16-18C° so we can open the windows at night and cool down the house (and hope we don't get burglars with all the windows open :P)

My worst fear is having to go to the vet with them--we don't have AC in the car, so it turns into an oven in about 5 minutes. They've been asked to avoid all medical emergencies for the foreseeable future.

Keep safe and let's hope it will be over soon...
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Our hot weather guide and our travelling guide both have detailed, practical tips for vet visits in hot weather in case you are dealing with a life or death emergency like heat stroke.

Best is to have a small frozen water bottle wrapped in a sock and to additionally wrap the carrier in a damp beach towel, old bed sheet or fleece so that the evaporating water can cool the carrier - including with air con but especially without. Make sure that you open the car doors first to let the hottest air out because even with air con it takes a little while for it to kick in.
With a heat stroke piggy, make sure that they are wrapped in a damp but not ice cold bit of fleece in order to keep them cool during the journey. Ask a nurse at the reception to refresh the fleece before setting off home again.

Hot Weather Management, Heat Strokes and Fly Strike

Travelling with guinea pigs
 
Ramia said:
We're actually getting up to 27 today.

For this morning the heat is on but I anticipate maybe putting on the A/C later.

My house is a hot box. American houses are kind of cheaply built with drywall and don't retain their temperature very well. So in winter my heating bill is quite high and in summer my electric bill is high.

My air conditioner is environmentally friendly.
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I hope you and your piggies and kitties and visiting deer stay cool 🙏❤️
 
The outside is over 30 C (ca. 90 F) now that the sun has moved from the glass front on the garden side (on it from 7 am until after 1 pm to the street front with the bay window but it is still 22 C (just over 70 F) here in the lounge and has only climbed 3 C (about 10 F) since the early morning; no extra measures for the piggies needed so far.

Since we have sun on that window from about 2 pm until after 9pm, the temperature in the lounge is set to rise another couple of degrees but it should not exceed 25 C max. (77 C) by later evening.
And that is just by keeping my bed sheets in front of the larger glass windows and doors watered every 2-3 hours without any added measures. I am using less water than a shower but need at the most just one quick lukewarm shower myself. But virtually no electricity used.

Tomorrow is going to be that bit hotter because the bricks have soaked up more heat and another warm night means that it won't cool down as much overnight. If I can keep temperatures to climbing just a degree or two higher, the piggies' bodies can adapt to that.

But it is not working with windows you cannot fix a sheet over and put it up comparatively easily and you want to be at home to freshen up the insulating layer of cold air between the sheet and the glass.

We have bought heat reflecting foil for all those windows that are hard to reach or to cover, which does help. Hub is not as heat sensitive as I am although my problem is less a dry heat than any high humidity, which we thankfully don't have this time so I am not feeling quite as bad. The humidity is going to build up more in a prolonged heatwave.
 
Babble said:
Currently stuck with 30c in our room (piggies and I share a room), trying to get it to cool off a little but nothing working so far. I do have a fan at medium speed and my windows open (shaded side of the house atm) with a little damp towel on my long haired piggies cage whom is extra hot compared to the others. Would it be a good or bad idea to remove their 1x2 fleece forest thingy (its one of those things with fleece down the all the sides) would remove a big portion of their hiding spots. Gosh I hate heat, can't wait for it to be coldish again!
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I thought of taking out their bendy bridge hides so that the breeze from the fan would reach them more easily, but then my piggies get more restless and can't settle which, I think, makes them warmer. Perhaps you could lift back a few fronds discretely. Hopefully they won't mind 🏡🌞😮‍💨
 
I've managed to keep the piggy lounge to 24 C with just the damp sheets in front of the windows but the real test comes tomorrow when it is going to be as hot again but after a much warmer night so we are likely starting with a warmer room that is in the sun pretty much all day long. Yet another very early morning to ensure that the house is as cool as possible at the start of the day since it can heat up only so much during the day.
I am going to stick my snugglesafes into the fridge, especially for my oldies, they are not as lasting as frozen water bottle but provide welcome coolness when slipped under their favourite cosy or the bath mat and exchanged regularly during the hottest hours.

