any guinea pig money saving tips?

louisdog

I think that you could just about do 2 in a cage that size, 3 would be the absolute absolute maximum but still technically very overcrowded.

What were your thoughts, does that sound about what you were thinking already?

Ideally you'd want a 120cm long cage per pair of GPs really.

How many guinea pigs do you have? I have four, they are so cute!

Cheers
Alex

Rummer

At the moment we have three in each cage and they seem very content, I did think that was an absolute max to be honest. At the moment we have six and are due to get another three in the next few weeks. We have had many different small animals in the past but we are now focusing on the pigs. All of them are rescue animals and I was hoping that we could accommodate a couple more however I do not want them to be squished or unhappy.

The shed outdoors was purpose built for them so they would have a huge amount of space and access to a run every day and we had a hoped they would be out there all year round however the extreme drops in temperature meant that we brought them indoors to keep them safe.

I have tried to convince my OH to let me have a piggie room but he is having none of it!

louisdog

A shame you aren't allowed a piggy room!

Mine have more space outside in the summer than they do in their indoor winter quarters, at least that way they don't get too cold/catch pneumonia or something.

What's the issue with getting another two, is it finding space for another cage or buying another cage? Only they come up quite cheap on Ebay and in the small ads quite often.

How big is your shed and run, is the run on concrete, I am wondering about setting up something similar (mine have a chicken ark type thing at the moment).

Cheers
Alex

Rummer

At the moment we have two cages and another one is on its way for the new pigs that are due however that is all the space we could really give over to cages ( well I think we could squeeze in another but OH says no).

There is also the cost to consider, we have already spent hundreds of pounds on getting our current cages. I have been keeping an eye out on ebay and freecycle to see if we can get a cage through those channels.

The shed is a standard garden shed size, not huge but with plenty of space for pigs as we have a two level hutch inside it as well. The run is on grass and we move it around the garden so they have plenty of fresh grass. Someone is at home in the summer so they get out anytime the weather is dry and are handled every day.

cherrykerry

have you thought about putting a heater in the shed so that they can be kept in there all year round? All my guinea pigs are in heated sheds and they stay lovely and cozy in all weathers. I have an extra long extention cable running from the garage into one of my sheds and the heaters are plugged in there.

louisdog

Their shed and run set up sounds great.

I love the sound of the heated shed too; luxury GP home

Blackpool_Saver

I have one very loved piggy, i would love to see a picture of all yours, can you post a pic please

Rummer

cherrykerry wrote: »

have you thought about putting a heater in the shed so that they can be kept in there all year round? All my guinea pigs are in heated sheds and they stay lovely and cozy in all weathers. I have an extra long extention cable running from the garage into one of my sheds and the heaters are plugged in there.

That sounds ideal, what kind of heaters do you use and are they expensive to run? I had thought about it but worried about the expense and the safety factor. We would ideally love to keep them outside so that they have more space and so our house smells less of hay!

As for photos I will do my best to get some taken, it is tricky to get them all at peace but I will try over the weekend.

louisdog

Rummer wrote:

We would ideally love to keep them outside so that they have more space and so our house smells less of hay!

I like the smell of hay but it's a bit embarrassing when they wheek during work phonecalls

Rummer

The smell of hay always makes me smile as I had horses when I was younger and it reminds me of that but a lot of our friends have asthma and find it hard going when they visit.

I love coming down in the morning and hearing them all wheeking at me! Every rustle of a bag makes them sing. The other morning I even caught them popcorning for the first time, I was so excited!