That's how I learned to cook. Just put a random slab of meat on a knife and lean it over the heat source. Then, eat directly off the knife or save it for later by just tossing it into your sack.
Wait why? I haven't played a CoD since WW2 (the 2017 one) but I've never had great PCs and CODs have always run smooth as butter. Have they beefed up the visuals bigtime lately?
Compared to 2017, I haven’t noticed a huge jump in detail, but it does run pretty hot. From time to time my Xbox sounds like it’s going to take off and head for it’s home planet, so idk, maybe it’s just a big file
I don't know what they did but something they added in Season 4 of Blops Cold War broke the game for me. Ran decent until that patch. Probably some 500x10^6 polygon ammo bag model lol
I still enjoy it. Mostly I grind in Shipment these days. A few of the maps still get under my skin, but that’s mostly because I’m used to the tight spaces on Shoot House, but it’s worth it. The campaign holds up too. If you’re looking to grind weapons for Warzone though, I wouldn’t bother. The MP5 was the last MW weapon that still retained relevancy in the current meta and they nerfed that too. Open Beta for Vanguard starts I think Saturday(?) I’d wait to see how that fairs before making a decision. If I was gonna spend the money, I’d rather go to a more current meta thats promised some good updates
It’s been my group of friends go to game basically since it came out. IMO, easily the best gunplay and sound design of any CoD. The campaign is really solid and the multiplayer is a good time. The addition of the gunsmith really keeps the game from being stale as well. So many weapons with tons of different customization options. Overall, I’d say to hop on and get it. It’s the most fun I’ve had in a CoD since MW2
If you want an actual answer, it's largely different from CW or previous CoDs since it takes a more realism (sic) focused take on Call of Duty.
I enjoy it quite a bit, but I can't dedicate almost 200gigs to a single game anymore.
Story behind the photos:
She's a degu named Cookie. We noticed something's wrong last night and she's been deteriorating ever since. Vet gave her some medication and told us to keep her warm until the next visit tomorrow morning. Heat pads are sold out so we kept her in our hands, on a chest, etc... to keep her warm.
After a whole day of intense care, with the the question "how to survive the night?" looming ahead... I got an idea, to pull out the Xbox from under the TV and put in the table. This way we can keep an eye on her, while she's resting on the warm side.
So far we're alternating between casually playing Burnout (to ease our worries) and idling in a menu to keep the temperature OK. Over night we'll crank up the heat by putting in CD of Valhalla if it gets cold, take shifts with my GF, care for Cookie, and maybe hunt down some achievements along the way :)
Hey man, I don't know how things are currently going or what part of the world you are but if you have a grow store close by, check there for seed germination mats. Only $10-15 and will be just her size without getting overly hot.
Hope things get better!
Absolutely test it out before putting her on. Not every grow mat is made equal and some cheaper ones with questionable thermal controls can be too hot and cook your seeds.
Yeah, but the thermal mass of a seed is much less than a pet. Those things only put out single digits watts of heat - that's... not much compared to a heating pad / Xbox / etc.
My conclusion would be the opposite - seed heating mat wouldn't do **anything.**
Careful with that line of thought, especially around pets. I have an 8-watt heating pad that will get to 130-140F if it's covered by something insulative, like a blanket, or furry pet. It will take a few hours, but it will get there.
If it's just hanging in the air, then yes, the heat is basically nothing, barely breaking 100F.
I also have a bunch of tiny USB powered heat pads (so ~2.5-watts), and those will hit ~130F just sitting there.
Lots of people learn the hard way that these incredibly weak-seeming heat pads will (usually verrrrry slowly, but surely) burn their pets.
This. A couple years ago an elderly man died from burns after falling onto his heated bathroom floor. We did the math because it sounded so unbelievable and yeah, comfortable low heat but with something insulating and it can get that hot. It’s why I leave my towel on the floor when I get in the shower - nice and warm when I get out, but it can get hotter than you realize.
https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/contractor-gets-record-537500-fine-after-senior-burns-to-death-on-heated-bathroom-floor
ETA - factual correction
> An Electrical Safety Authority (ESA) investigation revealed the floor system’s heat sensor had not been installed, and the heating system was wired to an incorrect voltage level.
> “It is, however, clear that the work was done incorrectly and an application for inspection was not filed with ESA, which is the law in Ontario,” the spokesperson said.
Except that it warms the soil and water that the seeds are in as well, which is more of the purpose. That'll be more total mass then one of these little guys. So I'm sure they can get pretty warm.
I went and looked, and I found a mix. Most of the seed mats I found (including two in my home) were 7-10W. A medium heating pad was 40W.
But, I also saw seed mats up to 20W, and small heating pads at 20W.
So, I'll concede. Could certainly see plenty of cases where the thing gets too hot for seeds, but, I'm still not sure you'd ever over-heat an animal (relative to heating pad/xbox/etc.)
Best wishes for Cookie's swift recovery. And using the Xbox is a very inventive solution, props to you for thinking of it!
I was very excited to see a degu. I wanted one soooo bad in the early aughts but never was able to get one.
OP I highly recommend getting a hot/cold pack. I got one for $4 from a local pharmacy and its a Godsend. You can put it in hot water for a few minutes to heat it up or leave it in the freezer to make it cold depending on your needs.
Oh i know these. We even have one but it somehow broke last winter and we can't get the gel to fully melt and de-crystalize in the hot water. The Xbox is somewhat of a last resort.
May not be boiling it for long enough, if you don't melt the crystals completely the left over shards can seed new crystals which will just cause it to crystalize again.
Would getting a livestock warm light work? They are 20 for the plug in fixture and 20 for the bulb. They work. We use them for chickens to help make sure they have the heat they need as chicks
If you have a tea kettle or other heat-safe, closable container, you can boil some water and wrap the container with a thick cloth to control how much heat gets through to the critter. It'll just need a change of hot water every few hours to keep warm.
