How to keep cool during the summer?

[soaringtacocat123]

Hi guys! I’m back with even more questions, this one regarding how I should keep my hamster cool/help her regulate her body temperature during the summer.

I live in a small town in Pennsylvania in the US. Despite the fact the weather is nice for me and my family, I know that kind of heat can’t be any bit comfortable for my hamster. Some of the highs this week are reaching up to 80 degrees Fahrenheit with that being only the start of it. My room is located on the far end of my house, and the AC we have in the main living room doesn’t do much for my room at all (where her cage is located.)

It’s also her second day being with me by the way!but I’ve noticed that she’s been staying under her burrow a lot and hasn’t really come out at all this morning to eat or anything as far as I’m aware, which worries me. I know it’s probably quite hot, and I don’t know what else to do besides for giving her cool, fresh water that she hasn’t come out to drink even once. Is this normal behavior? I know she’s probably scared, but it does still worry me a bit.

If you guys have any suggestions, please let me know! Would it be a bad idea to run a fan on a low setting in my room to maybe help keep it a bit cooler? Or would the noise scare her? I’ve also seen a lot of people take mugs/ceramic things big enough for a hamster to fit in and put them in the fridge for awhile and then offering it in her cage. Is that something really worth doing? I won’t lie and say I’m an expert at all, so again- suggestions are soo appreciated!

(Bonus Yolandi picture!!as you can tell, she’s a VERY gorgeous girl!)

 

[Maz]

I think her staying in her burrow is perfectly normal for now. They often do hide away for the first few days - even up to about 10 days to 2 weeks - as cautious and nervous of the new environment. I find there is often a visible change in behaviour at about the 10 day mark when they seem confident in the enclosure and look happier somehow.

Strangely they can also stay underground with heat. Whether it's cooler or not I don't know, but maybe it's their instinct. Other times, some hamsters will sleep outside the nest in the open if they're feeling hot.

But yes a fan in the room is fine, as long as it's not too close to the enclosure. Also something cool and ceramic in the enclosure will give her a cool place to go to if she needs it. One option is a ceramic mug in the fridge for a while to cool it, then it can go in the enclosure on it's side - the handle acts like a kind of tripod support. If you use two mugs alternately, you can have one in the fridge ready to swap when the other one stops being cool.

Or something like a granite tile or terracotta plant pot base in the enclosure (on a platform) can be a cool place to sit. Bucatstate make a terracotta hide that has a little compartment under the lid to put a small ice pack to help keep it cool.

Other solutions people have used are to put a back of frozen peas on top of the enclosure so that helps with cooling. As long as the hamster can't reach to chew the plastic of the bag! If there's any chance of that, then sitting it on a piece of paper or thin cardboard would be better.