Will they be warm enough?

Claire W

Claire W

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I’m worried about my piggies during the winter. They have their own bedroom which we run the dehumidifier in for extra warmth as we still haven’t put the heating on.

Hub has set the thermostat upstairs at 18 degrees and says we can only have the heating on in the evenings and that the pigs will be fine as they have hay and fur.

Will they be warm enough or should I be taking any extra measures?
 
This is clearly worrying you a lot Claire, and I'm sure you know what are safe temperatures for guinea pigs.
Pop a thermometer in their room, extra hay, fleecy hides, snuggle safes, a blanket over the cage at night- but ultimately, I think you need to sit down with your husband and have a conversation- relationships always have room for negotiation, it bothers me and I'm sure many other women here when you say "husband says" and there are rules you have to follow in your own home.
We are all feeling the squeeze of spiralling energy costs and runaway inflation, but if you and your pets are home all day you may get cold and need to use the heating. Cold nights, of course you need the heating on a bit, it is always false economy to let your house get too cold anyway, as it costs more to heat up from cold than from ambient!
As you are a person with mental health struggles which also impact your physical health, this isn't a helpful approach, someone setting rules which make you worry constantly about your pets.
Your pets are part of your family, and knowing they are happy and healthy is an important part of your self care and managing your anxiety, and I think your husband should acknowledge this?
Probably your piggies are fine, indoor temps rarely fall into the danger zone, especially if your piggies have adapted to autumn temperatures slowly with no big sudden changes.
But you should not have to compromise on basic needs like a moderately warm home on cold days, just because your husband says so. Sit down together and get the accounts out, see exactly what the heating is costing per hour vs what non-essential items are costing, and take an active role in the budgeting.
I watch my smart meter avidly and I know it costs me 26p for 15 mins of central heating- but, boiling the kettle costs 10p every time! 27p for 20 minutes of electric oven vs 30-40p energy for a slow cooker meal.
Take control of putting actual prices on half an hour of heating, vs other expenditure, and I am sure you can find a compromise that allows you to worry less and the piggies to stay warm x
 
PigglePuggle said:
This is clearly worrying you a lot Claire, and I'm sure you know what are safe temperatures for guinea pigs.
Pop a thermometer in their room, extra hay, fleecy hides, snuggle safes, a blanket over the cage at night- but ultimately, I think you need to sit down with your husband and have a conversation- relationships always have room for negotiation, it bothers me and I'm sure many other women here when you say "husband says" and there are rules you have to follow in your own home.
We are all feeling the squeeze of spiralling energy costs and runaway inflation, but if you and your pets are home all day you may get cold and need to use the heating. Cold nights, of course you need the heating on a bit, it is always false economy to let your house get too cold anyway, as it costs more to heat up from cold than from ambient!
As you are a person with mental health struggles which also impact your physical health, this isn't a helpful approach, someone setting rules which make you worry constantly about your pets.
Your pets are part of your family, and knowing they are happy and healthy is an important part of your self care and managing your anxiety, and I think your husband should acknowledge this?
Probably your piggies are fine, indoor temps rarely fall into the danger zone, especially if your piggies have adapted to autumn temperatures slowly with no big sudden changes.
But you should not have to compromise on basic needs like a moderately warm home on cold days, just because your husband says so. Sit down together and get the accounts out, see exactly what the heating is costing per hour vs what non-essential items are costing, and take an active role in the budgeting.
I watch my smart meter avidly and I know it costs me 26p for 15 mins of central heating- but, boiling the kettle costs 10p every time! 27p for 20 minutes of electric oven vs 30-40p energy for a slow cooker meal.
Take control of putting actual prices on half an hour of heating, vs other expenditure, and I am sure you can find a compromise that allows you to worry less and the piggies to stay warm x
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Thank you for this and yes, you have hit the nail on the head. I have severe MH issues which doesn’t help with my anxieties. I just worry about everything especially my piggies. I also spend a lot of time at home so don’t want to be cold during the day. It’s ok for Chris as he’s out at work all day. But I shall speak with him and do as you’ve suggested about working out costs as we have a smart meter too. Thank you for putting everything in perspective x
 
Thermometers are a great idea too.
I work from home and spend a lot of time sitting at my desk, so I often feel chilly.
But when I check the actual temperature the house is really quite warm!
Naturally I don't want to sit shivering while I work, but it also doesn't make sense to heat the whole house to sub tropical temperatures, just becasue I spend a lot of time sitting at my desk, so I have a small heater that plugs in and is very energy efficient in small spaces.
I close the office door and just heat that room, while the rest of the house is on the main thermostat.
 