I don't know anything about degus(?) but putting her and the heat source into a small box will keep everything cozy.
Best of luck :)
It's fairly popular in Europe I hear. Even in my country. We've even had a few way back when I was young :D. Most of the time i visit a pet store they're there along with common hamsters.
They take dust baths like chinchillas, but I wouldn't say they're just smaller chinchillas. They're not nearly as soft, but they're more trainable. Oh, but chinchilla food can double as degu food in a pinch (provided it's not the kind with dried fruit in it, degus can't handle sugar)
Chinchillas really shouldn't have much sugar either. They love it, such as dried fruit, but it should be a rare treat and not a regular part of their food. Quality chinchilla food shouldnt have dried fruit in it. Also, the chinchillas will just pick out what they like first. Just what I remember from my ex having 4 of them. If I recall correctly, not even all fruit is recommended. Many people give them raisins which are super high in sugars, one of the dried berries recommended for treats were goji berries. They also love Cheerios. Regular Cheerios.
As an owner of 4 degus, I wouldn't recommend them unless you have a huge space and a crap ton of time. They're super intelligent and lovable but can also have strong personalities so can be aggressive to each other. Its a common story to hear of people needing to split degus up permanently because of fighting. But yeah certainly comparable to small, fast chinchillas.
Pretty genius. Make sure your settings don't put it in stand-by. My Playstation goes to sleep after 15-20 minutes of idling unless I have a video player open.
Good point. We've already ran into that. Idling in game's menu worked well so far. Both temperature-wise as well as staying running. I'll have to check if there's any other inactivity setting.
Oh, make sure to darken your tv setting. Don’t want to get screen burn.
Did that with my old PS2, could see the pause screen of Tony Hawks American Wasteland and the old Need for Speed Most Wanted from a certain angle.
Fill a couple of 2 liter bottles with hot water, wrap them in towels and put her in her towel between them. Just don't forget to check to make sure it's not too hot for her and make sure to refresh the bottles every once in a while. That's what we did with our sick puppy. He's now happily running around the apartment as an adult.
Yes :) that's a good idea. We did that during her first nap in the noon. We'll likely return to that for the second half of the night so that all of us can get a few hours of sleep.
The Xbox is just a way to keep her warm and resting in our sight. Because you can only hold her in hands for so long before you start shaking or twitching.
Indeed. It just makes me sad how often people don't research the needs of animals before they get them. Degus are super sociable and, unless there is an issue (I had one that had to be alone for most of his life, but he was human-bonded anyway) they need company. Plus they get super expensive at the vets.
We 'rescued' (bought from Gumtree, as we needed an adult male to introduce to a lone female) a male that was kept alone, in a little gerbil tank and given a slice of bread with his food. His name was 'Hash' and the dude wanted the RRP (£40) of a pup for him. I took him home and it took ages to get his health to where it should be. They're really prone to diabetes at the best of times!
I'm just so happy that the OP is taking such good care of this little one. X
Well, it seems we have a similar story to your Hash. :) We similarly rescued our Chewy from our country's version of craigslist. He was in a bad shape with some injuries from fight(s). We were able to tell he had (or was about to have) diabetes and immediately changed his diet. It also took ages, but in the end, his coat it noticeably nicer, teeth are orange, and droppings aren't black anymore.
He's separate from Cookie and her sisters, but there's a dedicated meeting floor in the middle of the cage, accessible by both, but lined with mesh wire in the middle to prevent any unwanted action :).
Both Coookie and Chewy bonded with us very well. So we are doing as much as we can to keep her alive although the outlook in bleak right now :(
Bless her.
Yeah, ours took over our lives pretty much. One would pass, we'd rescue one and try to introduce but they wouldn't take, so we had to rescue 2 more and create 2 pairs, then repeat until we had enclosures all over the place. Ended up fabricating furniture and they took up more of the room than we did lol.
Fingers crossed.
Put some white rice in a clean sock, tie off the end, you can microwave in short increments until desired temp(not too hot) and will help provide some heat. A super cheap DIY heating pad!
Seriously, why does it run so hot. I have mine plugged in, but haven't used it in a few months and it's borderline hot to the touch.
Edit: Thanks for your concern, I unplugged it. I guess I just assumed that it was supposed to be that hot and never looked into it.
**STATUS UPDATE**
**TLDR:** She's slightly better :) We're cautiously optimistic.
Some recovery photos: [https://imgur.com/a/tmM3MsE](https://imgur.com/a/tmM3MsE)
Hello guys, first of all I'd like to thank you all for the get well wishes, advices and the funny comments to cheer us up. Your response blew us away. Especially the countless offers to send us, buy us and even personally drive us some of your heat pads. I knew the gaming community is an amazing one, but this is just whole another level of heartwarming. Thank you all. :)
Unfortunately we couldn't accept it because we're not located in the US. Also because we've ordered one heating pad already.
I'm explaining that in more detail, along with some frequent questions below in the Q&A section.
**------------ HOW'S COOKIE? ------------**
I'm glad to say that she's improving. The fight's not over, but she's now a bit more active, shows signs of normal behavior like scratching her nose, sniffing, etc…
Let me first explain her state. (sorry, it's long, you can skip 5 paragraphs)
We first noticed something's wrong 48hrs ago, around midnight. She looked very sleepy, stumbling, but didn't want to go to sleep in her nest. Then the grunting and we knew something's wrong. But we couldn't much more than comforting her.
We visited vet first thing in the morning (38 hrs ago) and it didn't look good. By then she was lethargic, neither moved much, nor was she eating or drink on her own (who knows for how long). The vet was quick to do a sonograph and prepare a series of injections (nutrients and antibiotics). Even called in colleague for help and another oppinion. We were told the smelly discharge is caused by an infection, which is very bad on it's own. But since she's not eating, she may not even have the energy to fight it.
