Cooling Fan

[Devi Xiao]

So I know fans aren't going to do much for a chinchilla, but what if it actually cools the air before spitting it out? Ie: I can change the temperature of the exiting air. Would it be OK to point one of those at a chinchilla cage or would the "draft" have a negative effect on them as well? I live in Southern California, so it can get pretty hot at times; though the hottest I've seen the room where I'd like to keep my chins is 80 F. Is that temperature OK or is it too far above the limit?

 

[Stackie]

I would not put the chins in a direct draft. 80 degrees is also too hot for them. I have seen them overheat when a room was 76. I will not let the temps in my chin room get above 70. There really is no other good option than an air conditioner.

 

[chinchillin2005]

Dont put the fan near or over or directly pointed at the chinchilla in any way. it can give them headaches and be potentially fatal. 80 degrees will kill your chinchilla, the hottest its gotten in my house is 76-77 degrees and his ears were red. once i had to put him in the refrigerator. u need an air conditioner no matter what and a metal bowl with ice cubes or frozen water bottles and frozen tiles.

 

[Devi Xiao]

I'm sorry, you put him in a refrigerator?

Well, the thing is that the room that my parents want the chins to go in is an open den (there's no door so it's not closed off). So I don't know if an air conditioner would necessarily work since the cold air would just leak out. We have air conditioning throughout the house, but I'm worried about what may happen when I'm at school and they're out and it gets too hot in the house.

Is there anything that can keep them cool for the day? I'm planning on tiling the cage with ceramic tile; would that help?

 

[tunes]

Dont put the fan near or over or directly pointed at the chinchilla in any way. it can give them headaches

There is no way to know if a chin has a headache.

80 degrees, however, is not acceptable for a chin. No doubt before long, someone will come along to tell us that it's fine and dandy to keep chins at 110 degrees as long as they are used to it, but you will find that pretty much everybody else who owns chins will disagree, breeders included. If the temperature gets up to 80 degrees, you need an air conditioner.

 

[Jazicat]

We put frozen bottles of water in sleeves of polar fleece that I made. They like to lay on it when it's hot but it's still no substitute for an air conditioner. Can you and your parents set a thermostat so it automatically turns on if it's over 70 degrees?

 

[Snickers]

Can you get a small window unit I think the smallest I have seen is 5000 btu. I use a 8000 btu for 8' x 8' room. Don't put the fan directly on him. I have 2 rows of cages and when I use my fans they are straight down the middle in the aisle.

 

[chinchillin2005]

I'm sorry, you put him in a refrigerator?

Well, the thing is that the room that my parents want the chins to go in is an open den (there's no door so it's not closed off). So I don't know if an air conditioner would necessarily work since the cold air would just leak out. We have air conditioning throughout the house, but I'm worried about what may happen when I'm at school and they're out and it gets too hot in the house.

Is there anything that can keep them cool for the day? I'm planning on tiling the cage with ceramic tile; would that help?

yes lmao. once he was too hot and I had to put him in a carrier and put him in the refrigerator with the door open. freeze some tiles beforehand and put it in his cage, it will be cool for like an hour. put frozen ice cubes in a metal bowl. make sure the air conditioner is set at 74 degrees

 

[Devi Xiao]

We have a thermostat, but if we can't set it to only kick in when it hits above 70 F. It's either keep it at whatever the set temperature is or keep it off. It's an old house. :/

 

[ticklechin]

Your best bet if the house a/c is old is to get a small window unit or portable unit, the energy used is minimal and the cost to buy is cheap. I have house a/c but also a a/c unit in their room, my house a/c bit the dust this last weekend in 106 deg heat and they stayed fine with their window unit, we even slept in their room since the house got to over 90 deg.

 

[Dreamlite]

Window units are so affordable. You can always put a long curtain a crossed the door to help keep in the cool air. I never let the chin room get above 70. They really can't handle heat. Talk to your parents about putting them in a room that's easier to manage temperature wise. If you tell them it could kill them I'm hoping they will help you find a solution.

 

[Devi Xiao]

Alright, thanks, everyone! I think I'll be able to use the thermostat. My house can get grumpy temperature-wise. Sometimes, it'll be 100 F outside, but a nice 70 F inside with no air conditioning and other times it'll heat up to 80 F, but that's the hottest it ever gets and it only stays that warm for a day.

 

[Tricialynn]

We wanted the chins kept in my daughter's room, but when spring/ summer came around we put them downstairs. I love this option... I don't have to worry about them getting too hot. The downstairs is normally 7-10 degrees cooler than upstairs. This keeps our little guys at no more than 71 degrees. If you have a downstairs, this might be the safest and most cost effective solution.