Comfy Piggies?

[Jackie <3]

Hello, I have two piggies who are super happy, but I'm worried that its too warm for them. Is there any way to help to keep them cool? I have to keep them in my room, which happens to be one of the warmest rooms in the house no matter what I do. I have read that they shouldn't have a fan on them, so is there a safe way to cool them off? thank you for any advice you have! 

[Bean]

I'm sure others will have some good suggestions (we rarely get weather hot enough to need to provide supplementary cooling methods!) but what we've done before is to put a big stone or marble tile (we use a paving slab) in their cage for them to lie on as that stays nice and cool. People also freeze bottles of water - you can then wrap these in a towel (so they don't get cold burns or chew them) and place them in the cage - they cool the air around them and the pigs can lie up against them.

Also, the fan being in the room will still help the air move, even if it's not directly on them. Air generally moves around more if it has an entry and exit point - so if you have a window and a door open, that really helps stop the air getting too thick!

[Jackie <3]

Okay, thank you so much! I'm sure the girls are going to be thanking you as well!

[3piggles]

There are many types of chill pads available, but none work as well as plain old frozen water. The bigger the amount of frozen water, the longer the cold effect lasts. So a 16 oz bottle will last a couple of hours, a 2 liter bottle will last most of a day, and a gallon bottle will last several days, all depending on the level of heat.

Pigs shouldn't really have temps above 70F/21C, without some way to cool down.

Ice bottles wrapped in a light cloth, and placed around the cage give the pigs a chance to move around, from bottle to bottle, and still go about their business.

Cold air is also heavier than hot air, so if you can put ice water bottles above the cage, on grids, so the cold air settles into the cage, you can cool the cage without putting the ice water bottles directly in the cage.

You can also set up a fan near the pigs, blowing over ice, and that will blow cooler air toward the cage. The original air conditioner Just don't blow cold air direction on the cage/pigs.

You want to avoid drafts, cold air leaking into a warm room can cause pigs a lot of health problems. If the cage is in a drafty spot, put plastic painters drop cloth or a vinyl table cloth over the parts of the cage exposed to the drafts. Don't cover the whole cage with plastic, just the parts facing the draft.

A warm/hot breeze is not a draft. It won't hurt the pigs, but heat stroke will, so feel free to move hot air in a room until it creates a breeze for the piggies.

If you use a fan or a/c, and are going to be away from home for more than a few minutes on a very hot day, put ice packs, ice water bottles or even a sealed container of ice cubes in the cage. Power failures stop fans and a/c, and if the temperature is hot enough, it can kill pigs.

Generally, just having some ice water bottles/ice packs/ice pads wrapped in thin fabric and placed about the cage, and a fan keeping the air in the room moving, is enough

[Jackie <3]

Thank you so much! Those are some great ideas! throwing some water bottles in the freezer now. The girls just had floor time and a fun game of make mom work to put us back in our cage (their favorite game lol)