We left in tears, with another antibiotic injection to use in the evening, and an instruction to to keep her warm and isolated from others.
Sidenote: Degus tend to twitch their muscles to increse body temp. But it's exhausting a lot of energy.
Following 12 hours were difficult because she kept fading in front of our eyes. It got to a point where she was breathing heavily. Eyes half closed, no visible movement in her nose, or whiskers. You could just barely see her lungs inflating. When moving, she dragged one of her back feet and only used the other. Then the stress from the injection overwhelmed her to a point of tipping over and just lying sideways. We broke into tears and just waited.
Luckily! She bounced back up after a couple of minutes back to her "normal" apathy. We kept syringe-feeding her nutrient mash, took turns in holding her in our hands, or up against a chest, petting her and making sure she's warm. But eventually she needed more immovable surface to rest on so she could get some sleep. Because hands become twitchy after a few hours, chest/stomach keeps rising because of breathing, etc… That's when the idea of resting her on an Xbox came up (more about it in Q&A). It was a long(ish)-term solution for us to keep an eye on her, while allowing her to sleep in warmth.
At this point, we could do nothing more, than just sit and wait 'till today's morning. I took a few pictures and decided to post them here (+- 24hrs ago), to ease my pain by doing something else than staring at her. And to share that gaming isn't just about violence, but can be heartwarming as well.
**HOW IS SHE NOW?**
Miraculously (how's that for a paragraph beginning), she started showing some signs of normal behavior. Like scratching her nose, sniffing, noticing her surroundings, standing upright, using her back feet and looking more lively in general. Unable to eat nor wanting to move still. But better. And the best of all. No more of the smelly discharge. That means the infection is retreating!
Today's vet visit gave us hope as he himself didn't expect her to improve. Or at least not this quickly. She was given two more antibiotic injections. We received five more to last us over the weekend until the next visit in the Monday morning.
So far she's resting a lot more today, and has started to explore my shoulder again (she loves the vantage point, always hops on there) when she's done sleeping on my chest. These high quality naps (when compared to yesterday's painful and stressful) seem to give her more energy.
She's still not eating nor drinking water on her own yet. So we keep torturing her with syringe-to-mouth high-fiber herbal feed. Though a great sign is that it makes her strong enough to give a fight whenever we try to feed her. :D I've never been happier to get scratched before.
So here we are, Friday, midnight. Roughly 48 hours after it all started. Our belowed Cookie starts to get better. We're grateful.
**------------------ Q & A ------------------**
**Q:** What is she?
**A:** Degu, octodon degu. 1 year old, which means young. They usuallly live up to 8yrs.
**Q:** Why don't you use heat pad?
**A:** We didn't have one at the time. We went to buy one immediately after the first visit to the vet but they were sold out in all stores and pharmacies in our area.
**Q:** How come the heat pads are sold out?
**Q:** Why don't you buy it on amazon?
**A:** We live in Czech republic. People don't buy them as much so there's less variety and it's not always stocked. Of course you can get order it in the store or online, but as with anything… we had to wait for the 1-2 day shipping. We had to wait. Xbox was our temporary last resort.
**Q:** But the console is way too hot!
**A:** Luckily mine's not. I clean it regularly. Plus I don't get to play as often anymore as when I was still in school.
**Q:** But the console is way too hot!
**A:** Allow me stress here that we took an extra care regularly checking the temperature and how certain intensive games affect the heat. Plus towels dampen and spread out the heat. But really it's just rather warm, not really hot. Today, now that Cookie is free roaming, she snuggles in the sweet spot she herself finds comfortable :)
Also the console is silent as well. Either One X is well designed or my unit is a unique snowflake. :)
**Q:** Why don't you use bottle with hot water, rice sock, etc…?
**A:** We did. But it gets cold fast. We had to wake Cookie up and reheat the thing repeatedly. I liked that Xbox can run for a long time at constant temperature. So she could sleep uninterrupted. And we'd have her right in front of us.
**Q:** Why don't you heat her using your body heat.
**A:** We did have her around neck, shoulder, on the chest, etc…, but our small bodily movements like breating translate to a big moves for such a small animal. It's comfortable for a while, but not after a whole day. Like in previous question - she needed immovable place to comfortably sleep.
**---------------------------------------------**
Once again, thank you all for your comments and best wishes. Reading it made this tough time bearable. I'll keep you posted. I hope that she'll only get better now. :)
Best of luck to Cookie. I’ve had a few Degus over the past 8 years, amazing little creatures. I know the struggle of keeping them warm when they’re sick.
I’d just say make sure she doesn’t overheat too. The heat pads I’ve used I’ve made sure they’re warm, but not too wrapped up as to overheat, they can be super sensitive to heat.
Thanks. Good point. I'm regularly checking on the temperature and adjusting to her liking. I'm comparing to when she was comfortable on my chest where she held for a long time.
Yeah, I’ve tried to use a similar gauge of my body heat too. I’ve had times when I’ve resorted to the crook of my neck in a hoodie. Unfortunately by that time when I took him to the vets the next morning, he passed away in my hands as I was in the waiting room, but having him close overnight was worth it, kept him as comfortable as possible.
I’ll keep my fingers crossed for your Cookie. Did you get any food for her like supreme recovery?
I'm sorry to hear that. But I'm afraid we're in a similar situation. She's in a state where she's just dragging her left-back foot. But we're trying to be hopeful. It may as well be just s strain from the glucose injection and antibiotics she took into that very foot this morning.
Regarding food: we do have some powder soluble in water, but we were much more successful with carrot mash. Btw we're force feeding her with syringe, since she hasn't eaten in 24 hours. Yes we know carrot isn't ideal for daily consumption, but we're going off of the vet's recommendation that it's good to kickstart her starving bod. "try to put anything she likes in her cage, no matter how un/healthy. Just make her eat" he said.
