cooling tips.

[mocha200]

I was going to post this awhile ago but i thought the warm weather had past but I guessed wrong. it was really hot in our house today when the buns were out playing, ( i was sweating) but the thing is what could i have done to cool them off? I used to use ice blocks that you buy to go in a cooler but they chewed through one of those and they could have gotten the chemicals inside of it if i wouldn’t have found it in time. then i used like a milk jug but they un screwed the cover and water got every were! i would use ceramic tiles but lulu has been peeing on them for some strange reson and my mom said she didn’t want to take a chance of pee getting on the rug. So they had to be put away. what could i do!

[PuddleJumper]

Waterbotles! take a water bottle and stick them in the fridge and let them chill twist the cap on really really tight then lay it on its side and they will lay next to the bottle to cool down it works really well. I have tile floors so Basil stays cool when he is out for playtime but he lives out on our screened in porch and it gets warm so I use the water bottle and it worked great! I hope it works for you!

[Otti]

 you can put a sock over the water bottle with the cap side towards the heel of the sock so that they can’t get at the cap to unscrew it.

[Andi]

I use water bottles, BUT in rodent cages or with any other animal who will chew the plastic bottles I used glass pasta sauce jars that have metal lids. The square ones are great because they don’t roll easily. Just don’t fill them up all the way (water needs room to expand)
I actually put hot water in them for sick critters to sleep nex to as well.

[mocha200]

hmmm the jar idea sounds good. does it hold water in it when the water melts?

[Chazz]

Would the glass have the potential to crack? Going from cold to warm air? I have a freezer full of frozen water bottles, and I occasionally need to replace a few cause the plastic breaks. I live in hot humid south Georgia (it still hasn’t cooled down, it’s almost 90 still!) and I have to find time to come home in the middle of the day and rotate water bottles. We don’t have central air. But Larry bunny likes to lay next to them, and lick them. He likes to chew plastic, but I haven’t had an issue with water bottles. I also have a fan that is placed to move air, not directed at him of course.

[BinkyBunny]

Posted By Chazz on 09/24/2010 07:11 AM
 I have to find time to come home in the middle of the day and rotate water bottles. We don’t have central air. But Larry bunny likes to lay next to them, and lick them. He likes to chew plastic, but I haven’t had an issue with water bottles. I also have a fan that is placed to move air, not directed at him of course.

I use 2 liter large soda bottles (filled with water/ICE)  and then wrap it in fabric (towel or small blanket) and it stays icy for 12 hours!.   When you first wrap the water bottle you won’t feel the cold,  but in about an hour, the blanket/towel is nice and  ”cool” on the outside and my bunnies like to snuggle with that on hot days.   Here are some photos of what I do.   I just discovered by accident that this actually insulates the bottles and keeps them cool for so much longer. (I could have figured that out much earlier! Not rocket-science)

 

Mocha – When my bunnies were in pens or cages, I would dampen a sheet and put it over their pen or cage – partially covering it.   Then I would place a rotating fan near the pen and the dampness of sheet with the fan helped cool their area.  It’s good to keep a spray bottle of water near by to redampen the sheet when it gets dry. 

I would also not use the milk jugs that have those little tops as they could easily come off as you have discovered.  Instead, use a soda bottle and twist on the top tight.  Don’t fill the bottles up to the very top as the bottle needs to be able to expand and contract without too much pressure.  I’d say leave a 1/2 inch of water from the top. 

 

[mocha200]

Thanks BB never thought about the milk jug being easier to open. i think that day was just a not normal day because all of the weather the last few days have been cold.

[Chazz]

Thanks BB. I used to cover the water bottles with something. It’s just so darn hot here I never thought it got cold enough for him. Plus he just ends up digging at them and uncovering them anyway, naughty bunny. But soda bottles definitely have more surface area. I never drink soda so I never thought about using them! I may also invest in some ceramic tiles for him. Good pictures!

[Author]

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