Radiators and Cage location

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Carma Violet

Carma Violet

Teenage Guinea Pig
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Just about to rearrange my living room to fit in my girls new extension making their C&C Enclosure 4x3. The place where we are going to put them backs onto a radiator, only about 2 foot of the back though. We have a new build premises with unbeleivably hot radiators. (They go on for 1 hour a night which heats the whole place for another 5 hours).

What I am worried about is that we once lost Gerbils due to moving them from one place in the room to another (We beleive they died due to the temperature change from where they were by the fireplace to the other, cooler, part of the room).

They have been living in the general location for almost 2 weeks now, but they will be moving 3 foot closer to the radiator. Is this going to cause potential problems to my furry little girls? I think my dad will be able to set the temperature down so it is not so severe but they will still end up being on for longer. Does anyone have any ideas to reduce the transferance of heat in this one area?

Oh yeah, and there is no other place in my home to put them as I leave effectively in a turret, and any flat walls I do have have radiators on! :))

-Carma
 
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I would be very careful. My piggy room is tiny (with few options for cages to go), and has a radiator on that I've had to switch off when I moved everything around. I would buy a digital thermometer so you can measure the temperature - I have a digital weather station, which also measures humidity. Only cost me about £15/£20 or so.
 
pelicano said:
I would be very careful. My piggy room is tiny (with few options for cages to go), and has a radiator on that I've had to switch off when I moved everything around. I would buy a digital thermometer so you can measure the temperature - I have a digital weather station, which also measures humidity. Only cost me about £15/£20 or so.
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Thank you Pelicano!

I don't suppose you know what a safe living temperature for a Guinea Pig is do you? We lived for 8 months without heating and hot water so turning the temperatures down to their perfect ambient temperature is no hassle me to at all.

(By the way all, the gerbils were mine but I was 3 so it wasn't my choice to move them!)

-Carma
 
My view on a good indoor piggy temperature range would be 18 - 22 degrees. 23 and upwards starts to become a bit hot.
 
If you are really concerned couldn't you put a thick blanket over the radiator so the heat wasn't too fierce.
 
Putting a thick blanket over an electric radiator sounds like a good way to start a fire... (I assume it's electric since it gets so hot).

Us Swedes like it warm inside... We can wear short sleeves outside for such a short time a year that we don't want to wear wooly sweaters inside too...25 degrees is not unusual and the pigs do just fine. I think temperature changes is harder on them than the temperature itself as long as it's not freezing or over 27-28 degrees.
 
I'm glad youve brought this up as its an issue i have been thinking about lately as 2 of my cages are right next to a radiator and i dont know whether i should move them but not sure where to-how close is too close?

a thick blanket will make it hotter surely
 
skrikopanik said:
Putting a thick blanket over an electric radiator sounds like a good way to start a fire... (I assume it's electric since it gets so hot).

Us Swedes like it warm inside... We can wear short sleeves outside for such a short time a year that we don't want to wear wooly sweaters inside too...25 degrees is not unusual and the pigs do just fine. I think temperature changes is harder on them than the temperature itself as long as it's not freezing or over 27-28 degrees.
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Nar the radiator is a gas central heatin one but at full pelt it'll give you a decent enough scold to touch it. I never have it on long enough though. Well my boyfriend doesn't let me, he's a snowman deep inside... And a freak... Hahaha.

Anyway, we decided on moving the cage about a foot away from the radiator that way the air gap should be enough to diperse any heat!

It might be worth making this a sticky as it might be worth people knowing what peoples experiences are with radiators.

-Carma
 
My girlies cage is infront of the radiator in the dining room too and its the only radiator in the house that doesn't switch off! don't know if it will be too hot from them? We hardly have the heating on much anyway so it shouldn't be too much of a problem i hope.
 
Can you not turn the boiler down to reduce the wter temperature,or have a thermostatic valve fitted to the radiator,not too expensive.?
 
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