Hot Weather and Small Animals

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

It looks like the forecast is for some hot weather .
And though the message about Dogs Die In Hot Cars / Don't Walk Your Dog in the Heat are well known , small fur covered rodents and lagamorphs are at high risk too .

There will be new pet owners this year who have never had a summer with a vunerable dependant animal so if this can help then great . Also if it's egg sucking tips for your granny then great .
But if it saves just one furry creature ......

Indoors or Outdoors . But especially outdoors where you cannot keep an eye on them 24/7

Wood and plastic are insulators so they warm up and hold heat
If they're in full sun they cannot escape the glare
Guinea-pigs especially like to hide in hay or boxes which insulates them further (I love them but they aren't the brightest )
They need constant fresh water , maybe add an extra bottle .
Be aware too much salady food can make them loose . But things like cucumber , a bit of watermelon (and skin) , rinse a few leaves in water to give them extra moisture
Keep an eye on their bottoms - a loose pooh dirty bottom is a magnetic for flies (Flystrike is a grim and often fatal condition)

Prevention of heatstroke
Shade
Freeze a 2 litre plastic bottle of water , wrap in newspaper and place in the accomodation
Extra cage/hutch clean
A ceramic floor tile to sit on , nice and cool

We used to give them eating hay in a few toilet roll tubes or solid hay cookies , and less bedding . Shredded paper , fleece .

If they go out and it gets realy warm , a big towel wrung out (damp not dripping ) will create a cool breeze .
I had a couple of fitted sheets which made good run shades

Our guineas went out after the hottest part of day (their PigShed was lovely and cool in the shade of a tree) so they were cool in the day time

They loved prancing about after dusk........but so do foxes .

We had Fort Knox metal runs pegged down but you do need to check regularly for things digging in (they want to feed their young )
Guinea pigs don't dig but rabbits certainly can.

If you do get a heatstroked animal - pancaked flat , rapid breathing and lethargic - get them in a damp towel and off to the vet as an emergency

Check the lawn for those pesky weeds that are poisonous . Buttercups , daisies , .

And if I had a £ for everyone who said "Guinea-Pigs come from Peru , they can cope with -20c or 40c " I'd be mailing this from my villa in the Seychelles !
They are domestic so 'lose' a lot of their ancestors skills

Enjoy the sun and let them enjoy it too in safety .

If they go out and it gets realy warm , a big towel wrung out (damp not dripping ) will create a cool breeze

Pegged onto the top of the run...

Think of the furries

Thanks I have 2 bunnies that lie low all day while it’s hot, one in a Hop Inn and another in a shady corner somewhere in their run. I’m finding that they aren’t eating as much in the day time, so we have changed their timings somewhat, instead of being let out in the garden to graze at 5-6pm and then dinner, it’s moved to 7.30-8.30pm when it’s more shady and they are more energetic. I’ve tried the iced water bottles but that didn’t work at all.

Guinea pigs are rarely energetic but ours used to be little pains in the bum when we were trying to catch them at night !

They were suspicious of the water freezers..but then busied themselves shredding the newspaper

I have rats and we always give them frozen peas or frozen watermelon to nibble on when it's hot!

Guineas mustn’t have food that has been frozen, but all @70isaLimitNotaTarget’s ideas are great, thank you as not everyone realises how hot it can get in hutches. Lots of new pet owners this summer 😊

These are great tips Thankyou.
Another crucial one is physically lift the animal and check their bottom at the end of the day before they are put away for the night. Fly strike happens fast and if caught early can save a lot of misery. If they have a dirty bottom it will attract flies and at some point they will get flystrike.
One of mine had it, and had to have surgery, skin peeled back and cleaned ,maggots had eaten from bottom right up their back it’s so fast. Long haired breeds are more at risk as poo is more likely to stick to fur.
Our guinea pigs have been eating dandelions drenched in cold water and cucumber.
We have the sprinkler on the lawn and they enjoy the mist from that. We filled a new litter tray with water and left it in run. They ignored it at first but then we found all 3 boys sat in it cooling off 😂
We have 4 small dogs but fox comes to our garden in the evening to be fed and sometimes brings Cubs so we have to be really careful. She so far ignores guinea pigs as she patiently waits for her dish putting out.
Guinea pigs are in a fox proof chicken coop/ run and are very vocal if a cats comes over to peek at them 😂

Long haired breeds are more at risk as poo is more likely to stick to fur

Add to that poorly , elderly or overweight animals that might have trouble grooming , prone to loose pooh and sitting long periods inactive .

My piggies have been drinking a lot more over the last couple of days. It's their first summer so I don't know what they think of the heat. I've had fans on for them and have taken their tunnels off them for a bit as they snuggle up and feel like hot water bottles. They do spend most of their time indoors though as we don't have a proper outside area, so I've been taking them to sit outside for some fresh air when it's cooler.

Thank you for this - first time piggie owner and I didn’t know daisies were poisonous:( Their outside run is nice and shady but will see if we can get them a piggie paddling pool for cooling off!

My rats aren't outside but I made them a vegetable frozen lolly to cool them down a bit

Hi Dazzle I reckoned there'd be a lot of new piggie owners around .
I've never kept rabbits , I know they have their own requirements but guinea-pigs are a different kind of looking after . Seriously you need to protect the little varmints from everything

A well fed adult will likely ignore anything poisonous but you cannot be sure . If there was a patch I couldn't avoid then a folded towel on the weed or a solid floor hidey house .
Another consideration is don't let them stuff themselves with fresh grass too quickly . If they gorge they can get bloat .(Gas build up )
Start with a 30 minute graze then build up time .
They cannot vomit so what goes into their mouths goes through them.

Anxious I'm a bit jealous of rats , they're a good size but clever and agile compared to guinea pigs .
Though I did like the guinea-pigs being floor level and just a bit dense

There's a gorgeous YouTube video of rats eating a boiled egg and the noises they make