Hot weather warning for the UK - Member questions and heatwave feedback

Lots of wind (I just heard a bin blow over and thought it was one of mine, but apparently it was one of my neighbours), still no rain. Flippin' English weather!
 
i have my piggies in a spare bedroom.temps started at 22 degrees,but as the week wore on it was 29 degrees centigrade in there.i had wet sheets over windows,black out blind and curtains over the windows.i used damp towels over the cages,icepods,cool snugglesafes,two fans on.now the temperatures today is 28 degrees centigrade.the bricks seem to retain the heat.i did put the longhaired piggies in the lounge as it was 25/26 degrees in lounge.the outside temps were 34 degrees at the latter end of week.Piggies seem to have acclimatised to the heat now.
i will have to invest in airconditioner if it is not possible to maintain lower temps in bedroom.i will be allowing the numbers to drop to 6 piggies in total,as it has been very time consuming and worrying about the piggies alot.
ive a fan in my bedroom which has been fab at keeping me cool,i slept well.
 
Well, we finally had some rain yesterday. I was at my friend's about three miles away and there was a really heavy downpour. I was out for about three hours and when I got home it was like it hadn't happened - everything had dried up. It is noticeably cooler however - 'only' mid 20s! It's looking very grey this morning, so hopefully more rain on the way.

I'm feeling a bit shattered. It's been so stressful worrying if Biscuit and Toffee will be ok. They seem fine however except they have both lost a little bit of weight. I don't know if that's because of the heat? (Only about 15g each, so presumably nothing to be concerned about)

I'm so grateful for all the advice here, I don't know how I would have managed without it. The wet sheets up at the windows have really helped (inside as outside not possible.) They dried out really quickly in the sun and I had to keep 'refreshing' them but they made a real difference. And I had more damp sheets round the cage. They didn't seem to want to go near the frozen water bottles, but I suppose they helped to keep the temperature down slightly.

I bought an extra couple of thermometers which was really helpful. The piggies room was the coolest place in the flat except on the hottest day last month when the kitchen was strangely slightly cooler so I moved them in there for a while.

When I first got Biscuit and Toffee (2yrs ago next month!) I never dreamt of anything like this, my main concern was would they be warm enough in the winter! :)
 
LondonLady said:
Well, we finally had some rain yesterday. I was at my friend's about three miles away and there was a really heavy downpour. I was out for about three hours and when I got home it was like it hadn't happened - everything had dried up. It is noticeably cooler however - 'only' mid 20s! It's looking very grey this morning, so hopefully more rain on the way.

I'm feeling a bit shattered. It's been so stressful worrying if Biscuit and Toffee will be ok. They seem fine however except they have both lost a little bit of weight. I don't know if that's because of the heat? (Only about 15g each, so presumably nothing to be concerned about)

I'm so grateful for all the advice here, I don't know how I would have managed without it. The wet sheets up at the windows have really helped (inside as outside not possible.) They dried out really quickly in the sun and I had to keep 'refreshing' them but they made a real difference. And I had more damp sheets round the cage. They didn't seem to want to go near the frozen water bottles, but I suppose they helped to keep the temperature down slightly.

I bought an extra couple of thermometers which was really helpful. The piggies room was the coolest place in the flat except on the hottest day last month when the kitchen was strangely slightly cooler so I moved them in there for a while.

When I first got Biscuit and Toffee (2yrs ago next month!) I never dreamt of anything like this, my main concern was would they be warm enough in the winter! :)
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We talk about weight loss only from 50g onwards. 15g is the equivalent of one and half full bladders or just half a full belly. ;)

A little weight loss is not unusual after a longer heat wave as piggies lose their appetite a little but they will make up for it again afterwards if they are healthy.
It is very normal to be tired after a heat wave as you are not sleeping as well and the heat stress also affects your own body. I am back to feeling as exhausted as I was two weeks ago now that the heat has gone.

It will take several days for the house to cool down and to stop giving off stored sun energy in to a cooler environment - both radiating into the indoors rooms and the outside, especially at night.
 
