Mike’s Fish Tank – Pet Heat

A few tips on pets and summer heat. It’s perfectly ok to buy fish when it’s hot out but be sure to go right home.

That bag will heat up fast, so you want the fish to get into your tanks as fast as possible. Goldfish do not like heat.

Feeder goldfish and feeder minnows do terrible in the heat. I don’t even ship them in this time of year.

Sometimes pond fish will suffer if the water gets too hot. Always try to put the pond in the shade, it helps a lot.

As far as floating your fish when you get home, only  float the bag 5 minutes, max. It only takes a few minutes for the water in the bag to equalize to your tanks temp. The fish farms do not recommend putting ice cubes in your tank to cool the water. You get pockets of really cold water which could cause your fish to get sick. If your tank gets too hot, wrap a wet towel aroundyour tank and blow a fan on it. That will help cool it down slowly. It’s a tip straight from the fish farms.

Rabbits do not like the heat at all, and hamsters do not like it either. Guinea pigs handle it a bit better. Just be sure to keep your pets water bottle filled, they get really thirsty when it’s this hot. It’s perfectly ok to blow a fan on them. If you see them really panting, that means they are hot.

The one pet that probably enjoys the heat are reptiles and snakes, but even they have a limit. If you start going over 90  to 95 degrees inside their habitat, it’s probably getting too hot even for them. If that happens, turn the heat lamps off and even turn off any heat rocks or undertank heaters. They won’t need them if really hot and humid outside.

Also remember do not leave your dog in a car with the windows rolled down a little bit and the car turned off. In this heat, the inside temperature of the car goes up very fast and could be deadly to your pet dog. We have seen this in the news far too much.

Just remember all your pets need to stay hydrated in this heat. Be sure fresh water is available to all of them 24/7.

Pets A Plenty is located on Rte 281 Cortland, across from Tops Market in the TJ Nails Plaza. 753-9213. Open 7 days a week. We now have a website. www.petsaplety.biz. check it out. I post care sheets, coupons, new animal arrivals, contests and more. Any questions, email me at friskyy@hotmail.com

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