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Snugglesafe Heat Pad?

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Florrieberry

Florrieberry

Teenage Guinea Pig
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Hi all,
Have 2 14 week old piggies indoors but house is quite cold overnight (and in the day when at work) . I cover half their cage and will cover more as nights get colder.
I was wondering if I should get a microwaveable heat pad for overnight use?
Are they safe? At what temp do you think they need one please?
All advice welcome, thanks
 
Snugglesafe heat pads are excellent. I have a few and the boys love them! I would recommend you always follow the instructions on the packet when heating them though as all microwaves vary. I use them overnight and sometimes during the day as the room they are in isn't the warmest and we aren't the sort of people who have the heating on all the time.

In terms of temperatures, piggies struggle with extremes of temperatures just like us so if you are feeling a bit chilly then it's a fair guess that they are too. I can see my boys are particularly chilly when they sit all fluffed up, trying to keep the heat in (this looks different to the kind of fluffed up they look when ill....)

Hope that helps :)
 
Snugglesafe pads advertise they stay warm for up to 10 hours but it will depend on the surroundings, draughts etc. I don't get 10 hours put of them but they do stay pretty warm overnight.
 
I swear by them too! Mine seem to last around 6-8 hours.

They shouldn't be used with piggies who have mobility issues, as they will be unable to move away from the heat pad if they get too warm (but this obviously isn't an issue with your sprightly young ones!)
 
I also swear by them. I get 6-8 hours from them and the pigs love them. They'll quite happily sit on a cold one! x
 
I use them too, Nigel used to have one all year round and his would last about 6 hours. I also use the self-heating pet beds which are great but the snugglesafes are warmer. You can get replacement covers from places like Cavy Couture and Snoozies Cozies too.
 
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Our pigs love them! We microwave for 5 min then put the pads in their fleecy cases. I feel better knowing they're warm but if they're too warm they'll move off it x
 
Thanks all that's great info, very helpful.
Do you bury them under their bedding or just wrap them in an old towel?
Do you place them under their igloo or just in a random spot?
 
Florrieberry said:
Thanks all that's great info, very helpful.
Do you bury them under their bedding or just wrap them in an old towel?
Do you place them under their igloo or just in a random spot?
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They come with a fleecy cover on and as Helen says you can buy spare covers from a few places like cosy cavies and cavy couture.

I tend to put mine in the spots they most like to lie, in our house that's under their fleecy tunnels and also in the far corner of the cage. I know that cosy cavies used to do fleecy igloos with a pocket built in for the heat pad....
 
I put mine in their pigloo and made fleece pigloo covers to keep the heat insulated overnight
 
dearbarbie said:
I put mine in their pigloo and made fleece pigloo covers to keep the heat insulated overnight
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That's sounds good, I presume you mean over the outside? That way they can't poo all over them either! They don't try and easy the fleece?
 
PiggieOwner said:
Any idea how long the heat pads keep warm for ?
I put one in with my GP's last night and it wwas cold when I took them their breakfast this morning.


These are something else to consider ...

http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/self-heating-pet-beds.120375/#post-1635476

... but I am not sure how good the self heating pads are for laundering.
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I found these online, but as postage was 3.50 decided to try and pop by hb instead. Am going to try one of these and a heat pad I think, see what works. My only worry is that they try and eat them!
 
Florrieberry said:
That's sounds good, I presume you mean over the outside? That way they can't poo all over them either! They don't try and easy the fleece?
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Yes on the outside, but also I put one on the bottom too... Then put the heat pad on top. Their poo will go on the snuggle pad, although for some reason they seem to respect it and not toilet on them!
 
I wrap it in a piece of fleece and place it towards the entrance of their pigloo, so they can share it and move back if they get too hot.
 
Most piggies don't try and eat fleece although you get the odd one who will have a nibble. Snugglesafes are made to be safe for all small animals so don't worry. My boys chew all sorts of things but they haven't touched the heat pads.
 
MerryPip said:
Snugglesafe heat pads are excellent. I have a few and the boys love them! I would recommend you always follow the instructions on the packet when heating them though as all microwaves vary. I use them overnight and sometimes during the day as the room they are in isn't the warmest and we aren't the sort of people who have the heating on all the time.

In terms of temperatures, piggies struggle with extremes of temperatures just like us so if you are feeling a bit chilly then it's a fair guess that they are too. I can see my boys are particularly chilly when they sit all fluffed up, trying to keep the heat in (this looks different to the kind of fluffed up they look when ill....)

Hope that helps :)
Click to expand...
Thank you, have ordered one from amazon. (Cheaper than pet shop or eBay)
 
Thanks,
Have a snugglesafe coming from amazon, and have just picked up two hb pads, hope they dont chew the zip off!
 
helen105281 said:
I use them too, Nigel used to have one all year round and his would last about 6 hours. I also use the self-heating pet beds which are great but the snugglesafes are warmer. You can get replacement covers from places like Cavy Couture and Snoozies Cozies too.
Click to expand...
I have just bought 2 self heating pads from hb while the snuggle is on way from amazon.
Is there any danger from the chewing zip? Don't want them to choke if end comes off!
 
Mine haven't as yet but I was wondering this myself.
 
Was in two minds about whether to infold the zip and roughly tack the edges so it would be hidden but so u could snip it open quickly wash ?
Being new to piggies and only knowing them for two weeks I am paranoid! Worse than bringing a baby home!
 
So they transformed the pigloo into bunk beds once I bought the hb fleecy pet bed! Snugglesafe ordered from amazon, thanks for all the advice.
 

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Florrieberry said:
I have just bought 2 self heating pads from hb while the snuggle is on way from amazon.
Is there any danger from the chewing zip? Don't want them to choke if end comes off!
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No my boys have self heating pads no probs with the zips. They wash well too. I'm lucky my washer has a wash/dry cycle of 35 mins c get them all done back in before they notice they are not there. They seem to love them x
 
Shirley said:
No my boys have self heating pads no probs with the zips. They wash well too. I'm lucky my washer has a wash/dry cycle of 35 mins c get them all done back in before they notice they are not there. They seem to love them x
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Do you wash the whole thing or just the outer cover?
 
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