10 Cool Ways to Keep Your Rats Comfortable in the Heat
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10 Cool Ways to Keep Your Rats Comfortable in the Heat
We’ve all been there - the air conditioning goes out on a hot summer day and we’ll do ANYTHING to keep cool. But what about our pets? We’ve compiled ten great ways to keep your rats cool and safe from the heat during those extra hot summer days.
There are many ways to help a hot rat cool off during the summer. While the most obvious way is controlling the temperature with an air conditioning unit, we can utilize ice, high water content foods, and a few other cool tricks to help cool our rats off and keep heat stroke at bay.
Besides knowing how to keep your rats cool, you’ll want to know the signs of a rat that is overheating as well. After all, how can you tell they need cooling down if you can’t tell if they’re overheating? That’s why we cover not only the best ways to keep our rat friends cool, but signs to look out for to spot overheating.
How Do I Know If My Rat Is Too Hot?
The ideal temperature for a rat is 65-80 degrees Fahrenheit, so odds are if you’re sweating, your rats are too hot! If you’re like me and not great at “feeling out” what temperature it is, I would suggest investing in a digital indoor thermometer like this if you don’t already have one. It can be placed by the rats’ cage and you will be able to tell from a glance if the temperature is getting up near 80.
Some physical signs rats show when they are too hot are laying on their bellies or backs with their bodies splayed out, and acting lethargic in general. Check their tail to see if it’s hot to the touch, and watch their breathing to see if it’s regular or labored. If your rat is simply too hot and just needs to cool down, read on for ten easy ways to do so!
If you think your rat is experiencing heat stroke, contact your local veterinarian and get them to a vet as soon as possible. It is important to note to NOT change their temperature suddenly. It may seem tempting to douse your overheated rat in cool water to help them, but temperature change should be gradual so as not to shock them and worsen their status. Signs of heat stroke to watch out for are:
- Panting
- Drooling
- Lethargy/Unconsciousness
As they say, the best defense is a good offense. By keeping your rats regulated and cool, you can avoid having to deal with an emergency like heatstroke, while also making your rats much more comfortable!
Top 10 Ways To Cool Off (Rat-Style)
One of, if not the most important thing to remember for both us and our rats, is to stay hydrated! Adequate water content is key, and the following tips will help make sure your rats are getting the best access to water possible.
1. Lots of Water!
Make sure your rats have multiple “watering holes” in their cage. Whether you’re a bottle or a bowl person, having access to water on every level of the cage while it’s hot out will ensure your rats can always get water right away if they need it, rather than having to climb to different levels while they’re already overheated.
I like to mix it up and use a combination of bottles and bowls. Some of my rats prefer one over the other and this way, I’m giving them the best shot at getting the hydration they need, regardless of their preferences.
A bonus of having water bowls in the cage is the ability for the rats to access water for non-drinking purposes! For example, when it’s hot out Buttons will sit by the water dish and soak her tail in it to cool off.
2. Frozen Fruit
While important to not overfeed fruit to your rats due to its high sugar content, frozen fruit can be a great way to “trick” your rat into getting more water and food into their system! My favorite method is to put cut up pieces of fruit (or whole fruit if the size of the fruit is small enough, like berries) into an ice cube tray, pour water to freeze into ice cubes, and give to the rats as a treat on a hot summer day.
Otherwise, simply offering them frozen chunks of fruit or even some chilled melon from the refrigerator is sure to be a welcome, hydrating treat.
3. Pea (Veggie) Fishing
Jinx’s preferred method of staying cool is pea diving! While not all rats like this activity, some dive (quite literally) into it. While peas are traditionally used for this activity, anything can be used that achieves the same goal.
I’ve seen corn used, as well as bits of carrot, you could even use some of the leftover frozen fruit!
Besides providing plenty of water and fun hydrating options for your rats, giving them something cool to snuggle up with can really help in beating the heat!
4. Frozen Water Bottles
Be warned, if you put a plastic bottle full of ice into your rats’ cage, you will likely have quite a mess to clean up later. Rats love to chew on things, and will probably chew a few holes in the bottle, leading to it melting and getting the entire cage wet.
If you don’t mind cleaning a possible flood or have a bin to put the bottle in to allow the rats to cuddle up to it but not drag it all over the cage, this step is for you! Simply freeze a bottle of water, place it directly in your rats’ cage (or in a shallow bin) and let them have at it!
Only use water bottles for this, not any of the pre-made packs that you can put in the freezer to cool off or anything else that has chemicals mixed in with it!
5. Marble Slabs
There’s nothing quite like the feeling of a cold marble slab straight from the refrigerator on a hot day. Your rats are sure to appreciate the cooling effects of the marble for them! To optimize the effects, have multiple marble slabs that can be cycled through the cage, washed when no longer cool, put back into the refrigerator, and continue the cycle.
6. Plastic Hides
Rather than having a lot of fleece or flannel hammocks, which are great for cooler or medium weather, try hanging sputniks or plastic baskets in your rats’ cage during the hot season. Our rats also enjoy laying in and on top of their plastic castles!
Now that our rats are hydrated and have plenty of cool options in the cage, it’s time to take some action! The following are things you can build/do to help your rats cool off even more.
7. Personal A/C Unit
If you don’t have an A/C unit, or find it too expensive to run enough to keep the temperature low enough for your rats, consider building your own! Simply place a frozen water bottle on top of the rats’ cage, place a bowl large enough to cover the water bottle over it, and voila!
The cold air emanating from the water bottle will be trapped by the bowl and pushed down into the cage, creating their own private cooling zone. For larger cages, you can line up two or three of these personal a/c units to make sure enough cool air is reaching your rats.
8. Misting
Using a misting bottle filled with cool water can help give your rats relief in the heat. There are two important things to remember before using this method of cooling down your rats:
- Use a mister, not a sprayer. Sprayers are more likely to scare your rats, as they produce a more aggressive and isolated squirt of water than misters do.
- This method isn’t for every rat. You may have some that like it, and some that don’t! Jinx is a total waterholic, and loves dunking her head while fishing for peas, and getting misted. However, when we tried it on Willow she absolutely hated it, so we used other methods to help her stay cool.
Be sure your rat isn’t stressed out by being misted, as this will result in more harm than good!
9. Move to a Cooler Room
This may not be feasible for everyone, but if you have the space/ability to move stuff around in your home, placing the rats’ cage in a cooler part of the home may be worth it, especially if the temperature stays relatively consistent in that room.
This is usually somewhere in the middle of the house, away from any walls connected to the outside where the heat is originating. Bathrooms are generally cool, but not an ideal place to keep rats as the humidity and temperature can fluctuate quite often depending on how many people use the shower, how frequently, and the quality of the airflow in that room.
10. Close the Blinds
If you’re a person that likes to have their blinds open all day to let the sun in, consider keeping your rats in a different room! Otherwise, closing the blinds blocks the sun out, and can help negate some of the heat of the day.
This is an easier method than the one above if you are like us and live in a small apartment! Where our rats are is where they stay because there’s simply nowhere else to put them, but by utilizing the other steps we’ve found it easy to keep our rats nice and cool in the hot California summer.
Final Thoughts
I hope this helped you in your quest to care for your rats and give them their best life possible! Do you live in a hot area, and have you found other “cool” ways to keep the heat off your rats? Share below!
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