Dealing with the Summer Heat

Florida summers can be brutal; especially if you do not have centralized AC. Rats, like humans, can tolerate only so much heat before they can succumb to heat stroke. Its very important, especially during heat waves like we often get during Florida summers, to provide your rats with safe methods of cooling down. We have compiled a brief list of resources that can be easily obtained by looking in your local supermarket, hardware store - maybe even your own garage! Try one or try and few and see what works best for your family and your rats.
This list will not cover obvious options; such as AC and fans.

Good To Know: rats do not sweat like you or I; nor do they pant like dogs to control their body temperatures. Rats, in fact, control their body temperature through their tails! By expanding and contracting the blood vessels in this lengthy appendage, they are able to regulate their internal temperatures.

Cooling Slabs/Stones/Stations

Cooling slabs/stones/stations. These can be picked up from your local hardware store. Granite works best (and is what rabbit or chinchilla 'cooling pads' are made of), but there are less expensive options from your local home goods supply. These ARE also available on Amazon and Chewy, if you are looking for a quick fix and don't mind spending more. Any tile that feels cool to the touch will suffice; and you can even pop it in to the freezer or refrigerator, before use (that is what we like to do here - and rotate them out as needed). Granite definitely works best; but do what works for you and your household.

Frozen Snacks

You can freeze vegetables/fruit to give as a refreshing treat. We feed frozen veg/fruit balls 2-3 times weekly as part of our general routine; and it is even more heartily appreciated during this time of the year.

Pea Fishing

If fishing for frozen peas has not already happened at your home; you are both missing out! Although commonly called 'Pea Fishing', frozen mixed veggies, fruit, etc work fine too. Peas, though, are much healthier than corn (which tends to come in the mixed bags), and can be fed more often. Fill a dish (casserole works great) about half way - so your rats can stand in the dish without risk of drowning. They will cool down at a pace of their own choosing and enjoy themselves in the process. I use this dish off of Amazon, because it is nice and heavy (with no worries about them perching on the edge and spilling the whole contents into the cage). Do make sure you remove this before going to bed; it gets very dirty overnight! The above video is a litter of 4 week old little ones experiencing fishing for the first time!

Temperature and Humidity Sensor

After we had an incident in our Rat Room (wherein the breaker tripped, shutting the AC off in the middle of summer), we have installed this sensor. This is set up to alert us via text and/or email if the temperature in the room goes above or below whatever temperature it is programmed to. Families use these for their cars, RVs or out-houses. You can purchase this on Amazon, here.