How is your hamster coping with the heat?

EnerHam · 07-23-2018, 10:54 AM

I'm melting. Wallace has decided laying in a tunnel is more appealing than playing during his out of cage time. The highest temp yet for my area, 31 degrees, is going to happen this Thursday. There is no room in my house cooler than 24 degrees. How are you and your hamsters coping with the heat?

P.S. Send help. And ice cubes.

cherubble · 07-23-2018, 11:22 AM

Yeah it’s a struggle! I have a granite slab (I think they’re actually for chinchillas) that’s cold and most my hamsters (except my current one) liked to sit on it when it was really hot.

Coco61 · 07-23-2018, 12:24 PM

Snap Enerham! Maestro is sensibly staying in his nest a lot. Today all windows were closed and curtains drawn until 6pm as the temp about equalised. Empty plastic bottles, filled with water and frozen are rotated on top of the cage but lay on a tea towel to catch the drips.
A little fan on a chair sits behind another frozen block blowing cooler air gently towards the cage. I have 2 granite house roof slabs and I rotate them with one in the fridge.
Finally increase veggies a bit to increase his water intake.
I don't need to use a cooled mug on its side though others do.

Thin Lizzy · 07-23-2018, 08:02 PM

I really feel for you guys, as it's a lot cooler in Scotland. I know it's to be extremely hot where you are over the next few days.
The hottest we had it was 30 degrees. Master Harvey had a cool area in his cage which he would come out to cool down at certain times of the day, he also used his ceramic flowerpot which I chilled in cold water. I also increased his veggie intake so he was keeping himself hydrated. I also gave him small amounts of romaine lettuce, spinach leafs and baby chard - I would spray them with a mist of water.
I'm so proud of him, how he coped and his routine. I also had 2 tower fans with different settings.

CookieBlossomBella · 07-24-2018, 03:05 AM

Bella is HATING this heat so much it has driven her to bar chewing. She is known as a diva and any form of cooling down i offer her she just sticks her nose up to. Poor thing!

I don't think it is affecting Flan too much. She uses her frozen mug well and i have not noticed any change in her behaviour.

Pebbles82 · 07-24-2018, 08:25 AM

Doing ok here. But we're in the northeast. Although it's been very hot outside it seems cool in our house which is old. Newt has not shown any signs at all and even still piles Fitch round his house as if it's cold! I did put an extra ceramic pot in his house just in case.

Nugget seemed affected one night when it was a very hot day and bar chewed but seems ok again now. Both have granite slabs and terracotta dishes in their cage for coolness and some ceramic items.

I think it sounds much worse in the south.

CookieBlossomBella · 07-24-2018, 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

Doing ok here. But we're in the northeast. Although it's been very hot outside it seems cool in our house which is old. Newt has not shown any signs at all and even still piles Fitch round his house as if it's cold! I did put an extra ceramic pot in his house just in case.

Nugget seemed affected one night when it was a very hot day and bar chewed but seems ok again now. Both have granite slabs and terracotta dishes in their cage for coolness and some ceramic items.

I think it sounds much worse in the south.

^^ Yes, it is quite bad in the south

flowerfairy · 07-24-2018, 10:47 AM

Two of mine sleep near the surface of their bedding and one goes into her nest as usual.

Shadow Cat · 07-25-2018, 03:59 AM

My little guy just seems to be sleeping a lot. I don’t like to wake him up at all but it gets to 11pm and I want to go to sleep so I have to take the lid off his bin cage to feed him and he reluctantly crawls out. He’s spending a lot of time in his coconut hide which I didn’t think he ever used, but it has very little bedding in I like his house where he builds his nest so it must be cooler for him. He has a ceramic mug in the cage which stays cooler, he sits in there sometimes.

EnerHam · 07-25-2018, 04:00 AM

Wallace has a couple of ceramic tiles in his cage. I don't think he's ever sat on them lol. He prefers to sit in a wicker tunnel and stare at me like the heat is my fault...

Has anyone else's hamster moved their nest around about a thousand times since this started? Wallace is currently in a house on a platform.

Anyone in the north fancy adopting a grumpy hamster and sweaty human until this ends?