Trying everything but it’s still warm…

[Deleted member 139433]

So I am trying everything to keep the piggies cool. All blinds shut all day. Air conditioning on. Frozen bottles etc, but I still can’t seem to cool the room. It’s still saying 25-26 degrees on the thermometer. The guides on here are fantastic and I’ve followed all of the advice.

the pigs don’t seem bothered, they are still very active, eating lots and showing no signs of being too hot. But I’m a very worried parent!

Are there any other tricks I’m missing?

 

[Black piggies]

So I am trying everything to keep the piggies cool. All blinds shut all day. Air conditioning on. Frozen bottles etc, but I still can’t seem to cool the room. It’s still saying 25-26 degrees on the thermometer. The guides on here are fantastic and I’ve followed all of the advice.

the pigs don’t seem bothered, they are still very active, eating lots and showing no signs of being too hot. But I’m a very worried parent!

Are there any other tricks I’m missing?

That's good the piggies seem OK. I've opened the windows and the rooms gone down to 23 degrees. I think once a heatwave really kicks in, the night air is warm, but still cool here.

 

[Deleted member 139433]

Yes, at the moment opening the windows at night seems to be helping a bit. But I’ve been keeping them and the blinds closed in the day for the air con. I presume with air con it’s best to keep the window closed? I could be wrong?

 

[anyar.dris]

Keep all the windows close if the aircon is on. Also close the door of the area where the aircon is (or just close the doors of the other rooms) so the cool air is just contained in it. We managed to keep our living room 24C with the aircon today where the piggies are. But we have to close the doors of the other rooms, so cool air is just where we and the piggies are.

 

[Black piggies]

Yes, at the moment opening the windows at night seems to be helping a bit. But I’ve been keeping them and the blinds closed in the day for the air con. I presume with air con it’s best to keep the window closed? I could be wrong?

Yes, and definitely when above 24 ish degrees outside, it's better anyway to have windows and curtains shut.
Depending where your kitchen is, I don't use my oven, as it really heats up the place. The water bottles will be cooling the cage area too.

 

[Deleted member 139433]

Keep all the windows close if the aircon is on. Also close the door of the area where the aircon is (or just close the doors of the other rooms) so the cool air is just contained in it. We managed to keep our living room 24C with the aircon today where the piggies are. But we have to close the doors of the other rooms, so cool air is just where we and the piggies are.

Thank you. Is it safe enough for them to be in an enclosed room with the air con on? We don’t have it pointing at them, it’s just near them. I don’t want any respiratory issues as a result

 

[anyar.dris]

Thank you. Is it safe enough for them to be in an enclosed room with the air con on? We don’t have it pointing at them, it’s just near them. I don’t want any respiratory issues as a result

We didn't have any problems with the piggies. Obviously it's not pointed directly at them. I only ever had one piggy that passed away of respiratory issues, but Cookie was already sick when she got the chest infection. We have been using the aircon since 2016 every summer that temp gets too high and no problem at all.

 

[Deleted member 139433]

We didn't have any problems with the piggies. Obviously it's not pointed directly at them. I only ever had one piggy that passed away of respiratory issues, but Cookie was already sick when she got the chest infection. We have been using the aircon since 2016 every summer that temp gets too high and no problem at all.

Thank you! That’s really reassuring I’ll keep their door closed tomorrow with the air con on in the room

 

[anyar.dris]

Thank you! That’s really reassuring I’ll keep their door closed tomorrow with the air con on in the room

If you're really concern still, just open their door a bit so the air circulates to another area. If we close the door of our living room, it does get too cold sometimes. So we just close the doors of the other rooms instead (bathroom, bedrooms). We live in a small bungalow so it's easy enough to cool down the whole house.

 

[Hannah_xx]

In the summer we have the aircon on almost all day, It’s only a small kitchen/living area and it hasn’t effected the pigs health. Though our aircon is rubbish

 

[caseybishop]

i saw this on a thread somewhere, and i tried it and my piggies absolutely loved it! you can get these large flat stones at a garden or hardware store and its kinda like the old saying, when it gets hot out lick the back side of the rock because they're moist and cool. my piggies love laying on them when it gets hot and if you put the frozen water bottle near it it will capture extra coldness !

 

[Deleted member 139433]

Thank you all so much

 

[Wiebke]

Yes, at the moment opening the windows at night seems to be helping a bit. But I’ve been keeping them and the blinds closed in the day for the air con. I presume with air con it’s best to keep the window closed? I could be wrong?

With air con you need to keep the windows closed. What you can do is peg wet towels on the cage (especially the side facing the air con) or over the top of the cage; the evaporating water will cool the air around them so you can create a bit of a micro-climate in the cage area. You can then add measures like wrapped frozen bottles or fridge cooled snugglesafes etc. as needed.

I have got 24 C in here (started the day with 22 C so doing very well for the indoors only going up by that much thanks to me pegging sheets in front of the windows to act as improvised shutters).

My aim for the coming heat spell is to keep temperatures as close to 25/26 C by the evening as possible as that is about the upper range for them to be comfortable without having to step in with extra cage cooling measures other than providing plenty of cool water and a bit more extra cucumber for my bad drinkers. Indoors temps will inevitably creep up a bit more over the coming days and I will have to step in with extra cooling measures for the frailest of my piggies.
They will gradually adapt better to deal with the sudden heat over the coming days. The older/very frail piggies are usually the ones you really need to look out for in case their immune system becomes overloaded and gives way.

 

[Deleted member 139433]

With air con you need to keep the windows closed. What you can do is peg wet towels on the cage (especially the side facing the air con) or over the top of the cage; the evaporating water will cool the air around them so you can create a bit of a micro-climate in the cage area. You can then add measures like wrapped frozen bottles or fridge cooled snugglesafes etc. as needed.

I have got 24 C in here (started the day with 22 C so doing very well for the indoors only going up by that much thanks to me pegging sheets in front of the windows to act as improvised shutters).

My aim for the coming heat spell is to keep temperatures as close to 25/26 C by the evening as possible as that is about the upper range for them to be comfortable without having to step in with extra cage cooling measures other than providing plenty of cool water and a bit more extra cucumber for my bad drinkers. Indoors temps will inevitably creep up a bit more over the coming days and I will have to step in with extra cooling measures for the frailest of my piggies.
They will gradually adapt better to deal with the sudden heat over the coming days. The older/very frail piggies are usually the ones you really need to look out for in case their immune system becomes overloaded and gives way.

Thanks so much Wiebke. I’ve managed to keep it between 24 and 25 today. It reached 29 outside I’ll try the towels if it gets hotter. They’ve currently got air con and frozen bottles. They are all eating and active.

My worry is that we are supposed to go away for the weekend in a couple of weeks. If temperatures are still this high, I don’t trust my holiday carer to manage it. Our kitchen is the coolest room in the house and doesn’t heat up at all. I’m tempted to move them into there for a couple of days whilst I’m away. It means I’ll have to move them to smaller cages than they need, but it’s only for two nights. I’m thinking that’s better than over heating!
But will see what the weather decides to do first.
Thank you for your help, much appreciated!