Chinchilla Community Forums

Chinchillas => Health => Topic started by: chickiewawa on July 12, 2011, 07:07:56 AM

Title: too cold?
Post by: chickiewawa on July 12, 2011, 07:07:56 AM
I know you have to keep the temp below 75F but I've never seen it mentioned how cold is too cold. My chin's cage is in my bedroom where I keep the AC on all the time. I sleep best with the room cold and me bundle up in a blanket. Anyway it does get cold at night but I don't want to freeze my chin. So how cold is too cold?
Title: Re: too cold?
Post by: AnnieHank on July 12, 2011, 09:22:11 AM
As long as it's not actually freezing (0C or 32F) they should be okay. My heating broke in the middle of winter about 2 years ago and it took about a week to get it fixed again.  The thermometer regularly read just above 0C in the house and they seemed fine. Having said that, I had 2 chins at the time and they had each other for warmth when they slept so it might be slightly different for a chin living on his own.
Title: Re: too cold?
Post by: chickiewawa on July 12, 2011, 11:25:57 AM
Im supposed to be getting another chin Friday. Its probably not below 50F at night maybe not even that cold.
Title: Re: too cold?
Post by: AnnieHank on July 12, 2011, 02:49:20 PM
It might be awhile before they're cuddling up together but 50F sounds reasonable to me. It's probably warmer than my old house was when the heating was working!
Good luck with your new chin :)
Title: Re: too cold?
Post by: chinclub on July 17, 2011, 04:00:55 PM
50 is fine.  I don't use heat in my chinchilla building and most winters it stays in the lower 50's upper 40's.  Even the newborns are fine. (However my chinchillas are on savings - no wire bottom cages - which makes them warmer.)  The thing you want to watch for is not having the air blowing right on the cage.
Title: Re: too cold?
Post by: ABC Chinchillas on July 18, 2011, 01:01:33 PM
They can safely get pretty cold. It is heat that I worry about
Title: Re: too cold?
Post by: jmdebb on July 18, 2011, 05:25:36 PM
wow, i never knew they would be fine in those temps jamie.. i'm still learning... thats good to know in case there is ever a black out
Title: Re: too cold?
Post by: Debbie.nl.ca on July 28, 2011, 02:27:37 PM
There was a fur farmer here that kept his chins in an out building all year round, and it gets pretty cold here in the winter. I wasn't impressed but I bought a few and one was my oldest that passed away this year at 16.
I also worry more about the heat than the cold, they are wearing fur coats.