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Well, I think spring is most certainly upon us: Lack of snow, bluer skies, more green in general and thoughts turn to letting ratties play in the fresh air. Happy thoughts, happy thoughts ...
But (you knew that was coming, didn't you?) with the warmer weather and sunnier days, our babies in fur coats may not do so well. So, just a couple of suggestions to ensure the comfort and ongoing well-being of our babies. I don't have a cooling system in my apartment
but heat doesn't bother me so much. My babies are more of a concern. I provide them with a plastic water bottle filled 3/4 of the way, frozen over night and then placed in a sock. (Keep a spare in the freezer so the babies don't have to wait!) This when placed in their cage provides them with a cool spot to lie in or on and it's also something they can wander away from if they start to feel too cold. The sock is there to prevent any ratty appendages getting frozen to the bottle. We want cool ratties, not ratsicles!
Many of us provide water through the ball-valve 'licky' bottle. All well and good for keeping raisins and bedding out and the freshness in. One suggestion I have for more coolness is keeping a supply of water in the fridge along with an earthenware water dish. This keeps the water cooler, longer. Adding a few ice cubes to the dish keeps the water cold also. My Mulberry looooves to splash around in cold water! That being said, this suggestion is not an 'instead of', it's an 'as well as'. Don't take away their 'licky' bottle and replace it with a cold bowl! If they don't like the cold water so much they still have their 'licky' bottle.
I think that providing shade is pretty much a common sense thing for babies in the summer time, provided it allows air flow. I'm not sure what others in here have tried and tested but keeping them out of direct sunlight in a shady corner or even in another room where there isn't so much sun would go a long way to providing comfort and happiness for our babies in the coming summer months.
Hopefully some of this information us useful. As always, please feel free to point out any glaring errors in any of my suggestions and deduct one yogi drop if necessary.
But (you knew that was coming, didn't you?) with the warmer weather and sunnier days, our babies in fur coats may not do so well. So, just a couple of suggestions to ensure the comfort and ongoing well-being of our babies. I don't have a cooling system in my apartment
but heat doesn't bother me so much. My babies are more of a concern. I provide them with a plastic water bottle filled 3/4 of the way, frozen over night and then placed in a sock. (Keep a spare in the freezer so the babies don't have to wait!) This when placed in their cage provides them with a cool spot to lie in or on and it's also something they can wander away from if they start to feel too cold. The sock is there to prevent any ratty appendages getting frozen to the bottle. We want cool ratties, not ratsicles! Many of us provide water through the ball-valve 'licky' bottle. All well and good for keeping raisins and bedding out and the freshness in. One suggestion I have for more coolness is keeping a supply of water in the fridge along with an earthenware water dish. This keeps the water cooler, longer. Adding a few ice cubes to the dish keeps the water cold also. My Mulberry looooves to splash around in cold water! That being said, this suggestion is not an 'instead of', it's an 'as well as'. Don't take away their 'licky' bottle and replace it with a cold bowl! If they don't like the cold water so much they still have their 'licky' bottle.
I think that providing shade is pretty much a common sense thing for babies in the summer time, provided it allows air flow. I'm not sure what others in here have tried and tested but keeping them out of direct sunlight in a shady corner or even in another room where there isn't so much sun would go a long way to providing comfort and happiness for our babies in the coming summer months.
Hopefully some of this information us useful. As always, please feel free to point out any glaring errors in any of my suggestions and deduct one yogi drop if necessary.
