Keeping #Pets Safe In Hot Weather, By Mollie The #Chinchilla

 Hi everyone.  This is Mollie the chinchilla.

 

On the day I'm writing this, the weather is not very hot, and how wet it looks outside the window I can see from my cage makes me very glad I don't have to go out there, because I consider water just something to drink from my bottle, and the only baths I enjoy are sand baths, thank you very much.

But...

We're getting to the part of the year where hot weather might come soon.  At least, we are in the part of the world where we live.  So, I think it's time for a reminder about safety in hot weather.

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Remember: it's up to you to keep not only yourselves and any human pups you might have from suffering in extreme weather conditions, but also the non-human members of your family.  In fact, us especially, since we can't speak your language to tell you what we need to keep us happy, comfortable, and healthy.

The other thing you need to remember is that different animals can tolerate - and need to be kept at - different temperatures.  For example: 20 degrees C might be a perfect temperature in your opinion, but that's too hot for a chinchilla like me, and yet a tortoise like Artemis would consider that kind of chilly.  So, make sure you take our species - and sometimes also breed, since that makes a difference with some of us - in to consideration when deciding what you may or may not need to do to help us deal with hot weather.

If you're not sure what you should do to keep your pet safe and happy during hot weather, talk to your vet.  If your vet doesn't know, you should probably go find a different vet, and it would be a good thing if you found that out now, rather than when there's a life-threatening emergency.  Just saying.

 

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But, here are some things my human caretakers do for us:

Providing plenty of water.  This is essential all year, but even more so on hot days, since we need to keep hydrated. Think about how badly you need a drink on a hot day, and then bear in mind that many of us are wearing fur coats we can't take off.  Now, perhaps, you'll understand how badly we need that drink.  For animals that enjoy it, you can even provide some water to play in, such as a paddling pool.  Or, you can do what Mummy did when it was hot and we had no yard for a pool, which is to put some cold water in the bath and use that as an indoor doggy paddling pool.
Providing frozen treats.  For chinchillas, this could be something like frozen peas, frozen carrot sticks, or - as a special treat - a little frozen fruit.  For dogs, this could mean freezing their Kong ball with some peanut butter in it, or - if your dogs will eat them, which ours will - giving them some of the frozen fruits and vegetables on offer.  Don't buy and offer us ice-lollies though, because those are full of sugar.  If you want us to have our own ice-lollies, make some from scratch using natural ingredients.Making sure we have cool shady sleeping spots.  Whether it's a cooling slab in the cage like I have, or a spot to rest in the shade, we all need somewhere to rest where we can be as cool as possible, and out of direct sunlight.Providing fans.  If you have air conditioning, so much the better.  However, if you - like us - don't, make sure you have plenty of fans, and that they're positioned where we can enjoy the benifit of the air circulation they provide.Keeping playtimes short.  Some animals - dogs especially... In particular puppies - have a lot of energy.  But all that playing and bouncing around will only make us hotter.  So, keep play time short, or do it in a way that doesn't involve too much running and bouncing.  Better yet, do both.

This list is just an example of some ways to help us animals cope with the hot weather Summer often brings.  There are likely other bits of advice you can get somewhere else - such as from your vet.

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IMPORTANT NOTE: If you have any reason to be worried about your non-human family members during hot weather, or at any other time, talk to a vet immediately.  Hesitating may cost us our lives.

Stay safe, and help those you share your home with - whether human or otherwise - stay safe too.

Squeak soon,

Mollie