Chinchillas and Heat

Aspect

Chinchillas should be kept cool during the summer and comfortable in the winter:

Position the cage out of direct sunlight and away from draughts, in an area with a fairly constant temperature.
Do not place the cage too close to the window, where temperatures can be more extreme. If the sun will shine through the window for most of the day, keep the curtains partially drawn - about 3/4 drawn to keep the sun out and keep the room cooler. Consider buying blinds or curtains with thermal properties - these will block out heat in summer, yet keep in heat during the winter.
Cover the window with a thin material, such as nets, that will keep the sun out but let fresh air in.
A substance called COOLGLASS, for painting on greenhouses to provide shading is sold at garden centres. It also washes off. You may wish to paint the window of your chinchilla room with this substance.

Keeping Cool in the Summer

Chinchillas should not be exposed to extremes in temperature. A chinchilla can become dangerously overheated if temperatures reach 27° Celsius or more. Remember, when it get hot you can shed a few layers but your chinchilla can not! Due to their dense fur chinchillas can not sweat in order to keep cool can die from heat stroke. Ideally, you should have some sort of air conditioning to help keep your chinchilla cool, but if not, you can try the following measures to lessen the chances of your chinchilla becoming dangerously overheated:

Fans are not ideal in summer. When it is cool they circulate cool air. When it is hot they circulate hot air.
Soak a towel and wring it so that is still damp, but not dripping. Lay the towel out on top of the cage. As the water from the towel evapourates, warm air rising is replaced by cool air, and this helps to cool the cage.
If you and your chinchillas live in an air conditioned building, then air conditioning can be very good at keeping the temperature down and the chinchillas at a safe temperature.
Placing a rack or a bag of ice cubes wrapped in a thin cloth on the bottom of the cage for the chinchilla to rest on can be an effective way of cooling the chinchilla down. Chinchillas can not sweat and loose heat from the areas of their bodies that are not covered with fur - their ears and feet. Putting a ceramic tile or marble slab that has previously been wet and put in the freezer to chill will also have the same effect, but do remember to clear any frost off it before you use it as you don't want your chinchilla stuck to it! . Do not use ice packs from cool bags as these sometimes contain de-icer to alter the freezing temperature, which is poisonous. You chinchilla may chew on the corners and sample the contents. Really not good!
Your chinchilla may also appreciate some ice cubes (with the frost rinsed off) in a small bowl to crunch on and play with in very hot weather.