Going through a heatwave; should I fridge? And how?

[faebugz]

I'm struggling to keep Lavenders tank temp down below 70, it has been creeping up as high as 73 even with ice and fans and a bubble wall, as well as being on the floor with a mesh top.
This heatwave likely won't last much longer, although we may have another before the summer ends (I live in the PNW, Canada).

I'm figuring fridge is the best option, but I'm scared to put her in there... My bf and I are living with his dad at the moment while we're looking for a place, and he's kind of an inconsiderate jerk at times. Even if he's aware my axolotl is in the Tupperware in the fridge, I wouldn't put it past him to take it out of the fridge and leave it on the counter, slosh it around, etc. Just intentionally mess with it to bother me, or because it's in his way. He has no respect for the fact that it's a life he's putting in danger.

Is my axolotl more at risk staying in the tank, or in the fridge?
How should I go about fridging her if I do go that route?

Thanks

 

[EasternRomioi3]

I have taken water that I already treated and tested, put it in the fridge for a few hours, then taken it out, tested the temp with my thermometer, and when it was like at 55, I added it slowly to my girl's tank. Takes it down to 65ish easily. I have spare Hawaiian Punch gallon jugs that we use for the treated water, half are for my dad's turtles, half for my axolotl. We've used old Coke liters, orange juice, anything that was plastic and thoroughly clean.

How many fans do you have? I got a second one and it makes a huge difference. I hope your little buddy is ok, my mom is very inconsiderate towards my axolotl so I worry a lot. I wouldn't do anything that would put your axolotl in the line of fire from your boyfriend's dad. Minimize the exposure there. Anyone who would be mean to such an endangered, blameless animal is a monster.

Please let us know how your axolotl is doing.

 

[Calgarycoppers]

fans and a rotation of 1-2L pop bottles filled with prime water and frozen - depending on your tank depends on how many

The fans need to point across the water at about a 30 degree angle

 

[faebugz]

Thank you for the thoughtful advice guys.

You're probably right in that it's better to keep her out of the line of fire!

She seems sluggish, but still healthy overall I think. Her tank is on the ground in the floor of an open closet/shelf system, which arguably might restrict air flow but it's the safest place for her. I have two fans, one on a ladder tilted at the water, and a weak one blowing away from the water. The one pointing the water is somewhat big so it's hard to exactly direct the airflow.

I might have some other fans I can configure better now that it's night. Part of my problem is it's so hot during the day that I can barely be in my room! I end up sleeping because the heat makes me woozy DX

I've been putting ice directly in, would you recommend frozen water bottles over that? Do they last longer?

I can always add more water straight (well with prime) from the tap that's colder, but it seems to climb back up so quickly. Worth it though?

Thanks again for the advice guys

 

[EasternRomioi3]

As far as ice, I do add some ice cubes, both to counteract her losing water to evaporation and to keep her temp down, but I have some solid freeze packs that I got from the local grocery store. They're the right size, weight, and durable, and they don't bother her. They cast a nice shadow and she likes to hide under them. I have them tethered on string so they don't drive and smack into things. When I need to cool her tank down asap, the two things I do is tank a 100% frozen bottle of water, which is tethered by some aluminum wire, because it's heavy and sinks partial (use the tether to keep it from hitting the bottom). The second thing I do is add cold water from the fridge. I have a spare thermometer, I put it in a bucket, clean my hands, put the cold water in, wait till it gets to 60 degrees, and then I add about 1 gallon of it, maybe half a gallon. Right now, my area is stuck in this heatwave too, but we haven't had rain in over a week so the water company is freaking out about bills, so I've had to be reserved with what water I use.

As for sluggish, man, my fat little axolotl girl has always been sluggish, since we bought her and she was like 2 inches long. IF that is unusual for your axolotl, just keep an eye on her, is she still eating? Mine is still eating anything I toss in for her but she likes to spend her days walking along the bottom, shoving her nose into the sand.

 

[Calgarycoppers]

Are you guys using prime treated water to make the ice you are adding and refrigerated water? or letting the water age for a minimum 24 hours before doing either of these?

commercial ice packs should be in ziplocs as they are full of chemicals which can kill you axolotl.

frozen bottles and fans is your best and safest option. they must be filled with prime treated water.

 

[faebugz]

Oh lavender is always sluggish compared to, say, a tetra zipping around their tank. But she has quite a bit of zip for an axolotl usually! She goes racing around her tank, swimming until she slams into something, climbing, clambering, pushing herself along the bottom. It's awesome.

Thank you for the run down on what you do, that's a good idea using those big solid packs! I wonder if they stay colder longer

Yes water is treated no worries there.

I had an idea maybe you guys could give your opinion on? I'm wanting to go camping for one night/two days, so I was brainstorming how I could keep Lavenders tank cool for that long when it hit me!

Maybe I could make a temporary tank in a drink cooler??

What I'm thinking of is pretty much this:

And I would clean it out and rinse it very well. Mine doesn't have a drain, so no worries there. Fill it with her tank water, add some of her deco (for comfort and BB), rig up her filter and airstones, and put the lid on diagonal (with a fan aimed at surface?)
I would also make sure to bring the temp slowly down to 62ish to give a good starting point, or maybe lower?

I could hypothetically keep her in this for the whole heatwave too

Thoughts? Am I missing a big reason why this wouldn't work??

 

[EasternRomioi3]

Are you guys using prime treated water to make the ice you are adding and refrigerated water? or letting the water age for a minimum 24 hours before doing either of these?

commercial ice packs should be in ziplocs as they are full of chemicals which can kill you axolotl.

frozen bottles and fans is your best and safest option. they must be filled with prime treated water.

Aw, man, that idea about the zip bags is good. I never thought of that. The ones we have are just plastic 1 dollar ones that you fill with ice, let them freeze, and they don't melt as fast. But we have solid blocks of cold packs, for our coolers, I could put them in zip bags and cool her tank even more! That's such a good idea. Never saw anyone suggest that before.

and @faebugz the solid ice packs are just easier and safer than the gooey ones you put in like kids' lunch boxes, since the solid packs don't break easy. Not like an axolotl could tear one open but I know my dad's turtles or even his caiman could go through it. To be fair, my dad's caiman eats her filter like it's a full chicken breast so. Idk if this is just an axolotl thing or an amphibian thing, but all the reptiles I've had all my life, their entire MO is "I see it, I bite it." Whereas my axolotl will pretty much chill if I go in to scoop stuff out of her tank. She doesn't even seem to care.