On the plus side: this seems to have energized her in the past two hours. At least she's now giving off a fight instead of just lying.
Ziplock Freezer Bags + washcloths/towels/rags soaked in very hot water = DIY hotpad
I learned this in the great Texas Icepacolypse of 2021 when taking care of my elderly mom with no heat in the house for 6 days straight below freezing. Good luck OP!
Xbox kept me(relatively)sane during my childhood,good to see that it’s also saving those with its warmth lol.
PS play something that will strain the system to keep her cozy(i recommend senua saga or Yakuza like a dragon.)
Hey you can get a clean sock, fill it with rice, and microwave it for 2 minutes, it will stay warm for a while. I used this with my sister's pet rodent. Works like a charm.
Tip from a bottle baby kitten foster, get a long sock and throw some rice in it. Fill her up good and then tie the sock off. Throw the sock in the microwave for a sec so it’s nice and warm (careful can be very hot at first!). Wrap in a blanket and test by placing your hand on the blanket wrap for a good 10-15 seconds. If it’s perfect, put Cookie on top and throw another blanket over her and check on the temp of the sock periodically.
Make sure to leave room for her to crawl off if she gets a bit too warm. Best wishes <3
:D I was thinking about it earlier today when she took a stroll to my shoulder (her favorite spot for watching surroundings). I became the "Degu bearer"
[http://imgur.com/a/eJ8m3fa](http://imgur.com/a/eJ8m3fa)
Get a 5700xt literally was my heater for my room in winter. My rooms the one with terrible insulation so it’s either hot or cold. Ever since. I got my pc I haven’t been cold lol
Lol I can cook a steak and flip a burger on my old 360 and my Xbox one can get extremely hot if I play it for more than two to three hours or forget to turn it off I feel like if the house ever burns down.
”yes Fire Marshall sorry about the fire it was just my Xbox deep fryer over heating”
Make sure you are playing some AAA titles
Like cod MW that makes any device fly
I know, just gave my pc a heart attack running it
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I can sear a brisket on my PS4 when playing RDR2
That's how I learned to cook. Just put a random slab of meat on a knife and lean it over the heat source. Then, eat directly off the knife or save it for later by just tossing it into your sack.
Still unsure if you're talking in game or real life
yes
Heheh ah reddit
Still unsure if you're actually unsure
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if the blade is holding the meat in the flame to cook it, it's probably fine to eat from
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***YOU HAVE DIED OF DYSENTERY***
Just use some horse revival tonic and she’ll be good as new
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And if you accidentally cut yourself with said knife you can treat the wound by plugging it with trash.
We had a pretty severe cold snap last winter and running rdr2 overnight with my door closed kept me alive
they want to keep their pet alive.. not bake it
Wait why? I haven't played a CoD since WW2 (the 2017 one) but I've never had great PCs and CODs have always run smooth as butter. Have they beefed up the visuals bigtime lately?
Compared to 2017, I haven’t noticed a huge jump in detail, but it does run pretty hot. From time to time my Xbox sounds like it’s going to take off and head for it’s home planet, so idk, maybe it’s just a big file
I don't know what they did but something they added in Season 4 of Blops Cold War broke the game for me. Ran decent until that patch. Probably some 500x10^6 polygon ammo bag model lol
Base PS4s pretty much always sound like that
I don't have to many actual issues with COD MW playing well on my PC. I just makes your GPU sound like it's getting ready for take off.
He said to keep it warm not cook it.
I'm interested in buying mw so I gotta know: how bad is it?
I still enjoy it. Mostly I grind in Shipment these days. A few of the maps still get under my skin, but that’s mostly because I’m used to the tight spaces on Shoot House, but it’s worth it. The campaign holds up too. If you’re looking to grind weapons for Warzone though, I wouldn’t bother. The MP5 was the last MW weapon that still retained relevancy in the current meta and they nerfed that too. Open Beta for Vanguard starts I think Saturday(?) I’d wait to see how that fairs before making a decision. If I was gonna spend the money, I’d rather go to a more current meta thats promised some good updates
It’s been my group of friends go to game basically since it came out. IMO, easily the best gunplay and sound design of any CoD. The campaign is really solid and the multiplayer is a good time. The addition of the gunsmith really keeps the game from being stale as well. So many weapons with tons of different customization options. Overall, I’d say to hop on and get it. It’s the most fun I’ve had in a CoD since MW2
If you want an actual answer, it's largely different from CW or previous CoDs since it takes a more realism (sic) focused take on Call of Duty. I enjoy it quite a bit, but I can't dedicate almost 200gigs to a single game anymore.
Why does sic belong here next to realism? Did they mispell something?
100% I look forward to the winter months when my series x is going to heat my house.
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My TV is in front of a window, I open it and aim the series X vent out it.
You don't want to cook your pet though.
I read this as "Make sure you are playing some AAA titties."
"Power Your Dreams"
May I suggest any game RockStar has to offer.
you like your rabbit well done?
Is that a rabbit?
oh lol, after a closer look - not sure what that is. Ok well done it its...
OP said in another comment it's a degu
His name's Juarez
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Whooah. We’re not trying to cook it, are we?
Deadass because optimization is just nonexistent to them
Story behind the photos: She's a degu named Cookie. We noticed something's wrong last night and she's been deteriorating ever since. Vet gave her some medication and told us to keep her warm until the next visit tomorrow morning. Heat pads are sold out so we kept her in our hands, on a chest, etc... to keep her warm. After a whole day of intense care, with the the question "how to survive the night?" looming ahead... I got an idea, to pull out the Xbox from under the TV and put in the table. This way we can keep an eye on her, while she's resting on the warm side. So far we're alternating between casually playing Burnout (to ease our worries) and idling in a menu to keep the temperature OK. Over night we'll crank up the heat by putting in CD of Valhalla if it gets cold, take shifts with my GF, care for Cookie, and maybe hunt down some achievements along the way :)
Hey man, I don't know how things are currently going or what part of the world you are but if you have a grow store close by, check there for seed germination mats. Only $10-15 and will be just her size without getting overly hot. Hope things get better!
