Neighbours guinea pig outside in 4 degrees celsius

[CinderRosie]

My NDN have recently acquired a guinea pig which is currently residing in a hutch, which has been plonked straight onto their lawn. It’s 4 Celsius right now where we live and surely this is too cold for guinea pigs to be outside straight in the ground like that, especially overnight when it’ll be even colder. We don’t really talk to these particular neighbours just because we rarely see each other and I don’t want to fall out with them especially as we are semi detached with them.

Do I keep my beak out?

YABU - keep your beak out
YANBU - you need to say/do something

We had two boys and when one died we had the other one neutered- easy op for a male Guinea pig- and put him with 2 females and he is loving life with his two girlfriends. They should never, ever be kept on their own.

My indoor piggies would have a conniption at the thought of being outside in this, its way too cold :(. Poor piggy, shouldn't be on its own either.

And this time of year they are hard work !

Oh, this! We had the piggies out on the lawn and I would be out there stuffing their house with hay, moving the run so they had fresh grass, giving them carrot snacks (guinea pigs need extra Vit C, they can't make it, like humans so it needs to be given in feed), checking their feed and water - whereas the ponies we just used to look over the fence and say 'yep, all standing up, all good.' They were far less work than the piggies!

They obviously haven't got a clue how to look after a guinea pig if it's a) on its own and b) confined to a hutch, so I'm not surprised they haven't given any thought to the weather conditions either.

It is way, way too easy to acquire a pet in this country. So many people buying rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters and gerbils without the first clue how to look after them properly. And pet shops also sell totally unsuitable cages that are not remotely fit for purpose welfare-wise.

I doubt they will take any notice if you say anything, but at least you'll know you tried.

I took two tiny Guinea pigs in from a family who had them during the COVID lockdowns in 2020. Their Facebook page was full of photos of their children holding them, until the weather changed. I went to pick them on a bitterly cold foggy day in November, they were in a hutch on the ground, clean but with only a few wisps of hay to sleep in. They were lethargic and cold to the touch. The owner said she knew it was too cold for them but she didn’t want them living in the house, she couldn’t even help me catch them as she didn’t like touching them.

I got them home and warmed them up, they were unrecognisable within a few weeks, they obviously hadn’t been fed enough or in the right quantities as they grew and put weight on in a way I had never seen with Guinea pigs that age.

I really wish it wasn’t so easy for people to buy small furry pets and put them outside and forget about them.

Mine are too bloody smart - they've now started sending the little fluffy previously shy one to organise the veggie begging missions whenever I walk past the enclosure.

Then one's learnt to sit up and beg like a dog as well. They're a hilarious quartet of digestive systems on legs.

they originate from peru which is absolutely freezing

i they are usually roasted on a spit

Ours we’re outside all year round even when one died never brought other in
used to ram it’s bedding box with hay

it was fuming and used to spend most of the day dragging and pushing hay out into main bit of cage till bedding box was more or less empty
could tell it was pissed off as normally very vocal and wouldn’t squeak when you shouted it

Hilarious

Poor piggies, roasting on a spit indeed. They are very cute and if you engage with them, they show a lot more intelligence than they are given credit for.

We had lovely outdoor piggies. As others have said, they had a large expensive solid wood cage off the ground, under the eaves, and by the back door. They had insulation and tarp wrapped around the cage all winter, they were literally wrapped up like a parcel, and lots of hay, and each other. Because they were by the back door they were fed and loved every day, ate all our veggie waste, and were cleaned out every week. That was the worst actually, my least favourite job, cleaning out when it is minus something, or actually snowing, but always lovely to have a clean dry home again.

They lived until they were 8 and 9, so a good age for piggies.

Well I can't believe you're all sharing this excellent advice with NO PHOTOS of the cute little things!

Snowball (she isn't on her own she has 4 pals)

I don’t have any now, but a Christmas picture of two of my girls from years gone by

Can you just go round there and say I think you should bring your guinea pig in...or offer to look after it for them. All this discussion and lack of assertiveness isn't helping the guinea pig!!!

This is a photo of a 'wild' guinea-pig . They are so far removed from the domestic cavy , much rangier , close cropped fur , belly not sweeping the floor (which is one reason they don't cope with damp ) . His muzzle is much longer
Ears smaller
The more exotic types have softer fur (or no fur in the case of the Skinny)

I used to hear the In Peru they live in freezing weather so often . To which I replied none of mine have been near Peru . Furthest came from Kent . You;d have to go back to the 16th Century to find the original piggies who came from Peru , for food not pets )
We don't have a dry cold climate in the UK , its damp . And the damp is what kills them .

@toomanydicksonthedancefloor1 - awww love Snowball

@Evenstar love the Christmas ladies - we did photos on a Christmas fleece with little knitted hats on Christmas Eve . Trying to get three guinea-pigs in a line , with hats balanced on their fuzzy little heads before one turns away is not easy .
At one point we had 2 sows+ boar in one group and 2 sows in another group . They didn't get on together so no photographing 5 (I don't think it could be done )

Yes yanbu

Poor piggie

We had ours indoors in the end

I managed to get mum and three babies when we had some unexpected arrivals, but I think you are right @70isaLimitNotaTarget it would be very hard to get five

i love guinea pigs i think they are amazing but fact is they are bred for food in south america

I'm covering my little wheek potatoes eyes so they don't read about the horrible things in Peru! And awww at the baby piggies!

I've never been a guinea pig fan until the kids were desperate for them - and the only place they could really live in the house is my office - and I've got really really fond of the little poo machines now.

@Evenstar love the baby piggies ( they're supposed to be "pups"but really guinea-piglets is nicer ) They are born perfect miniatures with fur, teeth, open eyes , and able to move and eat very quickly . I do feel sorry for the mum pigs they get huge at the end and they don't just sit in a nest , eyes closed like rabbits for weeks ,
No you get the Guinea-Pig Train where they follow Mum

I recently saw a post on Instagram where a poor mum had had 7 babies! They were all healthy, which was good, but I did feel sorry for the mother having carried them around!

Yes so beautiful when they are born