70 or 75 degrees?

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chinchillajack

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Joined
Mar 3, 2012
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9
So I have been told that 65-74 degrees is where the temp should be if you have a chin...but I just read on here that it should not go above 70 degrees.

Room temp is about 69-70 for my chin. Is this okay?
I feel like some of this information gets kinda ridiculous. And some of it confuses and scares me.
 
I think the reason people say to keep temperatures below 70 is because when chinchillas run and jump around, they can overheat easily. A chinchilla that is just sleeping in a room that is 74 degrees is probably going to be fine, but if it were to start being more active, it could potentially overheat.
 
We keep our house under 70. Even at 65 her little ears get pink after 15 minutes of playtime. (Though she is a pink and white so they're pretty pink anyway!)

She tends to be pretty active between 60-65 so I think that's where she's most comfortable.
 
I keep my animals at 60 in the winter and 65 in the summer. I am not comfortable at 70, and I'm not wearing a fur coat.

IMO, 74 is way too warm.
 
Ditto what Becky said. I even go lower in the winter. We rarely, if ever, run heat in the barn. It's usually just heated by the chin's own body heat.

I would never let my chins get above 70 degrees, and if I get above 65 I start to panic and have been known to run 2 ac's in the barn at once just to be sure it stays 60 and comfortable.
 
i don't let my chin room go above 70. either cracking the window open wider in the winter, or running the AC in the summer, it is never above 70.
 
I have kept mine between 60 and 72, and have not had any issues with them.
 
Room temp is about 69-70 for my chin. Is this okay?
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Yes.
I feel like some of this information gets kinda ridiculous. And some of it confuses and scares me.
Click to expand...
There is a lot of information out there.

My barn runs between 60 in the winter and 76 in the summer. There is no way I can keep it below 76 and not have the building sweat on the exterior and inside the walls.

The most important thing is that your chin has never shown signs of heat exhaustion. If they are healthy, in good physical condition (weight) and active as normal your temperature is fine.
 
65-72 works best for my guys. In the summer, I remove the wheel and limit playtime at 73 because two of them will just lay there, completely lethargic, with those godawful "help me" eyes. At 75, the car gets started with AC on full blast and they get moved to my parents' house.
 
I run a dehumidifier in the chinny room in the summer and keep the temp from 62 - 72, winter to summer. They have lots of ceramic & stone items that I'll take out of the freezer in the summer and lay around the room during playtime in case they over do it.
 
Cuddlebug said:
Humidity also plays a big part in the temperature. the higher the humidity, the lower the safe temperature.
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Thanks for mentioning that. I was going to say the same thing. I'm lucky that it naturally stays very dry here in Colorado, so I don't have to worry about humidity.
 
I bought a dehumidifier about a month ago and it was the best investment for the whole house, not just my girls. I didn't even realize how much of a difference it could make in how comfortable you feel at different temps. I was raised in New Orleans and have lived in Virginia for 16 years, so I know humidity. Sticky, yuck! Everyone should have one!
 
smhluvsmh said:
I bought a dehumidifier about a month ago and it was the best investment for the whole house, not just my girls. I didn't even realize how much of a difference it could make in how comfortable you feel at different temps. I was raised in New Orleans and have lived in Virginia for 16 years, so I know humidity. Sticky, yuck! Everyone should have one!
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Luckily, here in Colorado it's so dry that we don't really need dehumidifiers.
 
it depends in the animal too, some chins need the room a little bit colder, my barn temperature is always below 68 because one of my chins cant stand higher than 70
 
I leave my house at 75 and they do fine. They run and play, popcorn and everything else with no problems. I have a chill pad in the cage for them but they rarely use it!
Sheri
 
I like to keep it on the cool side myself. I'm selfish and think of my own comfort too! So usually around 62 during the winter (basement) and 65-68 in the summer for the chins. Hubby well islander boy that he is, complains when I open the windows in the middle of winter for fresh air! I'm killing him! Same man that turns on the AC when it hasn't even hit 75 outside! Go figure!
 
Out where I live I think there is a lot more forgiveness in the temperature I can keep it at. We have maybe 10% or less relative humidity and it's been about 85°F for our high. The chin rooms are about 74 degrees, but it feels comfortable in there and the chins seem to be doing alright.

ALTHOUGH, once the temperature gets warmer so the chin rooms are above maybe 72 or so for the first time each year we end up with chin fur everywhere. This week has been pretty bad for that because we just really started to warm up. In a few weeks I will have to start running the air conditioner all the time even at night.

I've been thinking of installing another exhaust fan just to pull even more air out of the chin rooms at night to keep the humidity in there down even more. Pulling moisture out of the air really drags down the efficiency of air conditioners and costs more. I figure it will save money in the long run to do that. Running the dehumidifier puts more heat into the air and it's already so dry that just putting the cool air into the house at night would sort of serve as a dehumidifier...until mid July or August when the rains come. :)
 
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