How to Keep Chinchillas Cool in Hot Weather:Â Especially during the months of summer season, it may leave us wondering Do Chinchillas enjoy the hot summer weather or suffer during those scorching summer days? Also, How to keep your Chinchillas cool in summer? When the weather outside is hot and sticky, the last thing you want is for your chinchilla to be uncomfortable. Here are some tips on how to keep your chinchilla cool in hot weather!
So, now that you know how much is too hot for your Chinchillas, the next thing to look into is whether you want to keep them inside or outside? Although it is recommended to house them inside if the temperature in your area goes above 25°C. However, You can accommodate them both inside and outside by taking some precautions. Let us look at the measures to Keep Chinchillas Cool in Hot Weather and Hot Summer.
How to Keep Chinchillas Cool in Hot Weather
Chinchillas enjoy a moderate and stable environment to live in. If the temperature outside is under 25°C, then there is no need to worry. However, if it goes anything above that, then you might need to take additional measures to keep Chinchilla safe. The proposals include moving them to a cool spot, providing shade, hydration, and helping them cool down.
Keeping your Chinchilla cool in summer is extremely important as they are prone to heatstroke. Chinchillas don’t sweat like humans, and thus, they maintain Chinchilla body temperature through blood flow from their ear, which is not as efficient as other animals. So, we need to ensure that we maintain an adequate living environment for them. So, you might be wondering How to Keep Chinchillas Cool in Hot Weather right? let’s have a complete at look the below paragraphs.
How to keep chinchillas cool in the summer?
As the temperatures start to rise, it’s important to make sure your chinchilla stays cool. Here are a few ways to help keep your chinchilla comfortable in hot weather:
1. Provide plenty of fresh water. Dehydration is one of the biggest dangers to chinchillas in hot weather, so make sure they always have access to clean water.
2. Create a cool retreat. Set up a spot in your home where your chinchilla can go to escape the heat. This could be a covered cage with a cooler inside, or even just a room with air conditioning.
3. Offer frozen fruits and vegetables. Chinchillas love frozen treats, and they can help keep your chinchilla cool at the same time. Just be sure to offer them in moderation, as too much sugar can cause health problems.
4. Avoid excessive exercise. In hot weather, it’s best to avoid strenuous activity as it can lead to overheating. Instead, let your chinchilla out for short periods of time to explore and play.
By following these tips, you can help ensure your chinchilla stays cool and comfortable all summer long!
Refresh and Refill the Chinchilla water bottles:
How to Keep Chinchillas Cool in Hot Weather Using Water Bottles: Chinchilla a lot of water during the summer heat. In general, a Chinchilla can drink anywhere between 60ml to 200ml of water daily. However, chinchillas tend to drink a little more during the summer season, so make sure you check the water regularly and top it up with fresh cold water. Chinchillas don’t drink warm water, so supplying or changing the water every few hours will encourage them to drink more, and thus, they will remain hydrated and cool. However, avoid water that is too cold as it can be bad for chinchillas health and they also don’t enjoy that as much.
Feeding Chinchillas watery vegetables and leafy greens:
How to Keep Chinchillas Cool in Hot Weather with Feed:Â Feeding watery veggies can keep up their body hydration but you would know that fruits or veggies with excessive sugars can cause diarrhea in chinchillas. Also, make sure you remove any uneaten veggies within a few hours itself as uneaten food can attract a lot of flies and bacteria towards them.
Regular brushing and Hair trimming:
How to Keep Chinchillas Cool in Hot Weather by Hair Trimming:Â Trimming the hair of long-haired Chinchilla is exceptionally efficient as it helps them cool down a little bit. Regular brushing your Chinchilla breed is also essential as it helps in removing knots in the hair. Chinchillas do shed a bit more as summer arrives to lose out excess hair from their coat. Thus, brushing them also helps to remove the excess hair stuck in the coat.