It's almost impossible to keep my house warm, @Claire W, not when it's just me and the goblins. Not because it's a big house, just because almost everything is ancient. My room's not so bad, my PC is running most of the day and even though the window is open, partially for my vaping and partially because I can't sleep very well without some air movement or it being on the cooler side, I don't feel the cold very well so I'm currently sitting here in shirt sleeves.
But the minute I leave my room, the cold hits like a ton of bricks. The thermometer in the goblin room says it's 18C, but you could be forgiven for thinking it's colder. And if I don't have the heating on once or twice overnight the temperature plummets, and 15C once is enough. The heating's not for my benefit, it's theirs, and the temperature still drops when the door's closed, window's closed, blinds are closed. It's just not warm enough.

Hell I had this argument with my mother the other day. "Well yes, it's going to be cold, that happens, it's November." Because a smug "deal with it" attitude helps when it's too cold, lol. And when I pointed out why I wanted it warmer "is it really so bad if they've got their fleece?"

My room was warmer and the computer struggled to switch on because of the cold.

That thermometer has been the best purchase I made, and I've had it since I had Comet and Blitzen. Without it I'd be having real difficulty not only gauging the temp but being able to keep it level (generally between 18 and 19C atm).
 
Guinea pigs are most comfortable between 65 and 75 degrees. If you give them extra hay, hideouts, and blankets, they will be fine. You could also buy a mini space heater off of Amazon or Target.
 
One of my boys is a skinny pig so needs a slightly warmer temperature particularly as he is poorly. I agree with others that a thermometer is very helpful - often it’s warmer than I think. The boys have loads of hay and fleeces in their cage but I did invest in a small oil filled radiator from Dunelm so I can just heat their room. It works on a very basic thermostat and as it’s very small (650w) it is less expensive than heating the whole house. It just takes the cool edge off the small bedroom where they live although it probably wouldn’t be powerful enough for a larger room. That said, its a fine balance between keeping Jellybaby warm and not roasting poor Bertie who is blessed with Abyssinian fur 😬
 
I agree with @PigglePuggle, you need to speak to your OH about this. You can't be sat in your home feeling uncomfortably cold. Hopefully, he will understand that it isn't fare to expect you to do this.

We have thermostatic valves on our radiators and find this helps a lot as it means we can keep the rooms we don't use so much a little cooler.

I generally find that i need the house a little warmer than my OH in order for me to feel comfortable. When i am working from home the thermostat is set at 20C and even then i will be wearing sweater to feel warm. We let the house get cooler overnight (never below 15C though) and have an electric heater in the piggy room set to 18C as the skinnies really don't like the cold.
 
So we have had a discussion about the heating and have worked out it’s going to cost us an extra £60 a month just to have the heating on for two hours a day. £120 for four hours 😞 but we have started to have the heating on, even upstairs
 
Hi Claire, glad you’ve managed to sit down and discuss your energy bills with hubby. I was wondering if something like this would be useful in your piggie room. We used to have one of these heaters in our boat overwinter. It’s only 40 watt, you can get an 80w too but might be handy to turn on at night and shut the door. It only gives out a small amount of heat but runs quite economically and you can set the thermostat too. You could fix it on a wall by/under their cage (secure the wire though)85D0A1A1-C3EA-4501-9695-05D7560DE0C2.webp
 
Bill & Ted said:
Hi Claire, glad you’ve managed to sit down and discuss your energy bills with hubby. I was wondering if something like this would be useful in your piggie room. We used to have one of these heaters in our boat overwinter. It’s only 40 watt, you can get an 80w too but might be handy to turn on at night and shut the door. It only gives out a small amount of heat but runs quite economically and you can set the thermostat too. You could fix it on a wall by/under their cage (secure the wire though)View attachment 214754
Click to expand...
Thank you @Bill & Ted I shall definitely be talking to him about one of these 🙂 x
 
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