To ask anyone with guinea pigs

[Purplesilkpyjamas]

If they are outside please check they have no damp hay in their hutch and also make sure they have enough hay to keep warm. Also, insulate the hutch. Guinea pigs are not hardy animals.

My girls are indoor piggies but thank you for the reminder anyway.

Oh yes, definitely. Mine are indoor ones, but outdoor piggies need as much help as possible to keep cosy, safe and dry.

Mine are outdoor in the summer but came in 3 weeks ago. We're in Scotland and it was getting too damp for them. I love watching them in their big run in the garden all summer but also like them chirruping as I'm going to sleep as they're MY piggies and live in our bedroom in the winter!

We got ours in the spring and they are still outside. Lots of dry hay but those who have them indoors - how do you stop them becoming really smelly?

Also Scotland. Ours live out spring and summer. They came in a few weeks ago and I love that they are upstairs nice and warm in the spare room. It's very cold outside here.

Mine live indoors, they don't really get smelly. They have newspaper on top of their fleece where they tend to do most of their wees. The paper and hay are changed daily and the poops picked up. Fleeces get washed twice a week. No smells.

Do you still use wood shavings or just newspaper, fleece and hay? The very well regarded locally place we got ours said they would be fine outside but I'm just not sure. We are having newspaper, wood shavings, hay and they have a 'bedroom' fleece thing

Ours are outside but they have a heat bar fitted and lights. They have a tunnel each which is stuffed with fresh hay every evening.
Whilst I’m out walking I see some awful outdoor set ups and it does make me worry for the poor creatures who have to survive in them.

No wood shavings. Just fleece and newspaper and loads of hay. Some wood shavings can be dusty which can irritate little piggy lungs.

Our piggies have moved into their winter accommodation indoors but have been out in the sunshine for a few hours today. It’s way too cold for piggies outside now.

Damp
Draughts
Animals like foxes , cats , badgers (if you get them in your garden) wild rats -all a danger to them. Wild mice will happily sneak in to steal food but carry a virus that can be fatal to piggies (the piggies get horrendous loose pooh )

And fireworks is upon on (Guy Fawkes and Diwali)

Ours had a wooden playhouse with hutches on the floor and doors cut so they could run about the floor .
Insulated with a variety of things - rubber carsmats , cardboard , polystyrene that you get in packing (kept out of reach of their little teeth)

In winter they came in to the small bedroom. (C&C cages / big indoor cages )
We cleaned the dirty bedding at night from the playhouse .

Replaced next morning with fresh newspaper , fresh hay ( brought into the house to warm up overnight , we kept their bags of hay in the garage )
A little electric fan heater to get the Pighouse a nice temperature then a couple of those microwave snuggle pads tucked in the hay .
Pigs went out after 30 minutes with breakfast then their indoor bedding was rolled up into the bin

Bit of a performance yes , but DD and I did this together (we shared the piggies ) They liked their outdoor space . If it was bad weather and when they got old , they stayed inside 24/7 .

The hay smells more than the guineas but they do need regular cage cleans . And they are so messy

Hay is the best insulator . I did find some nice soft straw to go under the paper but you need to be careful of injuries from straw . / It's good to do a layer between , a cardboard box (2 doors ) a layer of straw sandwhiched between a bigger cardboard box ( 2 doors) on the top will keep them cosy . Fill the inside floor with hay .

Make sure one pig doesn't get blocked in or out by another /

I do miss the little ratbags !

Guinea pigs don't usually smell much if you clean their cage out often. My three little Wheekers are in a big playpen thing in my living room, it takes up a huge space but it's worth it . Mine are on fleece bedding with washable brolly sheet type bedwetting mats underneath. Every three days the entire bedding had the hay brushed out with a special rubber brush and every day they get a spot clean (hay and poops shaken out) .

They are kept indoors all year round though in warm weather they get some exercise and sunshine in their outdoor run . The rest of the time they get exercise in their huge pen and I have a c and c grid cage I can add to that to make it even bigger so lots of popcorning and zoomies can occur!

Our boys live outside all year, we had 4 last year in a superb hutch insulated with 3 inch thick polystyrene all round,bubble plastic on door and thick rug over the top. In the morning after cold nights we were hit but the warm air when we opened the cage in the morning 😁. Our eldest boy died this year at 7 yrs old. They are little characters and leg it around a huge 3 x 6m run every day except in the worst weather. Keeps them fit and healthy and they grow proper winter coats each year too. Pigs are so cute!

Could you report to RSPCA? My piggies are indoor and it breaks my heart thinking of the suffering some of them go through just to be found dead one morning.