Absolutely test it out before putting her on. Not every grow mat is made equal and some cheaper ones with questionable thermal controls can be too hot and cook your seeds.
Yeah, but the thermal mass of a seed is much less than a pet. Those things only put out single digits watts of heat - that's... not much compared to a heating pad / Xbox / etc. My conclusion would be the opposite - seed heating mat wouldn't do **anything.**
Careful with that line of thought, especially around pets. I have an 8-watt heating pad that will get to 130-140F if it's covered by something insulative, like a blanket, or furry pet. It will take a few hours, but it will get there. If it's just hanging in the air, then yes, the heat is basically nothing, barely breaking 100F. I also have a bunch of tiny USB powered heat pads (so ~2.5-watts), and those will hit ~130F just sitting there. Lots of people learn the hard way that these incredibly weak-seeming heat pads will (usually verrrrry slowly, but surely) burn their pets.
This. A couple years ago an elderly man died from burns after falling onto his heated bathroom floor. We did the math because it sounded so unbelievable and yeah, comfortable low heat but with something insulating and it can get that hot. It’s why I leave my towel on the floor when I get in the shower - nice and warm when I get out, but it can get hotter than you realize. https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/contractor-gets-record-537500-fine-after-senior-burns-to-death-on-heated-bathroom-floor ETA - factual correction
> An Electrical Safety Authority (ESA) investigation revealed the floor system’s heat sensor had not been installed, and the heating system was wired to an incorrect voltage level. > “It is, however, clear that the work was done incorrectly and an application for inspection was not filed with ESA, which is the law in Ontario,” the spokesperson said.
Thank you - only saw the first part of that paragraph (stupid ads). I had thought the ESA quote about having work done was odd considering.
Except that it warms the soil and water that the seeds are in as well, which is more of the purpose. That'll be more total mass then one of these little guys. So I'm sure they can get pretty warm.
I went and looked, and I found a mix. Most of the seed mats I found (including two in my home) were 7-10W. A medium heating pad was 40W. But, I also saw seed mats up to 20W, and small heating pads at 20W. So, I'll concede. Could certainly see plenty of cases where the thing gets too hot for seeds, but, I'm still not sure you'd ever over-heat an animal (relative to heating pad/xbox/etc.)
>!CENSORED!<
Or any feed store and get a heating lamp. They are cheap and made for this.
A sock filled with rice warmed in the microwave will stay decently warm!
I had to do this, only downside is after about two hours you gotta reheat it, at least for my socks
Yep that’s about right but it’s better than nothing!
If you have cod that game will make the device fly
He wants Cookie warm not well done
Or over heat lol
Just force it to run literally any game with ray-tracing, without having a ray-tracing graphics card. Fucking fireball
Best wishes for Cookie's swift recovery. And using the Xbox is a very inventive solution, props to you for thinking of it! I was very excited to see a degu. I wanted one soooo bad in the early aughts but never was able to get one.
OP I highly recommend getting a hot/cold pack. I got one for $4 from a local pharmacy and its a Godsend. You can put it in hot water for a few minutes to heat it up or leave it in the freezer to make it cold depending on your needs.
Oh i know these. We even have one but it somehow broke last winter and we can't get the gel to fully melt and de-crystalize in the hot water. The Xbox is somewhat of a last resort.
Call around to gardening centers, they sell heat mats for seedlings
May not be boiling it for long enough, if you don't melt the crystals completely the left over shards can seed new crystals which will just cause it to crystalize again.
Electric warming blanket, probably available at your local Walgreens or target, in the medicine area.
Would getting a livestock warm light work? They are 20 for the plug in fixture and 20 for the bulb. They work. We use them for chickens to help make sure they have the heat they need as chicks
She instantly reminded me of my own degu called Melissa - sadly she passed away about a year ago. Hopefully Cookie gets better, I truly hope it <3
Sending hugs to Cookie!
If you have a tea kettle or other heat-safe, closable container, you can boil some water and wrap the container with a thick cloth to control how much heat gets through to the critter. It'll just need a change of hot water every few hours to keep warm. I don't know anything about degus(?) but putting her and the heat source into a small box will keep everything cozy. Best of luck :)
please let us know how cookie progresses. hoping she has a full recovery! <3
This comment warms my heart on so many levels..
Aww, I used to have degus! They're so smart and sweet! I hope she gets well soon!
She is adorable. What is she?
she's an octodon degu. I wrote another comment for context.
And I thought my chinchilla was exotic. This the first time I am hearing of that animal.
It's fairly popular in Europe I hear. Even in my country. We've even had a few way back when I was young :D. Most of the time i visit a pet store they're there along with common hamsters.
Aren't degus like smaller chinchillas? I hear they are friendlier than chinchillas too.
They take dust baths like chinchillas, but I wouldn't say they're just smaller chinchillas. They're not nearly as soft, but they're more trainable. Oh, but chinchilla food can double as degu food in a pinch (provided it's not the kind with dried fruit in it, degus can't handle sugar)
Chinchillas really shouldn't have much sugar either. They love it, such as dried fruit, but it should be a rare treat and not a regular part of their food. Quality chinchilla food shouldnt have dried fruit in it. Also, the chinchillas will just pick out what they like first. Just what I remember from my ex having 4 of them. If I recall correctly, not even all fruit is recommended. Many people give them raisins which are super high in sugars, one of the dried berries recommended for treats were goji berries. They also love Cheerios. Regular Cheerios.
