Summer is here, and so it’s time to discuss how to keep your rats safe in the heat!

Rats are quite vulnerable to changes in temperature, and while they can cuddle up and nest to keep warm, in a pet environment they don’t have many strategies available to cool down. Rats are at risk for heat stroke at temperatures above 30°C, or (86°F). In Australia, it often exceeds this temperature in the spring and summer, and so it is advised that you do your best to keep the temperature around your rats at a maximum of 26 degrees.

Many of us do not own air conditioners or cannot afford to run them throughout the summer. If you’re in this boat too, here are some tips from some of our volunteers for keeping rats cool:

• “Pea fishing! Place some frozen peas in water and allow your rats to fish them out and play in the water. This will keep them cool, fed and entertained, it's a triple threat!” - Jas

• “You could put some tiles in their enclosure to lay on, or a wire cooling rack, they love to cool their hot little feets and bellies in the breeze.” - Matisse

• “Try freezing water bottles, wrapping them up in towels and sticking them in with the rats for something nice and cold to cuddle up to.” - Lex

• “Give them plenty of cool fresh fruit and veg, especially stuff with high water content, and lower sugar. I’ve been known to stick a whole quarter watermelon in a cage straight out of the fridge, they hydrate and cool off, then sleep on what’s left!” - Grove

But what if you’re already in the worst case scenario, and just discovered your rat is possibly experiencing heat stroke?

• If your rat seems confused, unresponsive, is having trouble breathing, is lethargic or otherwise really not themselves, go straight to the vet! Wet a tea towel and their water bottle on your way out the door and lay it on the bottom of a well ventilated carrier, using it to dampen the tail regularly. Get a breeze going for evaporative cooling, don’t blast the air-con on Arctic immediately, to avoid shock, but keep high air flow at a safe temperature and slowly cool it down, and if you have an extra person in the car, offer the rat water regularly.

• If they’re otherwise alert but are showing other signs of heat stress such as drooling (look under the chin for a wet patch) you may or may not need to rush to the vet too depending on your rat’s health situation, as respiratory illnesses can be exacerbated and become acute episodes of respiratory distress in severe heat!

• If it’s not an emergency and you just need to help cool your rat down, remember to give them enough time for their body to adjust. Never immerse your rat in cold water, it could send them into shock!

• Gently wipe room temperature water on the tail of your rat, it has a high blood flow and is used to cool the body in nature. Then place the rat in front of a fan where evaporative cooling can take the blood temperature down safely.

• You can also provide room temperature water for your rat to splash their face and paws in, especially if you can motivate them to do so with something like peas or treats. Don’t force them into the water as stress will only make their hearts race and muscles tense, but if they can do it themselves that’s great.

• You can also offer the rat an electrolytic drink to help hydrate them. Lemonade flavoured Pedialyte is a good choice, Grover keeps some of the icy-pole versions unfrozen in their med kit as a quick serving.

- Blog written by our awesome Remote Volunteering Team, want to join the fun - email volunteering@rachiesratirementhome.com