Warm mist or cool mist humidifier?

[RatsForever]

Hello everyone,

I have four rats at the moment who are being treated for respiratory illness and I'm confused on whether I should run a cool-mist or a warm-mist humidifier near their cage? Which would work the best, any suggestions?

Thank you kindly,

Linda

 

[jorats]

Is it overly dry at your place? I used to run a cool mist one but then mold started to grow on my walls.
My sister has asthma and she told me that humidity affects her far worse than being in a dry place. So I'm not sure adding humidity in the air is such a good thing.

 

[RatsForever]

Yes, it's very dry at my place. The vet recommended I run a humidifier but I forgot to ask if it should be a cool mist or warm mist. Debbie Ducommun also suggests humidifying the air in the room but doesn't mention what kind of mist.

I also have a friend who has asthma and isn't in favour of humidity. But, I fear respiratory distress so I want to do the best thing for my sick babies.

 

[jorats]

I think I would go with warm mist then.

 

[user 78]

I have a vaporizer that I run for the furballs, which is roughly a warm mist humidifier. The only difference I've been to really discern is the temperature you're comfortable with. A warm mist humidifier will make it muggy and warmer, a cool mist may make it feel a bit clammy. My mother swears up and down that my pediatrician told her to always use a cool mist, though.

During the season changes, I run it for about 30min to an hour [depending on how dry it is] every couple of days or so.

 

[SQ]

I use a cool mist humidifer.
I set the humidity level to one that is comfortable for rats and it turns itself off and on when needed.
I really, really like the humidifer I have.
I purchased it for Caleb as he had breathing problems. It has helped my ratties.

 

[RatsForever]

I'm not sure what to do now. I have a coll mist humidifier now but it really doesn't add enough moisture in the air. It's so dry in my place my own nose gets stuffed-up so I can imagine what my poor sick furkids are going through.

 

[user 78]

How often/long are you running it? Where are you running it in relation to where the rats live? If it's a smaller sized one, it may not be able to handle a larger area, so you may need to run it more often or for longer periods.

 

[jorats]

Linda, why not get yourself a hygrometer to measure the humidity and this will help you keep an eye on it. Then you can run the humidifier when needed.

 

[RatsForever]

The cool mist humidifier I have now is suppose to have a built in hygrometer and at the moment it is set-up at the highest humidity level (55%) but it doesn't turn on. My rats are in the living room which is quite small. Perhaps I should buy a separate hygrometer to actually measure the humidity level in my apartment.

I had one rat last year that went into respiratory distress and we made several trips into the bathroom to run the shower - it was just awful and now I'm terrified it will happen all over again with my current sick rats. So, that's why I want to purchase a new cool or warm mist humidifier that will help.

My oldest girl Bijoux (2.6 months old) even has very dry skin, which I've been adding a bit of olive oil in her food to help.

 

[jorats]

Another thing you can do is just set down a big bowl of water close to your heater vents.

 

[Melissa's ZOO]

I run a cool mist humidifier in my rat room at night and turn it off during the day. I have noticed that the girls no longer have crusty eyes and noses and that my hairless Willow's skin is not as dry and I only have to put lotion on her maybe once a week.

I also have one in my bedroom and I no longer wake up with a dry nose and throat.

I just turn them on when I get home from work and off when I leave for work so they run for about 5:50 p.m. to 8:00 a.m.

 

[RatsForever]

I appreciate all this great feedback - thank you kindly!!

I've decided to buy a cool mist humidifier and run it when I'm home. I'll palce the other humidifier in my other room.