Keeping a hamster warm without electricity

ThePipsqueakery · 01-06-2014, 11:09 AM

So far we have been lucky not to lose power despite some bad snow storms but last night we were talking about what we would do if we lost power to keep the hamsters warm and we don't really have a lot of great ideas. We're dealing with 19 hamsters and 2 mice here so just sticking them in pockets to keep them warm isn't really enough.

What plans have you made to keep your hamsters warm in case of power outage?

**DrKMcK** · 01-06-2014, 11:19 AM

I've never had to worry about losing power as most of the power lines here in Brooklyn, NY. are underground. Even if the heater breaks I have a portable space heater for the furries. I suppose if the worst happened, and a power station had an outage, I'd cover the cages with blankets, warm up some water bottles in the gas oven and put them around the cages and heap up lots of Boxo for them all. For myself, I'd put the oven on. Might as well bake a cake or make a roast

. Hopefully, none of this will be needed! Especially as it's expected to go down to about 10 degrees overnight!

Sanctuary · 01-06-2014, 11:22 AM

I have started packing thier houses/nests with hay, this is an amazing way to keep animals warm. I also give them LOADS of soft bedding or tissue paper to line their nests with. Keep giving more soft bedding tissue every few days as they will trample it down sleeping on it so will need more to fluff it back up

Keep cages/tanks away from windows where cold air comes in and heat escapes (even closed windows.) Keep doors closed to try to eliminate drafts.

If I think of any more I will post

xx

ThePipsqueakery · 01-06-2014, 11:26 AM

Yeah, we keep them in the basement because the temperature stays the most constant down here. Everything is electric so no option for gas heating. If power does go out here it will probably be out for a couple of days so even though they have tons of bedding and would put blankets over their cages I feel like that wouldn't be enough. I can't figure out a good heat source that wouldn't rely on electricity here though.

**DrKMcK** · 01-06-2014, 11:34 AM

How about a gas powered generator Xelay? They have come down in price over the years and one that would be just for the hammies might be something to consider. You would use it just to power a small space heater in the room with the hammies.

Sanctuary · 01-06-2014, 11:35 AM

There are none electric space heaters you can buy.
Maybe worth investing in one xx

ChocolateCream81 · 01-06-2014, 11:38 AM

If i were you, I would fill up lots of flasks with boiling water, and have hot water bottles on hand. You can also buy heaters that run on batteries. Close all the doors in the house and concentrate on heating up one room, maybe you could bring all the hams(and mice

) into the sitting room and heat that room only. Fingers crossed you won't need it? Is the snow bad over there? We are relatively lucky as all we have is rainstorms!!

Pilgrim77 · 01-06-2014, 11:42 AM

You could put some sort of fleece/blanket underneath their cage for a little extra insulation. Also, if you have any rubber gloves about, those medical ones (maybe not the sort of thing you find lying about in the house) you can fill it with hot water (not too warm) and put some bedding over it. A vet did this for one of mine last week to keep him warm after an op and it seemed to work well.

Colby and the Dwarfs · 01-06-2014, 12:55 PM

We are going put hamster cages next to the fireplace. Currently I can't leave the house because of the weather. It's almost a blizzard.

ThePipsqueakery · 01-06-2014, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChocolateCream81

If i were you, I would fill up lots of flasks with boiling water, and have hot water bottles on hand. You can also buy heaters that run on batteries. Close all the doors in the house and concentrate on heating up one room, maybe you could bring all the hams(and mice

) into the sitting room and heat that room only. Fingers crossed you won't need it? Is the snow bad over there? We are relatively lucky as all we have is rainstorms!!

Well if we lose electricity then we will have no way to heat water. Water heater is electric, stove is electric, microwave is clearly electric, definitely no place for a fire. They are all in one room now (our basement) so we would be alright probably for at least 12 hours but with temperatures in the negatives (fahrenheit) the heat wouldn't stay trapped long. A battery powered heater is probably just the thing we need, I'll have to investigate so that we will have one on hand for next time. A gas generator isn't really an option in an enclosed basement as it wouldn't be very safe plus we have almost no room at all in our apartment for storing something like that.

The snow isn't too bad where I am but most of my state got a couple of feet of snow dumped on them yesterday. We only got about 6-8 inches but a lot of freezing rain so everything is ice here.