# Heat Wave



## knitfreak (Jul 17, 2009)

It is ridiculously hot right now in Massachusetts. I don't have an air conditioner because the windows in my apartment are the originals from the 30's and I can't get it to work no matter what I do. I have fans, and a "chinchiller" stone, but the temp gauge still shows 93 degrees F!!! Insanity! Any ideas on what else I can do for a quick fix on this? This is as hot as it's been in here, I have never seen it go above 88 on the hottest days, but this - this is hot! 

Winston doesn't seem to be that bothered, he's sleeping and seems fine. Everything is normal, poo, eating, exercise, etc, but with how dangerous everyone says heat is I am worried. Any suggestions?


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

It's super hot here too and it was such a cool summer up until last week that we never bothered to get our central air conditioning fixed. Thankfully, the hedgies have their own air conditioner.

Apartments can be terribly hot especially if they only have windows facing one direction. What you want to do is keep windows and blinds closed on south, east and west walls. Once the sun has gone down, then open the windows and let the cooler air in. 

Think of them like you. Yes, you are really hot so you limit activity and lots of fresh cool water. Floor level is cooler and an inside wall is usually cooler than being near a south or west facing wall.


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## FiaSpice (Jan 16, 2009)

I have a question regarding heat but don't want to start another thread. How hot is too hot? Yesterday I've seen Litchi's cage temp climbing up to 27C (80F). I have a fan but my A/C is in my room so the cold doesn't really go to the living room. I have plenty of water and plan to freeze bottle to put in her cage. So far she seems pretty ok.


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## knitfreak (Jul 17, 2009)

Thanks for the tips! He is on a east-ish facing wall, it does not ever get "direct" sunlight. The other side of the apartment is the bright one, so he is as far away as possible from that side. I have been obsessed with his water, he has a dish and a bottle just to be sure. I will try closing the blinds, hopefully I can do that and still keep the windows open for the breeze. The little bit of air circulating is the only thing keeping me from filling up the bathrub with ice :lol:


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## gyaku (Jul 9, 2009)

Yeah, I am gonna get a mini air conditioner of Sonic, once I find one that isn't 16"x12", something a bit smaller to put into his new house that I am building if it goes according to plan he should have two fully inclosed layers.
Sonic currently sleeps in my room, and during the hot days gets the ceiling fans, he only had one day that he didn't like the heat, so I put in a bowl of water, when I got home I found his blanket all soaked...


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## knitfreak (Jul 17, 2009)

I just had a thought - should I put an ice pack on the roof of his house? If cool air falls down that might make him a bit more comfy. Only thing is I won't be able to track the temp of such a small area, but it might help him out a bit. Thoughts?


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

Ice pack on top of his cage, but not his house. You can't totally control how cold it can get, and you might end up giving him a chill. And move the thermometer probe near that area, just so you know. Just keep closely monitoring the temperature. 

Also, a plain old stone tile in the cage can help, so he can chose to splat out on that if he chooses to. 

Ceiling fans aren't that great, because heat rises, and the ceiling fans will push that hot air back down.


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## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

I think the last few days quigley's cage has been between 83 and 85. I started changing Quigley's water twice a day, at night and in the morning and I change his food at those times too even though he doesn't really eat it during the day. 

For my mouse I put an ice cube in her food dish and she chews it a bit and lays next to it if she is too hot. I'm not sure if that is ok to do for hedgehogs. Like putting a hot water bottle in when it's cool out but a cold water bottle. If that makes any sense.


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## hedgewawa (Apr 25, 2009)

All my pets (two chihuahuas and two hedgies) are home in the a.c. today. It is over 90 degrees F. in NY City area. I have it set so it stays at about 78 degrees F. When I don't have the a.c. on the hottest that the temp reads on the hedgie cages is 84 degrees F. If it gets near that, especially if it is humid, I put the a.c. on for everyone including myself. So far the hedgehogs seem fine with this set up. The total temp range is about 78 to 84 degrees. I also make sure that the a.c. does not blow on the hedgies. I have an overhead fan that seems fine for them so far and I bought an oil filled heater with a thermostat for the winter.


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## gyaku (Jul 9, 2009)

Well every large air conditioning unit blow up the fuse box for my room, plus, Sonic is ok, in his house, and well he has figured his own unique way of keeping cool... He is on smart hedgehog.


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## Bengall77 (Aug 1, 2009)

I'd have to disagree and say that ceiling fans are wonderful tools to help cool your house. As someone who has lived in the south my whole life (Texas, Georgia, and Florida) I've spent more time in 80+ weather than not. Currently with this heat wave the outside temp. gets anywhere between 90 and 100 F. Ceiling fans definitely help cool a room, especially if you can't afford to crank down the AC, or live somewhere that doesn't usually necessitate central cooling. I'm not sure if hedgehogs sweat (it seems unlikely) or if they cool themselves by expending heat through their mouth and their feet like dogs (seems more likely). I'd suggest what others have mentioned and offer your hediges a cube of ice in a separate dish that they can lick and gnaw on and keep replacing tepid water as needed. If you think they are overheating or see signs of decreased activity you could try placing them in a dish of very shallow cool water and give them a foot bath to try to bring their temp down. We used to do this with our dogs to help cool them down on very hot summer days and it seemed to help them much more than drinking cool water alone.


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## Free2Dream (Aug 10, 2009)

This heat is ridiculous! I'm in NY, so I can totally sympathize with you on the temperature. Fortunately, I keep Annabelle's cage in a shady corner of my bedroom, with a fan going that keeps the temp at roughly 78/80 degrees. She seems happy at that temperature - she sleeps all day as usual and is eating and drinking normally. Offering an ice cube sounds like a good idea for those obscenely hot days.


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## soprano (Sep 10, 2008)

I agree that ceiling fans really do help you feel cooler.

Another trick for keeping a small spot cool is to set out a pan of ice, and place a box fan behind it so that the breeze from the fan flows across the ice and then across you. I would only use this for a hedgie with extremely close supervision and a thermometer, because it could get too cold. However, it is nice for humans!

Here in central Texas it's been 100 degrees or more almost every day since early June. I like hot weather a lot, but even I'm ready for a break. We keep the AC set at 80, otherwise our electric bill would be $500! Although my house is currently hedgehog-less (just two weeks to go before we get our new baby!) in the past we never had a problem. Our last hedgehog liked to sleep under his liner, in contact with the bare plastic cage bottom, and I always figured that he was keeping cool his own way. I think that I might look into these chinchilla tiles for our new cage set-up, though.


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## knitfreak (Jul 17, 2009)

Yeah, the tiles do feel "cooler" to the touch, but in this weather that might only be a few degrees :lol:

You can put them in the fridge for chinchillas and switch them out every couple hours if you have more than one, but I am not sure if I like that idea for hedgies. Maybe they would get too cold? I wonder how cold a tile would stay in this heat anyways, maybe I will test it. If it's only "cool" for 45 minutes or so, I can't imagine it would hurt the hedgie. I had fully frozen chicken breasts that thawed on my counter in 2 hours, so I can't imagine a slightly chilled stone tile staying cold for long!


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