Another fan related tip, if you need to cool 1 particular hot room... take advantage of the physics!
Cool air is near the floor, but hot air is higher up. If you have 2 fans, and a hot room, place a fan on a table or desk in the hot room facing the open door, blowing the hot air out at about waist height- then place another fan at floor level outside the room, in a cooler shady hallway, blowing the cool air in.
This sets up nice convection currents circulating the air in the optimal way to replace the hot air with cooler air.
Maybe I should set up an "only fans" site lol ;)
 
PigglePuggle said:
Another fan related tip, if you need to cool 1 particular hot room... take advantage of the physics!
Cool air is near the floor, but hot air is higher up. If you have 2 fans, and a hot room, place a fan on a table or desk in the hot room facing the open door, blowing the hot air out at about waist height- then place another fan at floor level outside the room, in a cooler shady hallway, blowing the cool air in.
This sets up nice convection currents circulating the air in the optimal way to replace the hot air with cooler air.
Maybe I should set up an "only fans" site lol ;)
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If you could write a thread about 'fan/cooling air convection tips in hot weather', then I could link it into our existing hot weather advice. The more practical tips and options we can share for all kinds of situations/habitations the better. Climate change is picking up speed and is bound to make another big leap forward with it being an El Nino year.

PS: I may think about the two fans tip to make best use of the cool spot in our hall just before the recessed lounge door and linking the lounge into the vertical late evening/early morning convection on dry nights between open ground levels and open attic window (everything closed as soon as it gets hotter outside than indoors) to cool down the downstairs as much as possible before the heat is setting in again by opening all doors and windows while it is at its coolest in early in the morning. The temperature can rise only so much in a sealed off room during a hot day so the cooler a room is at the start of the day, the less hot it will be by the evening. Temperatures will of course gradually rise during a prolonged heat wave but the measures give the piggies valuable time to gradually adapt.
 
Hope everyone and their piggies are doing okay. I had to put our aircon on coz I can't handle the heat and was sweating so much. Thankfully Bryce and Whitney are okay. Apart from Whitney just getting used to the sound of the aircon, both of them are coping, especially Bryce who is splat under the table. 😁
 
So far so good here. 32 degrees outside the backdoor which faces south. Our north facing living room where the piggies are is 20. Ice pods are in the freezer just in case but we are so lucky with this house in summer, just not so lucky in winter!
 
piggieminder said:
So far so good here. 32 degrees outside the backdoor which faces south. Our north facing living room where the piggies are is 20. Ice pods are in the freezer just in case but we are so lucky with this house in summer, just not so lucky in winter!
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It is still only 22 C in the living room despite the sun going off the south facing side and starting to come onto the north facing one. Just been out to switch the large bed sheet from the french doors to the bay window at the other end of the room.

But the first day is always the easy one since you are starting with a cool house. Over time, the walls will soak up the heat, store and only let off part of it overnight so it gets harder and harder the longer a hot weather period goes on.
 
My hutch thermometer is remaining steady at 21° so far, though I expect it will rise a bit as the afternoon goes on. I've put one of my reflective insulation sheets outside which I guess is helping.

The air temp is pretty hot. I need to go and check the piggies, probably some of the hot air will blow in but not too much 🤞
 
All change here, the outside temperature has dropped and the sky over the distant hills looks distinctly rain like. 🤞 it does rain the garden needs it! Only about 2 days worth of grass left.
 
We really are desperate for some rain aren’t we. Fingers crossed for you! Don’t think we are getting any here unfortunately.
 
oh my gosh guys we are struggling so bad! 26 inside our room! i honestly don’t know what to do.. windows and doors were open this morning when temp was cool to cool room down however it still only got down to 22 degrees, then about 8.30am shut all windows and curtains because temp started increasing and since then the temperature is just creeping up! we ran out and spent a fortune on a new AC unit and its not working😭😭😭😭
 
piggiemummy03x said:
oh my gosh guys we are struggling so bad! 26 inside our room! i honestly don’t know what to do.. windows and doors were open this morning when temp was cool to cool room down however it still only got down to 22 degrees, then about 8.30am shut all windows and curtains because temp started increasing and since then the temperature is just creeping up! we ran out and spent a fortune on a new AC unit and its not working😭😭😭😭
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Don't panic, stay practical. Ice pods and frozen bottles wrapped in socks or towels, any frozen item covered in fabric can be used to cool the piggies- last summer Blodwen spent a hot afternoon sleeping on a defrosting box of lentil curry that I popped under the fleece!
Keep the piggies in the coolest room, at floor level, and if they start to look lethargic you can bath them in tepid (not cold, that would shock them) water. Wetting their paws and ears especially will help them cool off. Chilled, but not frozen, veg- but not too much, they cannot sweat or pant so wont dehydrate like hunans or dogs, avoid over feeding watery veg.
Its all in the guide- staying with them to offer regular small cooling measures, but also staying calm and practical to avoid any further stress, is key. Best of luck x
 
