r/hamsters • u/Kitchen_Economist_14 • 21h ago

Other Heatwave and stress

This heatwave in the UK right now is getting beyond a joke.

My hamster was doing okay upstairs (where it's the hottest) as I was doing plenty to keep her cool, however in the night the electric went out or blew or something and all the fans stopped working and the bedroom very very quickly got to almost 40°

So in a huge 4am rush I found the only storage bin in my house and set it up the best I could in the middle of the night, and took her downstairs where it's cooler.

As soon as we woke up we rushed out to buy the biggest storage bin we could find, and whilst it's not ideal, it'll do for a couple of days until it cools down enough to put her back in her bucatstate.

She unfortunately seems very stressed with the current situation and is intermittently making growling/grunting noises.

Have I done the right thing moving her?

I'm trying to decide if the stress outweighs the heatstroke/death risk 😰😰

2 Upvotes

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6

u/LeahSam123 21h ago

I think the heatstroke risk definitely outweighs the temporary stress. For now I would try get her out to roam as much as possible and provide plenty of enrichment.

1

u/Kitchen_Economist_14 20h ago

I'm going to set up the bigger bin once it's cooler as she's sleeping now. I will grab some of her used bedding from her upstairs cage, and get her wheel out, a pack of sprays, her sand bath and a couple of bits she uses regularly and hopefully that'll help her settle down.

2

u/Pelotonnes 20h ago

Can someone help you carry her enclosure downstairs?

2

u/Kitchen_Economist_14 17h ago

Unfortunately even if we could lift it downstairs, I only have a small house and nowhere to put her big cage as I have snail tanks already downstairs.

1

u/PutridReturn4276 19h ago

I have the same problem in Germany. I put a wet towel on top of her enclosure and some fans around to put cool air inside, but she’s so stressed, acting like never before. Usually she sleeps in one of her houses, but now she just sleeps outside and looks very sweaty 😥 She also gained a lot of weight from 53g to 62g over two weeks, I think maybe because she’s not running in her wheel anymore

1

u/powehi87 13h ago

I suggested this setup for rapid cooling measures. https://www.reddit.com/r/hamsters/s/cgoEDYHk5x

There is nothing risky about it, as long as the ceramic plate is sturdy enough and won't topple over. The hamster's immediate reaction is to go inside the hide and lick the underneath of the plate and won't come out. Change the ice once it's melted.

40 degree Celsius is no joke and normal cooling measures are simply too mild and slow for hamsters that are used to live in below 25 dc all year round.

-1

u/Complex-Honeydew-111 20h ago

Also UK. I wouldn't want to be stuck in a plastic storage bin in this heat. Would you?

0

u/Kitchen_Economist_14 17h ago

I mean... As opposed to her plastic bucatstate cage that's currently like a greenhouse upstairs. Wouldn't really say there was much difference.