Wishing everybody the best for tomorrow.
 
Anyway, here we go again - same forecast temperature, just a hotter house after what I call a 'London night' and the need to close all doors and windows by 8 am when outside temperatures quickly started to overtake the indoors ones.
I have managed to get the lounge down to 21 C, so I am expecting 25 C (26 at the worst) by the later evening; but this is followed by a somewhat fresher summer night with hopefully a little more air movement to allow me to finally get some sleep.
 
Rufus is hiding from the heat ive put a wet bedsheet over the cage. I think I got a bit too confident that that room doesn't get too hot but now it's at 24.5° and I haven't taken any precautions :doh:
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The red eyes peering through the darkness looks very eerie
 
While I'm glad that all my washing are dry, the heat is getting too much for my liking. We have portable aircon in the house but the temp is still around 21-22C. We've closed doors and curtains and just keep it cool in the livingroom. The boys are keeping themselves inside their boxes. It doesn't help with Carson as we are making him gained weight and eat their food by himself so we are still syringe feeding him at times with CC. Bodie is not moving much and just prefering to lie in his boxes but he's eating. They do get around more when it's cooler at night. We still have 3 more days of this according to hubby. 👎👎
 
anyar.dris said:
While I'm glad that all my washing are dry, the heat is getting too much for my liking. We have portable aircon in the house but the temp is still around 21-22C. We've closed doors and curtains and just keep it cool in the livingroom. The boys are keeping themselves inside their boxes. It doesn't help with Carson as we are making him gained weight and eat their food by himself so we are still syringe feeding him at times with CC. Bodie is not moving much and just prefering to lie in his boxes but he's eating. They do get around more when it's cooler at night. We still have 3 more days of this according to hubby. 👎👎
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Your boys having the ideal temperature for guinea pigs so it is not surprising that they just do their normal slump in their hideys... And as long as your room temperatures are going up by just a degree or two per day, your piggies have enough time to adjust. I am doing the same; trying to keep the lounge as cool as possible. ;)

It is the large jumps in sudden spikes that are the worst killers.
 
2 degrees hotter here today than yesterday. I have rigged up a garden cane over the kitchen window with a wet bath sheet over the cane and weighed down at the bottom onto the ledge with heavy dishes and a brass bell, it's keeping the kitchen cooler so the warm air is not escaping from that room into the piggies. The piggy room has a clothes horse of wet washing drying and keeping the temperature down.
The younger more active piggies had a lovely time in the garden yesterday evening, by then it was cooler outside than in and gave me a pleasant evening outside reading and watching them running in and out their tubes and rumble strutting their neighbours.
Goodluck in your cooling endeavours today everyone!
 
Sweet Potato said:
Rufus is hiding from the heat ive put a wet bedsheet over the cage. I think I got a bit too confident that that room doesn't get too hot but now it's at 24.5° and I haven't taken any precautions :doh:
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The red eyes peering through the darkness looks very eerie
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Hi

Please don't panic. It gets gradually trickier only over 25 C; before that you usually won't need any cooling measures. But it is a good idea cooling the cage down and if needed remoisten the damp cage cover once or twice more as the evening gets hotter. If you have snugglesafes cool them in the fridge and slide them under their hides or a fleece where they prefer to hang out. That will give some gentle cooling that is refreshing but not too harsh when you are around.

Frozen water bottles are better when you are out all day.

Indoors temperatures are bound to be higher today because of the very warm night.
 
Wiebke said:
Hi

Please don't panic. It gets gradually trickier only over 25 C; before that you usually won't need any cooling measures. But it is a good idea cooling the cage down and if needed remoisten the damp cage cover once or twice more as the evening gets hotter. If you have snugglesafes cool them in the fridge and slide them under their hides or a fleece where they prefer to hang out. That will give some gentle cooling that is refreshing but not too harsh when you are around.

Frozen water bottles are better when you are out all day.

