Whelping box temperature - Page 1

What is the ideal temperature for the whelping box? Is using a pet safe heat pad better then a heat lamp? Or is a combination of the two best. Thanks, Tina

My females scratch up and tear up any pad or blanket in a whelping box. I sleep in the box all night and for three days am right there never leaving except to potty , fix a bite, feed rest of gang .I use heat lamps summer and winter , of course. Even in summer I use light first three days then the ac keeps nursery okay. I sometimes use a smaller watt in summer as the poor mom gets hot but pups have to be kept warm. Ive never used a temp gauge so I cant tell that. I just gage it by feeling pups. Cold pups wont move or eat and can die very quickly. I use heaters now here in Texas , as last night it was 30* Gets costly summer or winter. Our electric bills are outrageous and I live in the country. I warm my hands on the heat lamps and u have to make sure u build the heat lamps into the box at top so rambunchous females dont knock them down into box. Over the wire I hang them from ceilling rails touching the top of wire cages on the grill aroung the heat lamp cover. Im sure there are many larger kennels that have the heat ppiped in thru floor by either hot water method or furnace. Im a little breeder not afforded to that eminity,

Has anybody tried this to supply some heat to the puppies in the box? http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=e53aaf66-347a-4789-afcc-5d6fa77ed8b6

animules, those work great for temporarily keeping something warm but for a litter you probably would not want to use them as they are going to cool off. You need something that will keep a constant temp. The heating pads made just for puppies work very well.

I run a Kennel in India. We have about 2-3 litters a month. We use a whelping room. Keep the room air tight to prevent moisture and cold from penetrating. I hang a 200 watt bulb around 2 feet from the ground. This keep the room cosy and warm. ( Winters are not very cold, temp will drop to may be 10 degrees centigrade) We cover the floor with old papers which are replaced twice daily. The room is around 10 x 10 so if it gets hot the bitch moves the pups to a farther corner. If is cold we move the pups to the center closer to the light. We ussually need only to run the 200 watt bulb but if it gets really cold we switch on additional lamps that are mounted on side walls for more heat. Hope this helps.

I only used a heat lamp once and the mom trashed the whelping room and moved the pups out of the box, that was many years ago.. in Connecticut in the winter.. we kept the room warm with a portable heater I do use a thermometer - you can get them very reasonably priced just about anywhere and mine sits right on the rail in the box so I get the temp in the box... I use a couple of portable heaters in the room or a/c as needed (this is Georgia) and keep the box between 75 and 80 degrees .. depends on the mom. I also use those micro wave snuggle puppy things you can get in many catalogs... they micro for 5 - 10 minutes and keep warm for about 6 hours.. I put them under the pad in the box and it works great.... You have to be careful about heat lamps.. neonates can also get too warm and dehydrate very very quickly... I keep the box moderately warm, some books tell you 90+ degrees.. that's too hot for mom If you make the box comfortable enough for mom to stay in, everyone will be fine.. she will keep them warm.... hope this helps

I always prefer to whelp puppies in my home and keep them there until they have their first shots. I understand where this can be difficult, as I used to have a home with an ideal whelping place, and I do not now. It is best to have them in a room where air temperature, not necessarily box floor surface temperature is regulated. For newborns I like 80-degrees Fahrenheit as the dam will keep them warm when nursing and they tend to sleep in a pile and stay warm. The floor of my whelping box is elevated 1.5" from the floor, so there is no heat loss to the floor. After three (3) weeks of age the air temperature can be dropped to about 70-75 degrees Fahrenheit. By this time the puppies can better regulate their body temperature and the lower temperature slows the growth of bacteria and/or fungus. During the initial whelp I make sure to change the bedding materials as puppies appear in order to keep the whelping box dry-also very critical for comfort as well as preventing bacteria from multiplying. I should add that in addition to maintaining a stable air temperature without drafts, that privacy is an utmost need for a dam during the whelp and until the puppies are weaned. The puppies need to observe a calm and confident mother as these traits are imprinted at a very early age. Bob-O