Using Spray Bottles:
How to Keep Chinchillas Cool in Hot Weather with Spray Bottles:Â If your Chinchilla enjoy a gentle mist spray, then give them one. Misting cold water helps in lowering the temperature of their body and is often an excellent way to keep them fresh on a hot summer day.
Cover the Chinchilla Cage with Wet Towel
How to Keep Chinchillas Cool in Hot Weather with Wet Towel:Â Covering the cage of your Chinchilla with a cold, damp towel often helps to remove excess heat from the cage and also serves as an extra layer of insulation for the pen.
You can also turn on a fan towards the wet towel, which will blow mild cold air inside the cage. There are a few things you need to keep an eye on if you are doing so. The first thing is making sure you cover only a part of the cage to allow for enough air exchange. The second thing to note is to make sure you don’t cover the cage entirely with a wet towel as dripping water can soak your Chinchillas, which can make them sick.
Use DIY Ice Cushion
How to Keep Chinchillas Cool in Hot Weather with Cushion: Hidey ice cushions are an excellent addition for summers in the cage. However, there is no good one available out there, so you might need to DIY the whole thing. It’s quite simple, though. Measure the hidey first then cut a piece of fleece(alternatively use old pillow cover) of the same size of the hidey in the form of two circles.
Then sew both the circle halfway through and then put the icepacks and cotton stuffing inside. Now you can sew the other half of the circle and place the same in the freezer until it’s cold enough for your Chinchillas. You can then put the cushions into their cage whenever you have hot weather outside.
Add some hiding spots in the Chinchilla cage:
How to Keep Chinchillas Cool in Hot Weather with Hiding Spots:Â Consider adding some hiding spots in the cage where Chinchillas can rest and escape from the heat as well. You can use a fleece or cardboard boxes or a wooden hideout for them. Avoid plastic shelters during summer as they can radiate heat; thus, they heat up quickly.
Place a tile/brick in the Chinchilla cage:
How to Keep Chinchillas Cool in Hot Weather with Tile/ Brick:Â Placing a ceramic or porcelain tile in the cage of your Chinchilla can be an excellent trick to give a try. These tiles are always cool to touch, no matter how the weather is. Chinchilla love to lie down on these tiles whenever they feel overheated. Make sure the tile has no sharp edges and is placed securely to avoid any hazards.
Add a self-cooling mat:
How to Keep Chinchillas Cool in Hot Weather with Cooling Mat:Â Adding a self-cooling mat into the cage is a luxury for your Chinchilla. If the temperature in your area gets hot during summer, then you should consider adding one into their enclosure. Just like tiles, self-cooling mats are an excellent way to cool down the body temperature and get instant relief from the heat.
Your Chinchilla will love to lie around these cool mats during those hot summer days.
Consider moving the Chinchilla Cage:
How to Keep Chinchillas Cool in Hot Weather Moving Cage:Â If you live in a home with lots of windows and drafts, then you should consider moving your Chinchillas to the central part of the house. Usually, the room at the center gets the least amount of direct sunlight and direct radiated heat through walls.
Thus, it remains quite cooler than in other parts of your house. Moving your Chinchillas cage to the center is an excellent way to maintain a cool living environment for them.
Cover the windows:
How to Keep Chinchillas Cool in Hot Weather with Windows Cover Tip:Â It is no brainer that closing all the windows and doors, and drawing curtains over them will help to keep the room cool when the temperature outside is scorching and humid. You can also you dark out curtains to prevent radiating heat, thus keeping the room cool. Closing the windows and doors also avoid waves of heat from entering our home, which is crucial during hot summer days.
Use fan or air conditioner in Chinchilla Enclosure:
How to Keep Chinchillas Cool in Hot Weather with Air Conditioner: Using a fan to create a flow of air can help to keep your Chinchillas cool. However, make sure the fan doesn’t blow directly on them. In extreme heat conditions, you can also use an air conditioner to cool down your house or a room where you house your Chinchillas.