Indoors temperatures are bound to be higher today because of the very warm night.
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Ive managed to drop the temperature by a couple of degrees and the boys are a bit more active again. I'm going out for a few hours this afternoon and will resoak the sheet before I leave but hopefully it will be past the heat of the day by then. I was just starting to panic as we approached that 25° mark. Ive shoved some water bottles in the freezer for tomorrow aswell.
 
Quick question about floortime... My girls had a fight and they live as neighbours, so they can't have floortime together. I usually put one in the living room and one in the kitchen. Their cage is in the living room right now, and it's about 24° in the evening. The kitchen is a good 2 degrees hotter. Can I still put one of them in the kitchen? The floor is all tiles so I've been assuming that the colder ground helps her to cool down a bit? (I tend to overthink everything during heatwaves...)
 
just wondering how everyone who keeps their pigs outside are getting on.. the house is an absolute no go now i'm living in a cottage.. its actually hotter inside than it is in the girls shed! so will just be lots of garden time and ice packs for now.. not much more i can do unfortunately:(
 
Helen C said:
Quick question about floortime... My girls had a fight and they live as neighbours, so they can't have floortime together. I usually put one in the living room and one in the kitchen. Their cage is in the living room right now, and it's about 24° in the evening. The kitchen is a good 2 degrees hotter. Can I still put one of them in the kitchen? The floor is all tiles so I've been assuming that the colder ground helps her to cool down a bit? (I tend to overthink everything during heatwaves...)
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Sorry I can’t answer your question.

Our boys live as neighbours too. I build them a temporary floor fun pen side by side. Our temps at 24.3, but that’s in the middle of the room. Boys are chilling on the floor with ice bottles in socks. Lots of hay & pee pads!
 
Helen C said:
Quick question about floortime... My girls had a fight and they live as neighbours, so they can't have floortime together. I usually put one in the living room and one in the kitchen. Their cage is in the living room right now, and it's about 24° in the evening. The kitchen is a good 2 degrees hotter. Can I still put one of them in the kitchen? The floor is all tiles so I've been assuming that the colder ground helps her to cool down a bit? (I tend to overthink everything during heatwaves...)
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I'm no expert, but from what I think I've read here on the forum, a difference of 2°C is fine. A sudden bigger increase and decrease (when your one girl goes back into the cage) is problematic.
@Wiebke is the one who really knows though.
 
Helen C said:
Quick question about floortime... My girls had a fight and they live as neighbours, so they can't have floortime together. I usually put one in the living room and one in the kitchen. Their cage is in the living room right now, and it's about 24° in the evening. The kitchen is a good 2 degrees hotter. Can I still put one of them in the kitchen? The floor is all tiles so I've been assuming that the colder ground helps her to cool down a bit? (I tend to overthink everything during heatwaves...)
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Hi

I would not normally recommend moving piggies from a borderline hot room (my piggy lounge is currently 24 C as well) to a hotter room but with a cooling tile floor you should be OK.
 
piggieminder said:
We had some very loud thunder earlier. I was hoping for some rain to clear the air but unfortunately it was a dry storm so I will still need to water the veg patch.
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It feels very thundery here, but so far no thunder and definitely no rain. Tomorrow it is meant to be 2°C cooler, so 27 instead of 29. I'm glad I don't have guinea pigs any more, tho I do miss having them, but where I live now is mostly attic and difficult to keep cool. Tho I could do more, like hanging wet sheets on the windows instead of dry sheets.
 
Coventry was over 32 C today but I managed to keep our lounge (which is in direct sunlight for most of the day and also has a roof light) to 24 C - just with very regular sheet watering about every two hours - mostly in comparatively very little water in our kitchen sink or a quick spray with the hosepipe at the back; but I've used less water than hub and I would use for the cooling showers we would have needed otherwise.

The only electricity used for cooling is for the fan in my own bedroom, which is the hottest room of the house and at the moment 27 C. I cannot cover the whole bay window with a sheet, unfortunately; only about half the surface, but I have heat reflecting see-through foil on all panels. It does sheer off some of the heat. Without any measures, that room would be around 30 C by now.

I am very tired but proud and looking forward to a fresher night and a noticeably cooler day tomorrow to give my own body a break and to finally catch up on some restful sleep.
 
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