Creative ways to keep pets cool.

[Catherine]

Obviously this is for our more southern readers.  However we can hang onto the ideas for our summer when it comes.

People in really hot areas have to really think about their pets. The heat can be dangerous for them.  Some people have come up with good ideas.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-ne...summer-sun

I love the  dog lying in a bed of ice cubes.  He does look comfortable.

I would think putting the dog bed in the freezer would help or using those cold packs in a pillow to give a pet a cool spot to sleep.

[Cibach]

When we have a hot summer our piggies favourite is one of those frozen things you use to keep stuff cold as you transport it. I can't think of the proper name, but the ones we have are brick shaped and filled with liquid that freezes and then slowly thaws when removed from the freezer. We usually use them in my insulated box to keep frozen stuff as cool as possible in transit.
For the piggies I put them on top of the plastic castle type houses and it acts like air conditioning. The inside of the castle stays really cool and the piggies can come and go as they choose.
They also enjoy the condensation that forms on them and drips down the side of the castle.
Anybody would think they didn't have fresh water bottles!!

[Catherine]

I think they are called cold packs. I use them to transport food. It would be good to cool off a piggie like that. Especially the idea of putting the cold pack on an igloo.

I wonder if putting their pillows in the freezer would work. They would feel cold at first and that would be a relief on a hot day.

Now I wish we had some hot weather to test out our ideas. Actually I just wish we had hot weather.

[Ruth]

I keep my babies cool in the summer with the air conditioning. I don't put it up real high but enough to take the hot and humidity out of the air.

[Catherine]

I have a dehumidifier. Sometimes it is enough to take the humidity out of the air. It feels cooler when it is not "sticky" as well.

[Ruth]

I agree!

[Catherine]

Right now we are working on keeping warm. I have given the guinea pigs fuzzy blankets to sleep on. They seem very happy with them. And of course they have their pillows. They love their pillows.

[Cibach]

My piggies are all snuggled up just now. The nights here have been quite cold, especially in comparison to the ridiculously mild December we had!
I have lap blankets that are two layers of towel sandwiched between two layers of fleece. I fold these in half and the piggies tunnel their way inside and cwtch up together. I also have heating discs, called Snuggle Safe, that you heat up in the microwave and these hold their heat overnight. I put these under the blanket. So between the blankets and discs they are warmer than we are!!

[Catherine]

I have never heard of Snuggle Safe. Is it a pet  product or is it sold in a general department store. It sounds like a good idea.
I  like the fact that it holds heat all night. I bet my older piggies would like that. 

I have some polar fleece that I am going to cut into blankets for their sleeping area. Maybe I should try to make one of your snuggle sacks. I wonder if my piggies would use it. My boys are big and need lots of room to stretch out. They are also all pretty fat right now. Rosebert and Norbert are both past six and still looking good. Still I want them to be warm. Even with the furnace it can feel cold. I worry about my boys.

The girls are fine and are so fuzzy that they don't even want to sleep together most of the time.

[Cibach]

The Snuggle safe heat pads are specifically designed for pets, but work just fine for people too!!!
I bought mine in a local pet shop but I know that Amazon also sell them here in the UK, I'm not sure about elsewhere.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/SnuggleSafe-Micr...t+heat+pad

I'm sure there must be something equivalent available because it's such a good idea.