As summer begins and the heat grows sometimes we have to get creative as to helping the critters beat the heat. Especially when one does not have air conditioning. You do the usual, keeping the blinds down and the windows closed when the sun is shining on them. Opening the windows in the cool of the morning or evening. Multiple fans blowing 24-7. And so on.
It's especially important to keep the rats cool as they regulate temperature through their tails and are in cages so they can't sleep in the coolest part of the house. Cats might have the big fur coat but they have more freedom and groom themselves to stay cool.
Now that I have the extra freezer space I am able to freeze blocks of ice, and more importantly blocks of ice in non-chewable containers to help all the animals to stay cool. The cats receive a small block of ice in their water dish. They can lick it, play with it or just drink the cooled water. The rats get the larger container at the top of the cage. As the fan blows past the ice block it cools the air around and in the cage, and they can't or at least don't chew the container. I know I'm not the first person to think of this but I'm pretty chuffed with myself.