Add Icepacks/Gel packs in the Chinchilla cage:
How to Keep Chinchillas Cool in Hot Weather with Icepacks: Icepacks or Gel packs also work great when placed in a Chinchilla cage. Just make sure you wrap it securely with a pillow cover or old socks so that your Chinchilla can’t chew on them. Your Chinchillas love to lie around the packs as cold air makes the surrounding cage area cool.
How to Keep Chinchillas Cool in Hot Weather?
Chinchillas are native to the cool, dry climates of the Andes Mountains in South America. They are not well-suited to hot, humid weather and can become sick if they get too warm. Let us have a look at the measures, How to Keep Chinchillas Cool in Hot Weather.
- Move your chinchilla’s cage to a cool, shady spot outdoors.
- Provide your chinchilla with a frozen bottle of water to lie against.
- Mist your chinchilla with cool water on hot days.
- Never put your chinchilla’s cage in direct sunlight.
- Consider buying a cooling pad or mat for your chinchilla’s cage
Consider moving them indoors:
How to Keep Chinchillas Cool in Hot Weather by Moving Them To Indoors:Â If the heat waves in your area get intense, then you might need to consider moving your Chinchillas indoors. The temperature inside your home is definitely going to be quite lower as compared to outside. Thus, it is no brainer that moving your Chinchilla inside in those hot summer days can be a wise decision to make.
However, make sure you don’t keep your Chinchillas in the kitchen or laundry rooms. Chinchillas are sensitive to smell and noise; thus, the smell from the kitchen and sounds from the washer-dryer can be hazardous for their health. You can use a Midwest cage or any Playpen to house your Chinchilla inside for a few days.
Keep away from patios and open lawns:
How to Keep Chinchillas Cool in Hot Weather Changing Habitat:Â Keep the Habitat away from patios and open lawn during the summer season. Patios often trap and radiate heat around their enclosure, which can make the temperature around it to rise significantly.
Open gardens are no exception as the direct sunlight all around the day can make the surrounding temperature significantly high. Thus, housing your Chinchillas around such places is the wrong decision to make. At all costs, keep your Chinchillas enclosure away from open lawns and patios.
Move the hutch into shady areas:
How to Keep Chinchillas Cool in Hot Weather by Changing Habitat Location: If possible, move your Chinchilla in a north or east-facing garden spots as these areas don’t get sun throughout the day. If you don’t have much space in your home, consider moving their habitat under a shade of a tree. A parasol can also work for you if you don’t have any other options available. you can keep Chinchillas Cool in Hot Weather.
The key takeaway is to move their hutch into a shady location where the hot breeze and sun cannot reach it directly if you can’t move them into a safe spot it is recommended to house them inside your home temporarily.
Avoid uninsulated sheds or garage:
How to Keep Chinchillas Cool in Hot Weather with Insulation:Â Housing your Chinchilla in an uninsulated shed or garage can be even more hazardous then keeping them outside. Often the heat level can rise twice as high inside such shed than out. Pair it with a high humidity level, and it is more like a death trap for your Chinchillas.
So, you must be cautious to avoid housing your Chinchillas in such places during hot summer days. Also, make sure you never house your Chinchillas inside a poorly ventilated shed as good airflow is a must for them.
Use Wet Clothes:
How to Keep Chinchillas Cool in Hot Weather using Wet Clothes:Â Partially covering your front portion of the hutch with a damp towel or any other cloth can help in keeping the hutch cool from inside. The air that blows from the front side will get colder as it comes in contact with a damp towel, and that will make the hutch cool from inside. It also adds an extra layer of insulation in the hutch, which is excellent to keep the temperature low.
Provide more than one source of water:
How to Keep Chinchillas Cool in Hot Weather using Water:Â Providing multiple sources of water is essential during the hot summer months. Chinchillas tend to drink more water during hot weather. Also, hot weather can make the water warm, which your Chinchillas might not drink and end up getting dehydrated.
Thus, having multiple sources of water is essential to ensure your Chinchillas remain hydrated in summer.
