heat tolerance

Millie · Post » Sun Jun 29, 2008 9:58 pm

I have my two boars in an open pen inside the house. My air conditioner broke. The temperature outside is 108 and inside 95. Does anyone know if pigs can tolerate this type of heat? The air conditioner will not be fixed for 2 weeks!

rshevin · Post » Sun Jun 29, 2008 10:07 pm

No, they cannot. You need to get some empty bottles, fill with water and freeze. There should be 1 per pig in the cage at all times. Get some ceramic tiles for cooling off and a good fan.

I once babysat my friend's pigs with her AC broke. Is there anywhere they can stay?

truffie · Post » Sun Jun 29, 2008 10:09 pm

No, they can't. Do you have a basement? There are several threads on keeping pigs cool, but I'm not very skilled with the search function. I do recall that several people have recommended freezing water in bottles, then wrap the bottles in towels and put them in the cage (I think that's how it works). The bottles will help cool down the cage. I think any temp over 85 can cause heat stroke in pigs. Do you have and loose bathroom tiles, or anything cool that you can put in with them to lay on? Or maybe get a couple hot water bags and fill them with cold water and put them under towels or fleece in the bottom of the cage? I'm sure others will stop by with other ideas.

chouette · Post » Sun Jun 29, 2008 10:18 pm

I read that heatstroke is possible with temperatures above 80 degrees. It would be best for you to find alternate accomodations for them while you await repairs to the air conditioning system. Also, the article below describes using the ice packs as mentioned in some of the other responses.

"When choosing a new home and location for your guinea pig, it is important to consider the comfort and safety of your pet. Choose a safe, quiet location that gets plenty of air circulation and where the climate can be controlled. Guinea pigs prefer to live in 60 to 75 F degree temperatures. In hotter climates where temperatures extend over 75 degrees, provide your pet with a frozen ice pack in the bottom of the cage so the pet can cool itself." ----from Guinea Pig Pet Care website

Millie · Post » Sun Jun 29, 2008 10:23 pm

Thank you truffie and rshevin! I am so glad for the info and advice you shared! I was hoping if I kept the blinds closed and a fan on in the room they might be ok but it will still stay around 90-95 in the room during the day.

WEAVER · Post » Sun Jun 29, 2008 10:25 pm

If your pigs are used to livinng in air condition they are even going to have more of a hard time adapting to the quick change in temperature. Hundred degrees is WAY to hot. I also would see if you could find someone to petsit your animals until you can get your air fixed. If not, I personally would go and get a real small window unit air conditioner and put it in the pigs' room.

Millie · Post » Sun Jun 29, 2008 10:53 pm

You all are wonderful! Thank you for all your quick help!

Feylin · Post » Sun Jun 29, 2008 11:10 pm

Something else for general cooling.

At night: Fans blow hot air in the house OUT. Leave some other windows open to pull in cool air. Or you can have all the windows blowing out and switch them to in at 3am.

During the day: Windows and blinds shut (hang up blankets to block the sun if you have no blinds) to trap the cool air in. You can use the fans to move air inside the house, but do not pull air in.

If you put a shallow bowl of ice in front of a fan, it will blow the cold wet air at you.

I put my pigs in about 1in of cool water on the one day they were too hot. It was just enough to get their feet in the water and I distracted them with carrots. It seemed to help their blood exchange heat through their feet easier.

Post » Mon Jun 30, 2008 1:43 am

I'm sorry about your air conditioning problems.

Some other heat-related threads can be found here:

Links - Keeping Cavies Cool in Warm Weather

PinkRufus · Post » Mon Jun 30, 2008 2:22 am

When the weather gets ridiculously hot here, I stock up on ice just incase there is a power failure. I've been able to store it for almost a week in freezer chests and it does come in handy sometimes.

Last week I took some of my guys to the vet 1 sick, 3 checkups (exposed to sick guy). The car with the air conditioner broke down, so I put ice into plastic containers and buried them into the litter in their carry cases. I also brought extra ice in an insulated jug and put plenty of wet fresh veggies in there to give along the way. I think the ice and the cold veggies helped them a lot, no one showed any signs of stress from the heat.