My AC blew in Arizona and won't get fixed until Monday. Advice?

[rixusaku]

The highest the apartment got to today was around 83 F. Normally my temps for Noodle is 74 on the cool side and 84 on the hot side with basking temps of 100-104. I have a heat lamp stand for the heat so I went and raised that higher away from the enclosure to get the temps down from in the 90's to 86 but his cool side is around 79 which is what the apartment is at.

I understand that they can normally withstand temperatures on the high side that I saw today, but he's not used to those temps and seemed to be annoyed and hiding all day on the cool side because of it. He was a bit grumpy. Usually he's on the warm side for most of the day and just chillin there.

My main concern is him getting an RI because of the change in temps, but is that possible in this situation or is it more of a drastic change that needs to happen to trigger infections? Also, do I need to be concerned about him possibly overheating? If so, what can I do to alleviate that if I can't get my apt below 79? The AC repairs are scheduled for Mon-Tues.

I gave him some strawberries that I let cool in the fridge and he seemed to appreciate those and got in a better mood after eating them before hiding again. I also checked the weather and it looks like we're going to be back in the mid-low 70's again until next weekend, so I'm hoping that will help things.

Any advice is appreciated, thank you in advance! :D

[Terreos]

Raising the lamp to lower the hot end temps is a good idea. That’s what I would do if I was in your situation. I’m a little surprised to here having the cool end be roughly 5 degrees warmer is causing your pet to be grumpy. I’d figure that small of a difference wouldn’t both it. You could always try a quick misting of cool water. But it would be rough to cool down the cage until the AC is fixed. Maybe a quick dip in room temp water? I’d be scared to use cool water since that might be a shock to the system and irritate them.

I don’t think Respiratory Infection is temperature based but humidity based. So keep the humidity at the proper levels and Noodle should be good.

[rixusaku]

Hmm, yeah that makes sense. I had to turn on all the fans in the apt and had to turn on one of those rotating tower fans in the room he's in to bring temps down. I also have a massive mini fridge sized window ac hooked up in my kitchen supplied by the apt that's pretty loud. Maybe it's the new noises making him grumpy.

[rixusaku]

Update: the biggest room of the apt is around 74 again but the room Noodle is in is still around 77 since that's what his cool side temps read at. Hot side is back to what he's used to and he seems to be in a better mood today. Just chillin on his basking hide after waking up.

In the future I'll keep in mind lukewarm baths if this ever happens again and he does overheat because of it. For right now I think everything is going to be fine until the AC gets fixed. I guess I'm lucky to have that window unit going in the meantime, I didn't think it would work as nicely as it is. :D

[Terreos]

Glad to hear they’re in a better mood. Sounds like they will be fine until the AC is fixed. They’re supposed to be really robust animals so they should be fine with minor shifts like this. But they clearly have preferences. I’m curious to see if mine gets moody as the warmer weather is starting to come in so that will mean my house is gonna start to get warmer. Though my Bluie loves to sleep under their tile on the hot side so maybe they’ll like it? I may have to get a ceramic heat emitter for the winter if that’s the case.

[rixusaku]

The things we do for our cold-blooded pets XD

[splashy07]

I do not and have not ever used AC. My apartment reaches temps in the 90s in summer. I simply shut off their lights.

[rixusaku]

Oh, AC is nearly a requirement here in AZ and considered an emergency by a lot of businesses and organizations when it goes out. Way to many people end up in the hospital for dehydration or heat stroke if they dont, especially older people, it's a real problem. I once lived in an apt that didn't have a working AC for an entire summer and almost ended up in the hospital twice (and I was in my 20's at the time). I'm never doing that again. This time I'm just lucky since it isn't summer yet and the outside temps are around 75-80 right now and not the 110 degree normal temps in summer.

That said, I thought their temp gradient was pretty important so I kept the light. Next time I'll turn it off when the temps get too high and go from there.

Thank you for the advice everyone! It helps. :D

[Terreos]

Splashy I would not survive at your home. I keep my home at 75 in the summer and 65 in the winter. Anything hotter and I’d need a fan and a cold drink.

[splashy07]

Haha I love the heat, I must be part reptile....
I grew up in the 60's when no one had AC...
And AC in a car? they must be rich.....