If you house more than one Chinchilla in the cage, then it is also crucial to have more than one water bottle. Some Chinchillas can get territorial, and they don’t want to share their food and water. In such cases having multiple foods and water dishes help a lot.
Provide icepacks:
Throwing some icepacks into your Chinchillas hutch is always an excellent way to keep your Chinchillas cool. If the weather gets too hot, you can consider throwing some icepacks securely wrapped in fleece, old socks, or even pillow cover into the cage. Your Chinchillas will love to lie around the packs as the surrounding area gets a little cold due to icepacks.
Wiping or misting your Chinchillas:
Misting your Chinchillas or wiping them with a cold water towel can help cool their body temperature a lot. Make sure you do it gently, and your Chinchillas are comfortable with it. While some Chinchillas enjoy a cold mist bath, others don’t. However, it is an excellent way to cool down their body temperature if it is scorching outside.
Provide watery vegetables:
Water vegetables like cucumber, melons, etc. are a great addition to your Chinchillas diet. They not only provide your Chinchillas with essential nutrients but also helps in keeping them hydrated. However, make sure you don’t get carried away and serve too much of it as overfeeding often leads to digestive issues in Chinchillas.
Use a thermometer in the hutch:
Adding a smart thermometer or even a normal one can in the cage helps you closely monitor the temperature around the cage.
If you find the temperature to be abnormally high, then you might take some steps to bring it back to normal. Make sure the temperature stays between 18 and 24 °C, as it is the ideal temperature range for your Chinchillas.
Avoid frozen treats:
Many people are often tempted to offer frozen treats in the form of vegetables and fruits to their Chinchillas. However, it is not a wise move to do so. Some Chinchillas hurt their lips and tongue, trying to nibble at those treats. Frozen treats also cause digestive issues in Chinchillas, so it is best to avoid it.
Changing the bedding frequently:
It is essential to frequently change the bedding of your Chinchillas during the summer season because the risk of flystrike is very high during this time. Moist and soiled bedding can be a breeding zone for flies to lay their eggs. Also, ill and elderly Chinchillas are at high risks as they cannot clean their genital areas, which attracts more flies to lay their eggs.
The maggots that come out from those eggs often start feeding the exposed flesh of your Chinchilla and in most cases, can claim your Chinchillas life if vet treatment is not provided immediately. Thus, changing the bedding frequently can be a lifesaver in those summer months.
FAQ’s:
What is the ideal temperature for a chinchilla?
Chinchillas are originally from the high elevations of the Andes Mountains in South America. Therefore, they are used to cooler temperatures and do not tolerate heat very well. The ideal temperature for a chinchilla is between 68-72 degrees Fahrenheit. However, they can withstand temperatures up to 80 degrees for short periods of time. If the temperature gets any higher than that, they will start to experience heat stress which can be fatal.
How to tell if your chinchilla is too hot
If your chinchilla is panting or has its tongue out, it is too hot. Take your chinchilla to a cooler area immediately and provide it with water to drink. If your chinchilla is hot but not panting or showing other signs of distress, you can try to cool it down gradually by moving it to a cooler area and giving it a cool mist bath.
What to do if your chinchilla gets too hot
If your chinchilla gets too hot, there are a few things you can do to help them stay cool:
- Move them to a cooler location: If the temperature in their current environment is too warm for them, try moving them to a room that is cooler or even placing them in the refrigerator for a short period of time.
- Give them a cool bath: Fill a sink or tub with cool water (not cold) and let your chinchilla soak for 10-15 minutes. This will help lower their body temperature.
- Use a fan: Place a fan near their cage so they can enjoy the cool breeze. Just make sure that the fan is not blowing directly on them as this could cause dehydration.
Conclusion
With hot weather comes the risk of heat stroke for chinchillas. By following the tips in this article, you can keep your chinchilla cool and comfortable all summer long. Make sure to provide plenty of fresh water, offer cooling foods and snacks, and create a safe environment for your chinchilla to escape the heat. With a little preparation, you can rest assured knowing that your chinchilla will stay healthy and happy all season long.
