Guinea pigs moving outside after spending last year inside- is this ok?

Alfalfa

Afternoon all,

I've never posted on the Pets and Pet Care forum before (usually I'm on the pregnancy one) but I'm just looking for a bit of advice.

I have two guinea pigs currently living indoors in a big cage. I'm due to have a baby at the end of March and due to space issues the piggies are going to live outside in our garden. Can anyone give any advice on the best ( and most affordable!) hutches that I should look at? So far I've seen a few ok-ish ones in Pets at Home and in various pet shops but I was just wondering if anyone could give any advice on hutches they themselves have purchased.

Also, is the move outside going to be ok for my pigs?! We've had them since 8 weeks old and I'm worried that healthwise it won't be good for them and perhaps I should think about giving them away to a home where they can remain indoors. This would break my heart but as there is no room for them to stay indoors with us maybe this would be best all round.

Pregnancy is playing havoc with my hormones and I seem to be going overboard with my worries for my little piggies!

Jessw0

Theres no need to worry about moving them, they'll be fine. You just need to do it in summer when it's warm. If you move them when it's cold they won't have adequate fur.
We did it with our two house rabbits when we bought a dog, they are much happier outside, the heating inside used to make them too hot.
We built our own cage as most pet shop ones are quite small. There seem to be some good ones on ebay with built in runs, and you get a lot more for your money. Unless you have a handy man husband/friend etc.

soupdragon10

There's no reason why guineas shouldn't live outside - mine always did. If they've been used to a nice warm centrally heated home you would need to make sure that they are hardened to the weather conditions, as they might not have such thick coats having lived inside.

Putting them out during milder days once you have the hutch, and then gradually increasing their outside time shouldn't give them any problems. As long as the hutch is in a sheltered spot they should be fine.

BTW - we used to have a plastic sheet that we could roll down if very wet weather was forecast to stop the bedding etc. getting wet.

nessie216

All my Guineas (8 of them) live outside, they always have done.

I reccommend you get the biggest hutch you can - 4ft x 2ft minimum - i got 2 x 2tiered hutches from eBay for £75 each (i used the money from selling my car!) They are really good - not sure what the shop was though!

Once you have the hutch - get a few big double blankets - ask round charity shops - make a small donation (i got 6 double blankets for £5) then cover the fronts of the hutches up at night - ideally pin them back (i use drawing pins) to stop it being drafty - but make sure they get uncovered once the sun is up

Set the hutch up to face away from the sun at the highest point, ideally in a sheltered spot that is not too drafty iyswim

From experience guinea pigs do not like going up and down ramps so a single tiered would be ideal, but you may want to invest in some extra long legs to put it on (to prevent you hurting yourself when cleaning out)

I hope this helps, any other question pm me x

ontheroad_2

My guinea pigs have also always lived outside in their hutch. I'd agree with another poster though, if they've been used to living inside wait until the warmer weather is here before moving them outside.

jaqui59

Definitely wait until the warmer months before moving them outside into a spot away from direct sunlight and drafts ... and don't forget that excessive heat in the summer and cold drafts and damp in the colder months are extremely bad news for Guinea Pigs.

When they are outside for their first winter, make sure they always have loads of clean dry bedding and loads of hay or straw to hide in, and if its particulary bad weather, cover the cage (never cover the cage in the warm months) .. By the way, do you have a shed you could put the cage in?

Personally, I think looking after Guinea Pigs when they are outside is harder than when they are in, so I hope with your Baby's arrival you will find the time to give them the love and care they deserve, if not, maybe it would be kinder to hand them over to a rescue centre who would make sure they are rehomed with nice people.

Alfalfa

Thanks for all the advice guys, I've just been looking on eBay for some hutches and found quite a few I like. I was about to bid on a 2 tier hutch with a ramp but from what nessie216 has said maybe I should just stick to a single tier one and buy a separate run for them to go into on the grass when the weather is a bit warmer and we're spending more time outside???

We do have a shed and I've been told by some people that during the really harsh winter months we should move them inside so this is my plan for next winter. I am a bit apprehensive about them going outside but there will literally be no room for them once our baby comes along. I will miss them being inside as I do talk away to them all the time (I even squeak with them when they get all excited if they're being fed cucumber!!!!) but I don't think it'll be a case of out of sight, out of mind. We'll be in and out the garden all the time and when it's summer we usually spend most of our free time in there enjoying the weather. Fingers crossed I'm not just kidding myself that a new baby shouldn't disrupt this too much....

Alfalfa

Just another quick question. Do they need any vaccinations or anything before they move outside????

autumngirl

No they don't need any vaccinations to live outdoors. In the summer you'll have to be extra vigilant against flystrike though - this can affect guinea pigs indoors as well as outdoors, but obviously the risks are greater outdoors.

From experience, I agree with jacqui59 that it's much harder looking after guineas when housed outside. It's a lot more effort traipsing in and out to sort out feeding/cleaning and bringing them back and forth for lap time and floor time (during the Winter when they're not using an outside run). Also you have to think about keeping the hutch fox (& rat/mouse) proofed, you'll probably need to buy a lot more bedding material than you do atm (to keep them warm enough in the colder months) and it's harder to keep their temperature within the healthy ranges when they're outdoors. Obviously they need proper protection from cold, wet and wind but also in the summer you need to make sure they don't get too hot, as they can't regulate their own temperature and can easily get heatstroke.

Realistically it's much harder to keep an eye on their health as well, as the less time you spend with/near them, the harder it is to pick up on tell-tale signs that something isn't quite right....especially as guinea pigs are notorious for hiding their illnesses until they're often quite advanced. For me this is one of the main reasons why I keep mine indoors all year round now.

There are things you can do to help them stay warm and generally speaking plenty of people do house their guineas outside but, as yours aren't used to it, I personally wouldn't put them out until much much later than March. I'm pretty sure that the RSPCA would also advise leaving them indoors til Summer.

Not sure if we're allowed to post links to other forums but, if you want further help, I can highly recommend www.theguineapigforum.co.uk - it's a brilliant source of advice & support on everything to do with piggies

Good luck with everything!

julie03

my piggies love their ramp, they use the top floor for eating and sleeping and the bottom for chasing eachother
we also put 2 plastic garden chairs in front the cage everynight, i figured if foxes tried to get them they would make more noise and as im a light sleeper i would hear them