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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Aibu to say the guinea pigs will be ok in the greenhouse over winter?

70 replies

Poolhater · 27/10/2021 12:11

They are in hutches that are off the ground. These hutches will be taken into the green house. If the weather isn’t awful, they will have access to runs within the green house (but the runs would be directly on the slabs although they would be able to get back into hutches if they wanted to.

GP forums say never house in a greenhouse. But we don’t have anywhere else for them to go that is a little bit protected from the weather. Surely inside the green house is better than outside in the garden?

The hutches (inside or out) would have old blanket and tarpaulin over them to insulate. And happy to try those heat pads although feel quite ill at the thought of it going in a microwave (I know it will have been cleaned, but still , yuck!).

We’ve moved house and they had been abandoned here (whole other thread), so we are unprepared owners (albeit had them for six months and are now quite taken with them) with not a lot of spare cash and no where inside for them to go.

AIBU to think they’d be ok in the greenhouse? We are in England.

OP posts:

notsorighteousthesedays · 27/10/2021 12:14

I loved our Guinea pigs but couldn't make them house pigs cos of my allergies - they love company (and food) so as long as they get plenty of visits I don't see why they wouldn't thrive!

VestaTilley · 27/10/2021 12:16

Is it a heated greenhouse? I’d suggest not doing this as they can turn in to ice boxes in winter, then you only need one sunny morning for the heat to rocket and they can overheat quickly.

I don’t think I’d do this; I’m assuming you don’t have a garage? I think that’s where our rabbit hutch used to go in winter. Is anyone near you Freecycling a shed? That would be a better option.

Greenhouses need the doors opening each day even in fairly mild weather, and many gardeners paint the glass on the roof each spring with a translucent solution to keep the worst of the scorching heat off. I know you wouldn’t have them in there in summer, but it gives a hint as to how quickly they can heat up.

How sad for the poor things that their last owners abandoned them - I hope you can find a good solution. Pets At Home may be able to advise.

Brusca · 27/10/2021 12:18

No, you can't overwinter them in a greenhouse! The temperatures in a greenhouse fluctuate massively in winter and won't be suitable.

Seeline · 27/10/2021 12:19

I agree - the risk of temperature extremes (even over-heating in the winter if it is a sunny day) would be too great. Ours used to have his hutch in the dining room for the winter when we were small.

BalladOfBarryAndFreda · 27/10/2021 12:19

Poor little things, how can people do that? I’m glad you’ve had the heart to keep them on and learn about them, OP.

Which way does your garden face? I wouldn’t put them in a S or S/W facing garden greenhouse (unless
a hard frost or snow was predicted) but would put them in an E or N facing garden greenhouse.

Bramshott · 27/10/2021 12:21

I think I would be more tempted to keep them outside with a hutch cover and heatpads through the winter...

daimbarsatemydogsbone · 27/10/2021 12:21

Too hot or too cold 90% of the time.

BalladOfBarryAndFreda · 27/10/2021 12:22

Tbf though, we used to have pigs but they were indoors and so have no experience of outdoor gps. Outdoor keepers much better to listen to on this score! Mine only went outside in the driest, nicest weather

DDivaStar · 27/10/2021 12:22

I imagine the glass makes temperatures quite extreme. If gp forums say never I'm not sure why your still considering it.

A second hand shed would be a better option. I understand you've rather been forced into having them but they still need to be housed adequately.

DismantledKing · 27/10/2021 12:23

Our greenhouse fluctuated between -7 and over 30 degrees during last winter, depending on whether the sun was out.

Lockheart · 27/10/2021 12:25

We did this some 20 years ago and they were quite alright. We also overwintered them in the shed although that had less light, so was not ideal either.

1990s · 27/10/2021 12:28

Same as others above, we’d put ours in the shed or garage overnight in winter and they were fine.

Outside in hutch/run in daytime.

whatswithtodaytoday · 27/10/2021 12:30

I wouldn't, the cold wouldn't bother me so much if they have shelter but greenhouses get incredibly hot on a sunny winter day! Perhaps if you have automatically opening vents and can keep an eye on the temperature? But a bog-standard greenhouse, I wouldn't shut an animal in there.

