Power Outages

[pants567]

This is a "just in case" question. Right now where I live there is already a foot of snow on the ground and it doesn't show signs of stopping any time soon. I'm afraid we may lose power and since my landlord is in charge of heat, I'm not sure if we have gas or electric heat. What I'm afraid of is losing power and possibly losing heat. If we do lose power I won't really be able to go anywhere to keep Fenrich warm so I'll have to do things in the house. I have plenty of food and filtered water for him I also have some fleece blankets. Would draping a fleece blanket over part of the cage help?
Hopefully we won't lose power but you never know.

 

[meggles07]

Do you have a gas stove? I feel like I have heard of people using warm water bottles to help sick chins stay warm. I feel like that and fleece may help.

 

[Brittany]

Worse case scenario perhaps you could find a vets office or chinchilla person nearby (with heat/power) who could board him for a few days? If it does happen monitor inside temps with a thermometer.

 

[BeginnerChinLover]

We had power go out last week...it wasn't crazy cold or anything, but I just threw a bunch of fleece in the girls' cages. Zoey burrowed into them and Lilo was fine in her hidey house, but the option was there to cuddle up!

 

[VolunteerChin22]

Depending on how cold it gets in your house, I don't even turn on the heat in my chin room unless it gets below 50 in there.

 

[Marie5656]

I read here somewhere that if it is comfortable enough for us, the chin will be fine. But I would also take whatever precautions are mentioned here. I mean, I have power, but last night it was 3 degrees out! I cannot imagine what my house would have been like if I had no power!!:hmm:

 

[Spoof]

I wouldn't worry about your chin too much.

I don't heat the chins in the winter here, and in Pullman I didn't until it went below 32 (water freezing temp). Despite being in the south it does get down into the 20's for a couple weeks on occasion. They do fine. The only time this would not be a good idea is if you are expecting kits.

At the point it gets "too cold" for a chin you'll be having a host of other issues - like pipes/water tank exploding and you dying without thermal gear. Given a small house with one entry hole they can handle into the negatives. )

Edited to add an FYI - with good insulation the room you are in will stay remarkably warm. The chins in a 12 x 12 room keep it right around 45-50 even when it is 20 outside.

 

[pants567]

Thanks for the tips! We didn't end up losing power, just got snowed in instead. The main reason I was worried was because with the windchills it was supposed to be -14 or so and the insulation in my apartment is TERRIBLE. Everything is fine for now but I'll keep in mind the extra fleece for future reference.