PigglePuggle said:
Don't panic, stay practical. Ice pods and frozen bottles wrapped in socks or towels, any frozen item covered in fabric can be used to cool the piggies- last summer Blodwen spent a hot afternoon sleeping on a defrosting box of lentil curry that I popped under the fleece!
Keep the piggies in the coolest room, at floor level, and if they start to look lethargic you can bath them in tepid (not cold, that would shock them) water. Wetting their paws and ears especially will help them cool off. Chilled, but not frozen, veg- but not too much, they cannot sweat or pant so wont dehydrate like hunans or dogs, avoid over feeding watery veg.
Its all in the guide- staying with them to offer regular small cooling measures, but also staying calm and practical to avoid any further stress, is key. Best of luck x
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my girls aren’t interested in ice pods but are sprawled out like they are hot.. maybe they’re just comfortable?

thanks soso much xx
 
Wiebke said:
If you could write a thread about 'fan/cooling air convection tips in hot weather', then I could link it into our existing hot weather advice. The more practical tips and options we can share for all kinds of situations/habitations the better. Climate change is picking up speed and is bound to make another big leap forward with it being an El Nino year.

PS: I may think about the two fans tip to make best use of the cool spot in our hall just before the recessed lounge door and linking the lounge into the vertical late evening/early morning convection on dry nights between open ground levels and open attic window (everything closed as soon as it gets hotter outside than indoors) to cool down the downstairs as much as possible before the heat is setting in again by opening all doors and windows while it is at its coolest in early in the morning. The temperature can rise only so much in a sealed off room during a hot day so the cooler a room is at the start of the day, the less hot it will be by the evening. Temperatures will of course gradually rise during a prolonged heat wave but the measures give the piggies valuable time to gradually adapt.
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I think this is a very good hack,i will implement this.my piggies are at the boarders until Thursday of next week.They are inside,so I'm pleased.the room she uses is North facing.I'm pleased I get to not worry about them for a short while.
 
only got down to 17 degrees last night, slept with doors and window open but still only managed to get our room to 23😪 humidity is really high today too.. 77.. appears it might rain soon so don’t know wether to shut doors / windows off to prevent humidity climbing? weathers only predicted 25 today so hopefully it’ll stay cooler than yesterday.. what an absolute nightmare!
 
Gosh it’s awful down here, cloudy with a sea fret, hope everyones piggies stay safe
 
Apparently Manchester proper got hit pretty hard, Parklife got put on hold and they shut everything down because of a storm. I heard that storm, it didn't reach here but that thunder was awesome (in the scary sense, not the great sense). @Bill & Ted sometimes I really don't miss living in a seaside village.
 
We've just had a thunderstorm pass over us.

There was some pretty gusty wind ahead of it, which has thankfully helped to wash out some of the warm air in the house. I had to post hub to close the downstairs doors and windows as soon as started raining and then did the same myself upstairs. I must admit that it feels a little fresher now and the lawn has finalled been watered again!
 
No storms here, though the sun has gone and it's very cloudy and humid. I think I heard a rumble of thunder in the distance a bit earlier. It's been 30C outside today (and nearly that in my bedroom - I'm not looking forward to tonight :no:) but I've managed to keep the piggy room to 24C. Not ideal but they seem ok 🤞
 
LondonLady said:
No storms here, though the sun has gone and it's very cloudy and humid. I think I heard a rumble of thunder in the distance a bit earlier. It's been 30C outside today (and nearly that in my bedroom - I'm not looking forward to tonight :no:) but I've managed to keep the piggy room to 24C. Not ideal but they seem ok 🤞
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That is a great achievement! Your piggies will gradually accustom to higher indoors temperatures during a longer hot spell - as do we. What they really struggle with are big temperature jumps. Hopefully, this weekend has been the worst although we have more warm weather ahead of us.
 
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