5 replies to this topic

[BobaTad~HH]

If you live in North America, you will know it is hot. in the place i live, its gonna be 108! (Fahrenheit) And that is very hot for the pacific northwest! I am going on vacation, so somebody else will be taking care of my hamster. i wanted to share a few tips i shared with them: 

Hamsters can get heat stroke easier than humans. So, it's especially important to keep cool.

Dehydration is a really really easy way to get heat stroke. Check their water bottle frequently, and make sure its not warm. bacteria can form better in warm water. You can also add some crush ice cubes (or tiny ones if you can) to their water bottle/dish. You can also buy a terracotta hideout/mug, and make sure it is disinfected. place a couple of them in your freezer, and place one in the cage. If that one turns warm, swap out that one for another one. put the warm mug into the freezer again. You can do the same with their sand box, with the sand still in it. Now, paper based bedding will hold in heat a lot more than aspen shavings. (do not get pine or cedar. it has a dangerous hamster killing chemical in it.) It will help not hold in heat. If you also live in a 2 story building, and your hamsters enclosure is on the top, move it down to floor one. Remember, heat rises up. You can also add an ice pack underneath the enclosure where they sleep (make sure to get a hard one. liquid ones may pop underneath.) If your hamster is not the super chewy type, you can add one in the enclosure with a towel around it. And, you can add one on top too! You can also give them these produce when its veggie time: Zucchini, cucumber and celery. it is high in water content, so it will help with dehydration. 

hopefully this wasn't too complicated, and i got most of my information for Victoria Rachelle on YouTube, and the internet search engine. Stay cool, stay safe and have a good week. (:        

Edited by TadHamHam, 24 June 2021 - 10:29 AM.

[em~]

If you live in North America, you will know it is hot. in the place i live, its gonna be 108! (Fahrenheit) And that is very hot for the pacific northwest! I am going on vacation, so somebody else will be taking care of my hamster. i wanted to share a few tips i shared with them: 

Hamsters can get heat stroke easier than humans. So, it's especially important to keep cool.

Dehydration is a really really easy way to get heat stroke. Check their water bottle frequently, and make sure its not warm. bacteria can form better in warm water. You can also add some crush ice cubes (or tiny ones if you can) to their water bottle/dish. You can also buy a terracotta hideout/mug, and make sure it is disinfected. place a couple of them in your freezer, and place one in the cage. If that one turns warm, swap out that one for another one. put the warm mug into the freezer again. You can do the same with their sand box, with the sand still in it. Now, paper based bedding will hold in heat a lot more than aspen shavings. (do not get pine or cedar. it has a dangerous hamster killing chemical in it.) It will help not hold in heat. If you also live in a 2 story building, and your hamsters enclosure is on the top, move it down to floor one. Remember, heat rises up. You can also add an ice pack underneath the enclosure where they sleep (make sure to get a hard one. liquid ones may pop underneath.) If your hamster is not the super chewy type, you can add one in the enclosure with a towel around it. And, you can add one on top too! You can also give them these produce when its veggie time: Zucchini, cucumber and celery. it is high in water content, so it will help with dehydration. 

Now, if you encounter your Hamster paralyzed and huffing and  puffing on a hot day, its probely a heat stroke! Pick up your hamster and run to your nearest safest faucet. run cool (not cold, cool) slow running water on you hamster. if they wake up and alert, immediately shut it off, and dry your hamster as quickly as you can. (If you don't dry them in time, they might go into shock) Afterwards, try to keep them cool for as long as you can. if they don't wake up,call the vet immediately. hopefully this wasn't too complicated, and i got most of my information for Victoria Rachelle on YouTube, and the internet search engine. Stay cool, stay safe and have a good week. (:        

Really? Wouldn't that ruin their coat? 

[TurboHamster]

 

Great! Here's some some things I would add. 

 

You can put your hammy's bedding in the freezer just 15 minutes, and then put the bedding in the cage so that the ham can lay in the nice, cool bedding.

 

Also, since where I live it's really hard to get cool water because of just how hot it is (its currently 103, but its not sunny at the moment, usually it is around 110-115 F  ) you can just put ice cubes in a water dish take it outside for a few minutes to melt, and bam you've got ice cold water. 

 

Also, if you have a fan, keep it on 24/7, not just during the day. Nights are hotter than you'd except.

 

Last thing, if you just generally live in a hot climate like myself (and the heat isn't just an unusually hot heat wave), it would be advisable to avoid enclosures made of glass or even enclosures with a glass front as glass absorbs heat and don't let it out of the cage, making your ham considerably hotter. Instead of glass, use mesh. It allows the hot air to get out in the cool air to get in. 

 

Sorry for it bein so long, just wanted to help!   

Edited by TurboHamster, 23 June 2021 - 07:56 AM.

[BobaTad~HH]

Really? Wouldn't that ruin their coat?

Just edited that. Sorry!

Edited by TadHamHam, 24 June 2021 - 10:30 AM.

[BobaTad~HH]

Great! Here's some some things I would add. 

 

You can put your hammy's bedding in the freezer just 15 minutes, and then put the bedding in the cage so that the ham can lay in the nice, cool bedding.

 

Also, since where I live it's really hard to get cool water because of just how hot it is (its currently 103, but its not sunny at the moment, usually it is around 110-115 F  ) you can just put ice cubes in a water dish take it outside for a few minutes to melt, and bam you've got ice cold water. 

 

Also, if you have a fan, keep it on 24/7, not just during the day. Nights are hotter than you'd except.

 

Last thing, if you just generally live in a hot climate like myself (and the heat isn't just an unusually hot heat wave), it would be advisable to avoid enclosures made of glass or even enclosures with a glass front as glass absorbs heat and don't let it out of the cage, making your ham considerably hotter. Instead of glass, use mesh. It allows the hot air to get out in the cool air to get in. 

 

Sorry for it bein so long, just wanted to help!   

Wow, cool stuff! Also, wow, that is very hot. Thanks for the advice!

[lil BIG dwarf]

Hmm, i guess that would make sense if you were giving them a "bath". If your hamster is in a heat stroke on the other hand, you would want to do that. i got that source of information from Victoria Rachael. Oh, and sorry if i came off as rude. I will have to look into that!

 

Running water on them would have the same effect as a bath. A different room thats cooler, next to something from the freezer (but room to move if the get too cold, and cautiously ofc), or something else may be safer? 

Its also extremely important to prevent it from happening again-making sure the room their cage is in is cooler than it was.  

 

Putting an ice pack in the cage could be dangerous if the inside isn't just water (all the ones I have smell a bit like chemicals), or when it gets wet on the outside as it melts.

 

This article is super helpful, but please remember the internet search engine is just reponses anywhere online, which can be from blogs or other sites that often don't have (but not always!) the most reliable info. And, even if a Youtuber is popular, not all of there information will (or wont) be correct

Edited by lil BIG dwarf, 24 June 2021 - 10:31 AM.