Urgent Help Required Regarding The Heat.

[Harveyreid]

Ok so as everyone from the UK will know, it's been very hot recently. I've been giving my 2 female guinea pigs a fresh bottle of water twice a day and they just haven't touched it at all. Today I changed their water yet again to see if they would drink it and even held it to their mouth and they still wouldn't drink it. I checked back a few hours later to find one of my guinea pigs lying dead in the cage! It nut be because she wouldn't drink. What should I do to get my other guinea pig to drink and not suffer the same fate soon?!

 

[Wiebke]

Ok so as everyone from the UK will know, it's been very hot recently. I've been giving my 2 female guinea pigs a fresh bottle of water twice a day and they just haven't touched it at all. Today I changed their water yet again to see if they would drink it and even held it to their mouth and they still wouldn't drink it. I checked back a few hours later to find one of my guinea pigs lying dead in the cage! It nut be because she wouldn't drink. What should I do to get my other guinea pig to drink and not suffer the same fate soon?!

Hi and welcome

I am very sorry for your loss!

Please be aware that guinea pigs can suffer heat stroke. It is not about drinking, it is all about keeping them as cool as possible. Rather than water, feed some extra cool cucumber or melon, but that on its own is not enough to keep your guinea pigs from overheating.

Take the time to read this detailed guide here; it has lots of tips on keeping your guinea pigs as cool as possible and how to spot symptoms of heat stroke, and what to do. Please have your remaining guinea pig checked by a vet, as the heat that has killed the mate may have affected it and its heart. Take it to coolest place you have and keep it out of the sun and as cool as possible tomorrow. Please be aware that a hutch or a run in full sun are heat traps and can kill! A plastic hidey on the lawn is basically just an oven.
Hot Weather Management And Heat Strokes
Guinea Pig Vet Locator

 

[Harveyreid]

Hi and welcome

I am very sorry for your loss!

Please be aware that guinea pigs can suffer heat stroke. It is not about drinking, it is all about keeping them as cool as possible. Rather than water, feed some extra cool cucumber or melon, but that on its own is not enough to keep your guinea pigs from overheating.

Take the time to read this detailed guide here; it has lots of tips on keeping your guinea pigs as cool as possible and how to spot symptoms of heat stroke, and what to do. Please have your remaining guinea pig checked by a vet, as the heat that has killed the mate may have affected it and its heart. Take it to coolest place you have and keep it out of the sun and as cool as possible tomorrow. Please be aware that a hutch or a run in full sun are heat traps and can kill! A plastic hidey on the lawn is basically just an oven.
Hot Weather Management And Heat Strokes
Guinea Pig Vet Locator

Ok thank you very much, I'll take a look

 

[Eriathwen]

I noticed yesterday Leonard hadnt touched his water for an hour, even when I offered it to him. Turns out the spout wouldnt release water! Ive had to get him a new one and a load of spares. I'm assuming the heat made the metal balls expand and stop working properly? Yesterday involved offering cucumber and syringing water when he wanted some. Ive got some damp flannels in the fridge on hand in case of heat stroke too. Although with the curtains pulled abd the window at each end open its nice and cool in there now. Sorry to hear about your piggy

 

[VickiA]

I've been offering cucumber and melon chunks to give extra fluid. I've also been giving my girls a syringe or 2 of water with a pinch of probiotic in it (they love the taste). Tonight little Holly was guzzling it and swinging on the syringe.
I, too, like @Eriathwen have had to bin a water bottle (a Living World one at that) which wouldn't release water. I've put 2 bottles in each cage to try to make sure three is a guarantee of some water available to them even if one bottle fails.

 

[AimeeOx]

I'm so sorry for your loss - how awful for you. Sadly the heat is so dangerous for piggies. I've put cold damp tea towels on the floor of the cage, and one in their hidey in the run. They both love to sit on it. They also have ice packs (wrapped in tea towels) and regular chunks of cucumber. Mine stopped drinking until last night, this morning I was relieved to see they had almost emptied two bottles.

Luckily they are in the sitting room at the back of the house, out of the sunlight, and we have a fan running all day for the dog which the pigs love!

Oddly my short haired boar has been struggling more than my long haired!

 

[Elisabeth]

I have been freezing bottles of water and putting them in their cages and wetting their veggies. Sorry for your loss xx

 

[rome_italy]

so sorry for this bad loss... But are you sure it happened for the heat?
anyway, in Italy we always have such temperature for the whole summer and not everyone has air conditioned at home (and most people seem to prefer living in hot and not in cool temperatures!), anyway rabbits and roditors live here as well and I have never heard about any trouble with the heat stroke. Here vets suggest the usual things, such as iced bottles into the cage, wet vegs/grass and also to keep their ears wet (especially in rabbits) and to keep also the external part of their fur a bit wet. Nobody here cuts the long hair of rabbits/piggies/cats. And I am talking of 30-35°C from June to September...Maybe the only difference is the fact we have tiles and not carpet floor, all the pets live indoor and they often lay down on cool tiles.
Maybe there is another fact: you had such hot weather suddendly, here it is different.
Try to spray their fur with some water. We do that also on newborns heads.

 

[Tiamolly123]

I am so so sorry for your loss, it's not anything you did, you could have 2 fans in a room & water & it still happens. Like VickiA does give them syringe water, wet veggies, melon cucumber. Freeze ice blocks cover them with 2 layers of fleece. All these tips above are brilliant.
Sleep tight little one,
Go free over the rainbow bridge