loft upstairs needs cooling

13 years ago

ok i am sure this has been discussed ad nauseum...but...

i live in a duplex...renting. central heat/air. it has a loft which is fairly open to the downstairs, i mean it's not a sealed off bedroom with a single door. it has a railing and a staircase with no door. one single window facing north.

i keep my rats up here and rats are sensitive to the heat. is there a way to space-cool this loft without affecting the thermostat settings for downstairs? i usually keep the thermostat set around 75 or 77 in summer. this is ok for me. but that means the loft will be way warmer. what can i use to cool the upstairs loft? swamp cooling would mean running a hose up to the unit which would be right on the front of the place facing the street and i don't think the owners would like that. plus...the water bill!

is a portable my only option and how much do those cost to run in electricity?

thank you!

steph

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Comments (4)

ionized_gw
13 years ago
Old-fashioned swamp coolers only work in very dry climates and you need a route for regress of the cool, humidified air to the outside. Under some conditions, any air from the swamp cooler mixes with the mechanically-chilled air, you existing AC will get slapped with the huge load of removing the added humidity. Maybe you are talking about some new-fangled type with a heat exchanger instead?

By "portable unit" do you mean the ones with wheels and hoses? Any of those will be less efficient than a conventional window unit so I suggest you go with a window unit. If you have to go with a movable, portable unit, be sure to get one with two hoses rather than one. Single-hose models are very inefficient.

O.K., Willard, how many rats do you have? Be nice to those rats. Since they are captive, you have a great responsibility to keep Ben and Socrates comfortable. Seriously, rats, among rodents, make the best pets, but they are the smartest and need to be kept entertained to say mentally healthy. They are not easily amused. Give them lots of toys in the cages and keep them cool.

For cooling you could experiment with giving them some of those freezer packs in the cages. Just tossing them in there probably won't work because direct contact will be too cold and uncomfortable. One option would be to insulate the packs on five sides and semi-insulate the top so they can lie on a cool surface. Another thing to try would be to build them a small, insulated box with an entry hole. Divide the interior to wall-off the freezer pack. Experiment and see what they like better. If you are going to rely on this, make sure that you don't forget before leaving and make the poor little fellows suffer. You obviously can't leave for more than a few hours or maybe a day which is a serious drawback.
sobeadit
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks for your reply! I have two female rats. I know they need stimulation but it's hard, my daughter and I are gone all day. Should I add a third rat will it make their lives more interesting with three?

Whatever solution I use for cooling them it must last like 10 hours. I was THINKING...you know those cooling pads you put in the freezer, they are for sports injuries...they are kind of flat, about 11 x 14? I was thinking of getting like 4 of those, then freezing them and laying two right on top of the cages, and hanging two on the outside of the cages to kind of make a cold ceiling and two cold walls. I thought that would keep the temp in the cage very cool.

I am afraid though that I will probably have to move them downstairs. That gives me the added issue of keeping the cat away from them!!!

argh!!

steph
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ionized_gw
13 years ago
I think that partially enclosing the cold pads as I suggested would work better and make them last longer. Just build some little boxes and see if they use them when it gets hot. They are smart and will find a comfortable place if they get too warm. If that cooled space you provide is truly comfortable they will use it. If not, you have to come up with another solution. I think that there is a good chance they will like them. IIRC, rats are naturally crepuscular, but they adapt to the schedule of their human friends very readily. If you are not there during the hot afternoon, they will likely sleep anyway and be alert when you are there in the morning and evening and maybe play at night while you are asleep and it is cooler in the upper room.

It will be good project time with your daughter. Too many kids today think that you need to buy your solutions when you can be creative and handy to solve problems inexpensively and better.

If you need to punt, you can keep the cat at a distance, by placing the rat cages inside a large, stable cage, like a dog crate.

For tips on keeping your rats mentally occupied, google "rat enrichment". A lot of current thought keeps them foraging for food instead of putting it in a dish. The former would be more like their natural behavior. Yup, that means "hide their treats".

This made me laugh so hard I almost wet my pants:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGICqS1sg-8&NR=1
sobeadit
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks for all your input! I have decided that moving them downstairs is best. We are just gone too long all the time to risk leaving them in such a warm room. I think maybe downstairs they will be around us more in the mornings and eves . We can let them out on the bed while we get dressed in am for work and school!

Steph