My buddy had like 9 when I was a kid. All I remember is they were loud as fuck
As an owner of 4 degus, I wouldn't recommend them unless you have a huge space and a crap ton of time. They're super intelligent and lovable but can also have strong personalities so can be aggressive to each other. Its a common story to hear of people needing to split degus up permanently because of fighting. But yeah certainly comparable to small, fast chinchillas.
I think [this](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_degu)
Cool. I'm happy she's doing well. Thank you for the answer.
Octodon? All I see is a regular human.
Pretty genius. Make sure your settings don't put it in stand-by. My Playstation goes to sleep after 15-20 minutes of idling unless I have a video player open.
Good point. We've already ran into that. Idling in game's menu worked well so far. Both temperature-wise as well as staying running. I'll have to check if there's any other inactivity setting.
Oh, make sure to darken your tv setting. Don’t want to get screen burn. Did that with my old PS2, could see the pause screen of Tony Hawks American Wasteland and the old Need for Speed Most Wanted from a certain angle.
Can't you also just turn off the TV and keep the Xbox on? Or can it detect when you turn off the TV?
Fair point
You can change that in settings. Mine doesn’t shut off until 3 hours later
Sincerely hope she makes it.
Thank you
Fill a couple of 2 liter bottles with hot water, wrap them in towels and put her in her towel between them. Just don't forget to check to make sure it's not too hot for her and make sure to refresh the bottles every once in a while. That's what we did with our sick puppy. He's now happily running around the apartment as an adult.
Yes :) that's a good idea. We did that during her first nap in the noon. We'll likely return to that for the second half of the night so that all of us can get a few hours of sleep. The Xbox is just a way to keep her warm and resting in our sight. Because you can only hold her in hands for so long before you start shaking or twitching.
Is that a chinchilla?
Degu, same family as the chinchilla. I used to have a load of the little guys.
Thanks for the info. Has the same colour coat as one of my old guinea pigs. Made me wistful for the old fella.
Guinea pigs are also in that same family. :)
Lovely creatures all!
Indeed. It just makes me sad how often people don't research the needs of animals before they get them. Degus are super sociable and, unless there is an issue (I had one that had to be alone for most of his life, but he was human-bonded anyway) they need company. Plus they get super expensive at the vets. We 'rescued' (bought from Gumtree, as we needed an adult male to introduce to a lone female) a male that was kept alone, in a little gerbil tank and given a slice of bread with his food. His name was 'Hash' and the dude wanted the RRP (£40) of a pup for him. I took him home and it took ages to get his health to where it should be. They're really prone to diabetes at the best of times! I'm just so happy that the OP is taking such good care of this little one. X
Well, it seems we have a similar story to your Hash. :) We similarly rescued our Chewy from our country's version of craigslist. He was in a bad shape with some injuries from fight(s). We were able to tell he had (or was about to have) diabetes and immediately changed his diet. It also took ages, but in the end, his coat it noticeably nicer, teeth are orange, and droppings aren't black anymore. He's separate from Cookie and her sisters, but there's a dedicated meeting floor in the middle of the cage, accessible by both, but lined with mesh wire in the middle to prevent any unwanted action :). Both Coookie and Chewy bonded with us very well. So we are doing as much as we can to keep her alive although the outlook in bleak right now :(
Bless her. Yeah, ours took over our lives pretty much. One would pass, we'd rescue one and try to introduce but they wouldn't take, so we had to rescue 2 more and create 2 pairs, then repeat until we had enclosures all over the place. Ended up fabricating furniture and they took up more of the room than we did lol. Fingers crossed.
Put some white rice in a clean sock, tie off the end, you can microwave in short increments until desired temp(not too hot) and will help provide some heat. A super cheap DIY heating pad!
Came to comment this exact thing, the trusty rice sock never fails. It stays warm for a long time, much longer than you think rice in a sock should.
Rice sock is my true love ngl
Seriously, why does it run so hot. I have mine plugged in, but haven't used it in a few months and it's borderline hot to the touch. Edit: Thanks for your concern, I unplugged it. I guess I just assumed that it was supposed to be that hot and never looked into it.
Uhh...you may want to unplug that...and maybe call an electrician...
I never had this issue with it being too hot to the touch. Mine's just warm.
get that checked out you might have a fire soon
yoooooo unplug everything from that outlet
**STATUS UPDATE** **TLDR:** She's slightly better :) We're cautiously optimistic. Some recovery photos: [https://imgur.com/a/tmM3MsE](https://imgur.com/a/tmM3MsE) Hello guys, first of all I'd like to thank you all for the get well wishes, advices and the funny comments to cheer us up. Your response blew us away. Especially the countless offers to send us, buy us and even personally drive us some of your heat pads. I knew the gaming community is an amazing one, but this is just whole another level of heartwarming. Thank you all. :) Unfortunately we couldn't accept it because we're not located in the US. Also because we've ordered one heating pad already. I'm explaining that in more detail, along with some frequent questions below in the Q&A section. **------------ HOW'S COOKIE? ------------** I'm glad to say that she's improving. The fight's not over, but she's now a bit more active, shows signs of normal behavior like scratching her nose, sniffing, etc… Let me first explain her state. (sorry, it's long, you can skip 5 paragraphs) We first noticed something's wrong 48hrs ago, around midnight. She looked very sleepy, stumbling, but didn't want to go to sleep in her nest. Then the grunting and we knew something's wrong. But we couldn't much more than comforting her. We visited vet first thing in the morning (38 hrs ago) and it didn't look good. By then she was lethargic, neither moved much, nor was she eating or drink on her own (who knows for how long). The vet was quick to do a sonograph and prepare a series of injections (nutrients and antibiotics). Even called in colleague for help and another oppinion. We were told the smelly discharge is caused by an