Hi everyone! I read these forums a lot but this is my first post - I apologise if it ends up being long but I'm quite worried about our guinea pig at the moment with this bad weather, and I know there's a few experienced piggy keepers on here who I'm hoping can advise me.
The GP in question is 4 years old and she has always lived outdoors with our two dwarf rabbits of the same age (until about a year ago she also had another GP for company, but she sadly died in her sleep one night). Just to give you an idea of their living situation - until earlier this year they all lived in a big shed which we converted into a giant hutch/run, with a couple of wooden nesting boxes inside to snuggle up in and lots of room to play (80sq feet in total). It was a great home for them, as it had a big wire mesh panel for fresh air at one end but we could completely close it up in the rain and cold (they also had windows so they still had lots of daylight even in bad weather). Unfortunately the rabbits chewed the shed from the inside and the dogs chewed it from the outside, until eventually it was becoming an escape risk and we had to replace it! As we had to do it in a hurry, we didn't have time to get another shed delivered and convert it, so we bought the biggest hutch we could find from Pets at Home. It's around 5 feet long and is on two levels (approx 20sq feet of living space), and we added a galvanised steel run on a concrete base off to the side (another 30sq feet of space), which they can access by a cat flap whenever they like. The hutch is covered with a Scratch & Newton waterproof cover (the type with the clear plastic flap that rolls down at the front), the run also has a rain cover over half of it, and the whole set up is against the back wall of the house facing south, so it's out of the wind.
For most of this winter, we've been convinced that our new set up is actually better than the old one, even though it's about half the size, because it's cosier for them and keeps the heat in better than the big shed. But at the moment I'm feeling guilty about how cold it is - we're in Scotland near the coast, and it got down to -13 last night. We've got the heating on 24/7, so I sit inside feeling awful about them being outside and imagining how cold they must be! Both levels of the hutch are completely stuffed with hay and have a thick layer of wood shavings underneath, there are a couple of old towels in there to snuggle up in, and at night I've been covering the front of the hutch with two big fleece blankets, which are secured under the plastic roll-down rain cover, and then a thick shower curtain over the top of all that (leaving a gap for ventilation of course). The water bottles have also got thick socks over them. But despite all the layers, the bottles have still been freezing at night. I can't help but think if the water is freezing, the piggy must be too! The rabbits are OK as they snuggle up together and have thick fluffy coats, but the piggy is all alone now and I really worry about her. In the old shed she used to wedge herself between the two rabbits to keep warm (soooo cute!), but they tend to sleep downstairs now and she stays upstairs (she doesn't like the ramp), so she's all by herself Her nesting box was also tucked away right in the back corner of the shed away from the doors, whereas now she's just in the sleeping compartment of the hutch, so is right next to the outer walls. They're all getting unlimited muesli and dried grass to eat, have fresh veg every morning, their water is changed several times a day and their toilet is changed daily to keep it dry and clean, but I still feel like I'm not doing enough. My husband keeps saying that there are animals much worse off than ours with owners who do nothing about the cold weather, but that doesn't really make me feel better!
This afternoon I attempted to insulate the hutch further with some foam carpet underlay that we had lying around (it's 1cm thick and I put three layers on the roof and two layers on the sides, wedged under the rain cover to keep it in place). I've also added another fleece blanket tonight (making three blankets, plus the plastic rain cover and the shower curtain). Hopefully there'll be no frozen water bottles in the morning! But if there is, I'm thinking it's time to bring the piggy inside. I know if I do this, she'll need to stay inside year-round, as I wouldn't just be able to put her back in with the rabbits after months of being away incase they attacked her, and I wouldn't want to keep her outside on her own, so it's not a decision I want to make lightly. I also have some concerns about bringing her indoors. My worries are that A) it'll be too warm in the house for her after being out in the cold so long, B) she'll get bored stuck in the house without the garden to look out on, C) she'll miss the company of the rabbits, and D) she'll be scared of the hoover / washing machine / generally noisy house. I also worry that the cats and dogs will pester her in her cage (but they don't bother them in the hutch, so maybe not). The other thing is, she'll have to be in one of those indoor cages on the kitchen table (out of the way of the clumsy dogs), so I worry about her having enough space - but she currently spends most of her time in the small sleeping compartment of the hutch anyway and only emerges a few times to eat/ drink/have a nosey at what's going on, so the cage would probably suit her fine (she's always been a lazy piggy, not a run-around-mad type).
What should I do for the best? If I leave her out, she could die from the cold. But if I bring her in, could she could die from the shock or change in environment? She definitely seems to like her outdoor life, as I often see her sitting munching her hay and watching the world go by. But I don't want to put her life at risk keeping her outside because she's getting a bit older now, and I would be heartbroken if I found her dead one morning from the cold.
Thank you in advance for any advice, and sorry for the essay!