Brigittebidet · 27/10/2021 12:31

We had guinea pigs one of whom lived to 6 years old - which I gather is quite elderly for GPs. We kept ours outside all winter and just provided extra hay and a little bedroom box thing within the hutch - the only time he came in was during the “beast from the east”.

octoberfarm · 27/10/2021 12:33

I grew up in England with Guinea pigs and our family kept ours in a greenhouse for only one, mild winter when I was tiny. At some point we had an unexpectedly cold night and the cold got them and they didn't make it. It absolutely broke our hearts, and I still feel awful about it now. Please don't do it - it's not worth the risk and it's not fair to them.

AlCalavicci · 27/10/2021 12:35

I have never owed GPs so I may be wrong to think this , but could you clad your green house in insulating on the inside to keep the temp more stable ?

I would buy a good quality thermometer and hang it in there , with a pad and pen tgen over the next few weeks write down the temp early morning, mud day late night and if you wake up during the night write it down then too

After a few weeks you will get a idea how much the temp changes a d you could use that as a rough guild line as to if it's a good idea.

Regularsizedrudy · 27/10/2021 12:37

Nooooooo!

KonTikki · 27/10/2021 12:40

Ours lived in a good quality hutch outside in the garden in a sheltered spot all year winter and summer. Just provide lots of fresh good quality hay / straw for bedding. They had a run that they had access to all the time.
Also did the same with our ferrets.

parietal · 27/10/2021 12:40

ours live outside all year round (on a very sheltered patio). the hutch has insulation & a rain cover, and I give them hot water bottles (aka big jam jar of hot water in a fleece cover) on cold nights. there is a max-min thermometer in with them and it gets down to 0deg (not below) and they seem fine.

BethAfra · 27/10/2021 12:44

Ours stayed outside all year - they're quite hardy little things. The hutch was off the ground against a sheltered wall and I used to cover it with a blanket that would fold down over the mesh front overnight. Plus I used to fill the sleeping compartment with straw so they could burrow into it. If it wasn't frosty/raining they went in a run during the day, otherwise stayed in the hutch.
They seem to have the sense to cuddle up together as well. I agree with everyone else that a greenhouse carries the danger of overheating.

Brendabigbaps · 27/10/2021 12:46

@AlCalavicci

I have never owed GPs so I may be wrong to think this , but could you clad your green house in insulating on the inside to keep the temp more stable ?

After a few weeks you will get a idea how much the temp changes a d you could use that as a rough guild line as to if it's a good idea.

Please don’t do any of this! Not sure why someone who has never kept guineas would comment.

Sciurus83 · 27/10/2021 12:48

I wouldn't do this, I've kept pigs for the last 15+ years and had them live to 8. If they need to be outside then an insulated shed is vastly preferable, and if there is a cold snap do bring them in even if it's just in a box for a few days.

loveisagirlnameddaisy · 27/10/2021 12:49

Well, I never read the forums and successfully kept guinea pigs for several years in a greenhouse all year round. They had loads of bedding during winter, I even bought them a pet hot water bottle one year when it was snowing, and the hay they slept on was always toasty warm in the mornings when I'd go to check on them.

They had a run on the lawn and all year round they'd be in that if it wasn't raining or too cold, so that they could eat the grass.

greenknickers · 27/10/2021 12:54

I know pet forums can get a bit hysterical over conditions that are allowed / not allowed, but here I would tend to agree that greenhouse is a bad idea. Better to find them. sheltered spot in the garden and really up the insulation perhaps?
Do you have a family member or neighbour who would let you keep them in their garage?

LopsidedWombat · 27/10/2021 12:58

I think you'd be better to weatherproof their hutches as much as possible outside than use the greenhouse. The fluctuating temperatures of a greenhouse would worry me much more than being outside. Using a heat pad, giving them loads of bedding to nest in and placing the hutch out of the path of strong winds along with blankets and tarpaulin should be fine. Keep the hutches as dry as possible too.

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