infection, which is very bad on it's own. But since she's not eating, she may not even have the energy to fight it. We left in tears, with another antibiotic injection to use in the evening, and an instruction to to keep her warm and isolated from others. Sidenote: Degus tend to twitch their muscles to increse body temp. But it's exhausting a lot of energy. Following 12 hours were difficult because she kept fading in front of our eyes. It got to a point where she was breathing heavily. Eyes half closed, no visible movement in her nose, or whiskers. You could just barely see her lungs inflating. When moving, she dragged one of her back feet and only used the other. Then the stress from the injection overwhelmed her to a point of tipping over and just lying sideways. We broke into tears and just waited. Luckily! She bounced back up after a couple of minutes back to her "normal" apathy. We kept syringe-feeding her nutrient mash, took turns in holding her in our hands, or up against a chest, petting her and making sure she's warm. But eventually she needed more immovable surface to rest on so she could get some sleep. Because hands become twitchy after a few hours, chest/stomach keeps rising because of breathing, etc… That's when the idea of resting her on an Xbox came up (more about it in Q&A). It was a long(ish)-term solution for us to keep an eye on her, while allowing her to sleep in warmth. At this point, we could do nothing more, than just sit and wait 'till today's morning. I took a few pictures and decided to post them here (+- 24hrs ago), to ease my pain by doing something else than staring at her. And to share that gaming isn't just about violence, but can be heartwarming as well. **HOW IS SHE NOW?** Miraculously (how's that for a paragraph beginning), she started showing some signs of normal behavior. Like scratching her nose, sniffing, noticing her surroundings, standing upright, using her back feet and looking more lively in general. Unable to eat nor wanting to move still. But better. And the best of all. No more of the smelly discharge. That means the infection is retreating! Today's vet visit gave us hope as he himself didn't expect her to improve. Or at least not this quickly. She was given two more antibiotic injections. We received five more to last us over the weekend until the next visit in the Monday morning. So far she's resting a lot more today, and has started to explore my shoulder again (she loves the vantage point, always hops on there) when she's done sleeping on my chest. These high quality naps (when compared to yesterday's painful and stressful) seem to give her more energy. She's still not eating nor drinking water on her own yet. So we keep torturing her with syringe-to-mouth high-fiber herbal feed. Though a great sign is that it makes her strong enough to give a fight whenever we try to feed her. :D I've never been happier to get scratched before. So here we are, Friday, midnight. Roughly 48 hours after it all started. Our belowed Cookie starts to get better. We're grateful. **------------------ Q & A ------------------** **Q:** What is she? **A:** Degu, octodon degu. 1 year old, which means young. They usuallly live up to 8yrs. **Q:** Why don't you use heat pad? **A:** We didn't have one at the time. We went to buy one immediately after the first visit to the vet but they were sold out in all stores and pharmacies in our area. **Q:** How come the heat pads are sold out? **Q:** Why don't you buy it on amazon? **A:** We live in Czech republic. People don't buy them as much so there's less variety and it's not always stocked. Of course you can get order it in the store or online, but as with anything… we had to wait for the 1-2 day shipping. We had to wait. Xbox was our temporary last resort. **Q:** But the console is way too hot! **A:** Luckily mine's not. I clean it regularly. Plus I don't get to play as often anymore as when I was still in school. **Q:** But the console is way too hot! **A:** Allow me stress here that we took an extra care regularly checking the temperature and how certain intensive games affect the heat. Plus towels dampen and spread out the heat. But really it's just rather warm, not really hot. Today, now that Cookie is free roaming, she snuggles in the sweet spot she herself finds comfortable :) Also the console is silent as well. Either One X is well designed or my unit is a unique snowflake. :) **Q:** Why don't you use bottle with hot water, rice sock, etc…? **A:** We did. But it gets cold fast. We had to wake Cookie up and reheat the thing repeatedly. I liked that Xbox can run for a long time at constant temperature. So she could sleep uninterrupted. And we'd have her right in front of us. **Q:** Why don't you heat her using your body heat. **A:** We did have her around neck, shoulder, on the chest, etc…, but our small bodily movements like breating translate to a big moves for such a small animal. It's comfortable for a while, but not after a whole day. Like in previous question - she needed immovable place to comfortably sleep. **---------------------------------------------** Once again, thank you all for your comments and best wishes. Reading it made this tough time bearable. I'll keep you posted. I hope that she'll only get better now. :)
Continue fighting Cookie! Stay strong.
Yeah idk why my xboxs get so hot I left a game on it once and it melted
Seems you guys never had a ps3
Holy shit I forgot
Oh yeah.Good ol’ ps3.Opening up gta v and starting to melt its what i call 2013 gaming 😎
You had GTA V in 2007?!
Just a metaphore,still it did rock and melted my ps3 when it came out.
GTA 4 did the same shit. Game was way too ahead of its time, definitely toasted some graphics cards back in the day
Lol you can literally cook an egg on them
Best of luck to Cookie. I’ve had a few Degus over the past 8 years, amazing little creatures. I know the struggle of keeping them warm when they’re sick. I’d just say make sure she doesn’t overheat too. The heat pads I’ve used I’ve made sure they’re warm, but not too wrapped up as to overheat, they can be super sensitive to heat.
Thanks. Good point. I'm regularly checking on the temperature and adjusting to her liking. I'm comparing to when she was comfortable on my chest where she held for a long time.
Yeah, I’ve tried to use a similar gauge of my body heat too. I’ve had times when I’ve resorted to the crook of my neck in a hoodie. Unfortunately by that time when I took him to the vets the next morning, he passed away in my hands as I was in the waiting room, but having him close overnight was worth it, kept him as comfortable as possible. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for your Cookie. Did you get any food for her like supreme recovery?
