# Ice Cube in Water?



## Sky Halcyon (Sep 18, 2010)

So it's _really_ hot over here in Boston, and I'm sitting here in front of my nice cool fan, but I'm worried Pepper might be getting too hot. Right now her thermometer says the cage temp is 84, which is _without_ the CHE. I don't really know how hot is too hot for a hedgehog, but I'm trying to think of ways she could cool down. I know a fan isn't good because they shouldn't be drafty, and I don't have my AC installed yet (Don't worry; a window far away from Pepper, so it'll cool the air without blowing directly on her, and her CHE will keep her from getting too cold.) so I'm sort of at a loss. I was thinking of putting an ice cube in her water dish along with her water to keep it cold and maybe she could lick it if she was really hot. Would that be okay? Or would it give her a brain freeze and kill her or something? Any other suggestions for how to keep her cool. (I din't know if this is the right forum for this but... it's sort of food related, right?)


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

I wouldn't bother with an ice cube. I leave a ceiling fan running in my hedgehog's room year round. Last summer our AC was out and the replacement part was a 8 week back order. This happened during the hottest part of the summer. I turned the ceiling fan up and the hedgehogs did just fine. Temperature in the room did get to 80-82 daily. Nothing really changed for them. They continued to be active. They mostly slept during the hottest part of the day, but that is what they do during the day time anyway.

Signs to watch for, they will start to lay sprawled out in a splat position when hot. They also will get damp feeling tummies. Watch to ensure she is drinking plenty, and is still eating and weight is maintaining. 

To help with the heat, open your windows when the temp outside is lower than inside, and close them when the temp outside is even or higher. Keep your blinds pulled and pointed to reflect the light outward. This will help keep the heat outside. I'd keep a fan blowing to keep the air circulating. I wouldn't blow it at her cage though.


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## kiania (Mar 15, 2011)

You might like to offer a cool spot in the cage. I'd either use a slate/ceramic tile, or one of the ice pods wrapped in a fleece (not sure if you get them in the US, but they are like snugsafes you put in the freezer for a couple of ours, bought mine from Pets at Home, which is basically Petsmart). If no ice pods, could try those freezer packs that are identical in theory, that you put in your cool box. Either of these, I'd definitely put in a pouch (thin, but there), so it is a light cooling, and to keep the condensation in.

That way, if hedgie does get hot, there is a cool patch to lie against. Tiles are great for the splatting affect - we use them with all sorts of animals, and I know hedgies over here tend to dig under liners to splat against the plastic cage bottom...this solves the digging part if they have something cool to flop on.


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