09/07/2026
Please do not leave your small furries in hutches in this heat…they ideally need to be brought in in front of a fan, just like us. 🪭
If that isn’t possible please let them have access to lots of shade and a large run so they aren’t confined to a hot shelter and keep spritzing their ears with cool water and let them have frozen bottles to lay next to. 🧊
In the last heatwave there were reports of small animals dying becuase their hutches reached 42c inside… Rabbits and guineas can very easily get heat stroke once the temperature goes over 25c, so please make sure all the family is ok in this heat ❤️
Visit any community online group this week, and you’ll see posts quite rightly calling out people who have left their dogs in hot cars or are walking them on the pavement in the heat of the day. I think we can all agree that’s not right.
However, there will also be countless of Guinea pigs, rabbits and other small pets suffering and dying in hot hutches in people’s gardens, but as they aren’t out in public -there’s nobody to speak up for them. Hutches are designed to keep animals warm, they have limited air flow and heat absorbing felted roofs. A hutch can easily be 10-15 degrees warmer than the air outside.
These animals need to be brought inside into a cooler place if possible and/or you need to be taking all necessary precautions to cool them down (please see yesterday’s post for cooling ideas)
Remember, a hutch alone is not enough for rabbits - they need 60 sq ft of space and only the very biggest models are suitable for Guinea Pigs (in mild weather)