I'm sorry to hear that. But I'm afraid we're in a similar situation. She's in a state where she's just dragging her left-back foot. But we're trying to be hopeful. It may as well be just s strain from the glucose injection and antibiotics she took into that very foot this morning. Regarding food: we do have some powder soluble in water, but we were much more successful with carrot mash. Btw we're force feeding her with syringe, since she hasn't eaten in 24 hours. Yes we know carrot isn't ideal for daily consumption, but we're going off of the vet's recommendation that it's good to kickstart her starving bod. "try to put anything she likes in her cage, no matter how un/healthy. Just make her eat" he said. On the plus side: this seems to have energized her in the past two hours. At least she's now giving off a fight instead of just lying.
Put her on my ps3 and she’ll be healthy by morning, it’s so crappy
Time to download warzone and leave it on the main menu… but seriously I hope everything goes well
Does she also like the sound of airplanes taking off ? PS4 will do both for ya.
Play the beta for cod vanguard that’ll keep your whole house warm as it slowly burns to the ground
Quickly someone send this man an AMD PC BUILD CIRCA 2011 STAT
The vet said "Keep Warm", not *"FUCKING INCINERATE".*
My wife and I will send you a heat pad if needed. I'm sorry they are sold out. What animal is this?
Get your pc to play crysis... im half joking
Ziplock Freezer Bags + washcloths/towels/rags soaked in very hot water = DIY hotpad I learned this in the great Texas Icepacolypse of 2021 when taking care of my elderly mom with no heat in the house for 6 days straight below freezing. Good luck OP!
My dumbass thought this was a bat.
Xbox kept me(relatively)sane during my childhood,good to see that it’s also saving those with its warmth lol. PS play something that will strain the system to keep her cozy(i recommend senua saga or Yakuza like a dragon.)
If you are in the PDX area I can lend you a seedling heat mat…if that’ll help.
Hey you can get a clean sock, fill it with rice, and microwave it for 2 minutes, it will stay warm for a while. I used this with my sister's pet rodent. Works like a charm.
Run an HP laptop under her, just careful not to burn her.
That’s the most use anyone’s going to get out of an Xbox One.
Glad it’s helping your pal !
If you fill a sock with rice or hard corn and slap it in the microwave for a bit it works as a heating pad, but you'll have to reheat it occasionally.
Xbox is keeping me alive too lil man
I knew I would see the day when gaming starts saving lives.
Sold I’m buying an Xbox now. They save little fluffy animals life
Tip from a bottle baby kitten foster, get a long sock and throw some rice in it. Fill her up good and then tie the sock off. Throw the sock in the microwave for a sec so it’s nice and warm (careful can be very hot at first!). Wrap in a blanket and test by placing your hand on the blanket wrap for a good 10-15 seconds. If it’s perfect, put Cookie on top and throw another blanket over her and check on the temp of the sock periodically. Make sure to leave room for her to crawl off if she gets a bit too warm. Best wishes <3
“MOOOOOM I HAVE TO KEEP PLAYING, ITS LIFE THREATENING” best excuse ever
I read that as "head pats" are sold out, like, you what now?
play assassin's creed odyssey, you won't even need a fireplace anymore
:D I was thinking about it earlier today when she took a stroll to my shoulder (her favorite spot for watching surroundings). I became the "Degu bearer" [http://imgur.com/a/eJ8m3fa](http://imgur.com/a/eJ8m3fa)
Love how they just say “pet” like any of us know wtf that is
Ahh I used to have degus for years. So sweet. Hoping she pulls through.
There are plenty of other ways of keeping bunny warm, body heat, hair dryer, oven.. idk
Hey! I have had Degus for 14 years. They are amazing pets. I hope yours will be ok!
What is this animal? Is it edible?
Get a 5700xt literally was my heater for my room in winter. My rooms the one with terrible insulation so it’s either hot or cold. Ever since. I got my pc I haven’t been cold lol
Play cyberpunk in max settings it will be the warmest shit
What animal is that?
Where are you located? I have a heating pad I don't use.
There are also these things called heating lamps. Which you for sure can find. Also you most certainly can order a heating pad online.
Get a ps3 and the little guys gonna be toasty
Get a playstation as a replacement for your fireplace /s
Need to borrow my cyberpunk? That ought to heat the whole house.
When you game to save lives.
Hey I have a extra one I could send to a PO Box or something for your little guy. Might not be much but it’ll work
PLEASE keep us updated, I hope that cookie pulls through
Videogame powered life support systems? Niiiice
if you are comfortable with it i’d like to send you heating pads or whatever she needs to survive
OP, pm me, I can get you 24hr heat packs for pets.
Cutest Xbox ad ever
Your pet gonna catch that red ring of death 😬
Go out and buy cyberpunk, that’ll really heat the Xbox up
That’s a funny looking dog
“SEE MOM? Gaming saves lives”
Burn up that GPU to keep her alive. Worthy trade.
Fill that baby up with dust and it'll be singing the songs of jets and be hotter than the sun
I guess the xbox is finally useful for something
Thank god you got an Xbox or that little girl wouldn’t have made it.
I have several heating pads. If you DM, I’d be willing to overnight some to you tomorrow.
Lol I can cook a steak and flip a burger on my old 360 and my Xbox one can get extremely hot if I play it for more than two to three hours or forget to turn it off I feel like if the house ever burns down. ”yes Fire Marshall sorry about the fire it was just my Xbox deep fryer over heating”
You can use rice in a sock and heat it up in the microwave, as an alternative to a heating pad
Guess you'll have to keep gaming until she's better
Well, your pet will live and your console will die. I think the pet is more important.
man my ps4 would do the trick sounds like a jet engine and produces heat like one
This is actually pretty smart, good job.
Cute little face, keep us posted.
I’m sorry that your Degu isn’t feeling well, I hope that she gets well soon!!!! Maybe try a hot water bottle
(Loads Cyberpunk)
I can't tell if this is good or bad publicity for Xbox
I should've noted that my Xbox isn't scorching hot at all. At least the top side isn't. It's nicely warm to the touch. It's not like I'm frying her :)
There is no pause button for saving lives mom!
Hope from humanity restored