What are you doing to keep your small indoor pets warm?

giantmutantbroccoli

Hi guys,
I was just wondering what everyone's doing to keep their small indoor critters warm.

My rats Penny, Holly and Ivy are nice and toasty thanks to having the inside of two massive pillows as their bedding I've also been giving them warm porridge and vegetables, and the odd warm bottle of tea, and they're getting more calories in their food than normal. Small animals lose heat more esaily than large ones so it's important to take extra measures to keep them toasty in this weather.
If it gets any colder I'm planning to put glass jars of hot (warm) water in the cage with them, but I'm hoping it won't come to that. It was -10 outside last night!:eek:

Anyone got any good tips? Feel free to join in if you've got rodents, lizards, fish, insects- any small indoor creatures. There's already a thread on outdoor critters like rabbits, but I haven't seen one for indoors.

kindofagilr

I dont know, I need help

We have a chinese dwarf hamster, he is on a desk above a radiator which was turned off in summer cos it was making it too hot for him.

But we have turned it on now for him last week, he has loads of bedding, he has sawdust on floor, then ripped up paper, then like cotton wool and more paper which he makes nest out of.

All of this is in a none draughty place, he has a ramp he walks up and his food is on top of that and his nest is under there if that makes sense

BUT every morning when I get up he has moved more sawdust from the rest of his cage to the entrance of his nest so it makes me think he is cold

I dont want the little guy to get cold, anyone got any suggestions?

Also does anyone have a hamster that drinks out of a small bowl? we are currently worried as well he has a problem with his water bottle?

He seems to lick it for like 30 mins at a time, a lot of times during the day but not much water comes out, OH thinks he is just having a bit chew which he might be but I am worried he is thirsty as well.

Claire_Bear

Make sure you give your small pets extra bedding in the bed, but also a little pile of it somewhere in the cage so they can pull it into the bed if they want. Keep the cages out of draughts and in a nice warm room. You could wrap the bottom of the cage in towels or bubble wrap (it makes a great insulator), or put the cage on a pile of towels as a lot of cold will be coming up through the surface that the cage is on, just make sure that if it's a wire cage that the towels can't be pulled through the wire as they'll get chewed to pieces.

giantmutantbroccoli

Kingofagilr - Can you use more of the wool/cotton bedding instead of paper? If you have any odds and ends of knitting wool that could be good as well. In fact most natural fibres are okay, just don't put anything in there that he shouldn't eat. Paper is good for summer bedding but I'm not sure it's warm enough for winter - although that depends on the temperture inside your house! Given that he's above a radiator and still active he sounds like he's doing fine, so some more bedding would probably do the trick, and allow him to build a warmer nest.
Check that there's water coming out of the bottle - fill it up, hold it and check the mechanism works by tapping the little ball bearing in the end with your finger. It should dribble water when you tap it, if there's no water coming out the ball bearing could be stuck so try giving it a really good clean. The problem with using a bowl is that he'll kick his dirty bedding into it and contaminate it. You could use it temporarily if the water bottles broken and you can't get to the shop, but the bottles are a lot more hygenic. Plus in this weather you really don't want a wet hamster, and he'll almost certainly knock it over or fall into it just to be contrary
Keep and eye on how much water is disapearing from the bottle. If it's not leaking and he's drinking a lot more than usual you should ask a vet for advice.

Claire Bear - good idea with the towels insulating the cage from the floor! My rat cage is sitting on a couple of layers of corrugated cardboard for the same reason.
You can thread cardboard through the bars of the cage to help protect against drafts as well.

kindofagilr

Thanks guys, I will slip some more of the cotton bedding into the cage now so he can take it in his nest if he wants to

Yes when we fill the water bottle up and touch the ball bearing water does come out, so I guess he is ok for water?

CFC

What are you doing to keep your small indoor pets warm?

I find the oven does nicely....gas 5 for 3 hours is my top tip

the_devil_made_me_do_it

Which wooly bedding is the best? I use recycled paper bedding from pets at home & I put quite a few sheets of kitchen roll in too. Always been a bit dubious about the wooly type as I'm frightend the gerbils eat it.

samboette

Please don't use that cotton wool/fluffy type bedding for hamsters/gerbils. It can be very dangerous!! Hamsters can and will eat it, resulting in it clogging up their digestive system and making them very ill.

We have 8 hamsters and we just make sure the room they are in is nice and warm - no draughts!! Give them plenty of substrate, i.e shavings or in our case Care Fresh, so that the bottom of their cages are completely covered and make sure they have plenty of bedding, we use the chopped up jay cloth one (from Wilkinsons) for ours, except our long haired hammy who has the chipped and shredded paper from [EMAIL="P@H"]P@H[/EMAIL] and kitchen roll.

Why they keep selling that cotton wool stuff is beyond me, even as a kid I never used with my hamsters. Nasty nasty stuff!!!

samboette

kindofagilr wrote: »

I dont know, I need help

We have a chinese dwarf hamster, he is on a desk above a radiator which was turned off in summer cos it was making it too hot for him.

But we have turned it on now for him last week, he has loads of bedding, he has sawdust on floor, then ripped up paper, then like cotton wool and more paper which he makes nest out of.

All of this is in a none draughty place, he has a ramp he walks up and his food is on top of that and his nest is under there if that makes sense

BUT every morning when I get up he has moved more sawdust from the rest of his cage to the entrance of his nest so it makes me think he is cold

I dont want the little guy to get cold, anyone got any suggestions?

Also does anyone have a hamster that drinks out of a small bowl? we are currently worried as well he has a problem with his water bottle?

He seems to lick it for like 30 mins at a time, a lot of times during the day but not much water comes out, OH thinks he is just having a bit chew which he might be but I am worried he is thirsty as well.

Sorry forgot to add, your hamster may have diabetes, is he peeing as much too?

Have a look on www.hamstercentral.com there is a mindful on information on there.

amy104

He seems to lick it for like 30 mins at a time, a lot of times during the day but not much water comes out, OH thinks he is just having a bit chew which he might be but I am worried he is thirsty as well.

Most water bottles use a vacuum-valve. The animal has to move the ball within the drinking spout upwards to allow the water to flow. When they stop moving the ball it reseats in the tip of the drinking tube to stop the water's flow. He keeps licking it at thats the easiest way for him to move the ball.

RosiesMum_2

:beer:my little dog has a jumper on as shes short haired and shivvers more than a jelly, and she is warm and snug, we have put more snuggly beds down for them to hibernate in.

My hamster has been moved up stairs, and is on top of wardrobe where she is safe and nice and warm.. and I take her out at night to play while i feed her..

My cats normally live in or around kitchen area and lots of beds and vet bedding around and they hovver near radiator. saying that at night its cold so we have left the front room door open so they can snuggle up on the sofa.

The rabbit has come from outside and is in his indoor hutch in the kitchen near the radiator, he is warm and snug...

The fish dont give two monkeys, they are always upstairs lol:T