please advise me...guinea pigs living outside all year

[stickchildren3]

we have 2 male guinea pigs (cousins) who currently sleep in a hutch at night, in a reasonably sheltered position by our house. During the day they are put on the lawn in a 'run' with a plastic 'igloo' thing for shelter. They seem perfectly content and get excited when put out each morning and equally happy to go back into their hutch late afternoon/early evening.

Obviously the weather is getting colder and I'm now worrying (I seem to be ridiculously protective of these little animals) that they shouldn't be put on the grass if it's at all cold and will they be warm enough at night midwinter?

Every webpage I visit except 'rodentswithattitude' insists they should be living indoors but this is absolutely not an option for us. My husband was totally anti getting them for my daughter and we had to flutter our eyelids hard. We won (of course!) but now I'm worrying I've been irresponsible? The best I could do would be to put their hutch in our integral garage when it starts to snow (often very heavy here and at that point my husband would 'cavy in' (ha ha) because he wouldn't cope with seeing my daughter's anguish if the poor little things froze to death).

So, please advise me.....how to best ensure they are absolutely comfortable without causing WW3 in the family. Their hutch is raised off the ground, the lower part is currently not used as they are on the grass most of the day. However, when the weather is really wet we put the ladder down from the top so they have two floors. We also have a waterproof cover for the hutch.

Any sensible advice would be very much appreciated.

Thank you in advance guinea pig loving mumsnetters.

The heating pads are called SnuggleSafe pads and are really worth getting - I have 5 even DD2 has them in bed sometimes!

If you don't have anywhere for them to go when it gets below freezing (greenhouse, shed, garage, etc) then there are things you can do to help the situation without having to have them indoors. Give them copious amounts of straw (not hay), invest in a snugglesafe, site the hutch out of any prevailing wind, site them so that the hutch is as near to your house as possible (microclimate of the house will be warmer than down the other end of the garden), cover the hutch in several layers of insulating material - a few blankets with a tarp outer layer - that properly cover the entire hutch including the front. Lower the cover every night before sunset, if you can, to ensure as much heat gets retained. Make sure they have plenty of food, and their water doesn't freeze (you can buy an insulating cover for bottles, or make your own by wrapping lots of newspaper round it).

Being slightly more hard hearted about it, even if you did nothing of the above other than give them extra hay and make sure they had plenty of food and water, they would be fine. Animals who live outside all year round work very well with the seasons and given the chance will grow a winter coat. It would be a different matter if you had a lone animal or if they lived indoors during the summer, but providing they have been outdoors all year they will produce a winter coat.

A devils advocate opinion - being in a garage that is used by a car can actually be more harmful than being outside - the fumes created by cars driven in and out that are then trapped inside once the garage doors are shut can really be harmful to small pets kept in there - if you do end up moving the pigs inside the garage and it is used to store cars, make sure you air the garage on a day to day basis.

The British climate is nothing like the Andes, which is cold and dry. In the UK, it is cold and damp. Guineas are prone to both mite infestations and fungal skin infections if living outdoors, particularly in the winter. It's not the temperature that is so much the issue, but the dampness. Most outdoor cages are made of wood, which also hold the damp from the urine and are hard to keep clean.

Also, it's much harder to spot if anything is wrong with a pet that lives outdoors, that may only get a few minutes attention a day when being fed. That can happen if children lose interest, the weather is foul or it's just busy. By the time a problem is discovered, it will probably be too late.

Having the animal indoors means it will be more part of the family. Children will have a genuine opportunity to get to know the animal, interact with it, learn how to groom and care for it. That's more likely to keep their interest.

If you absolutely cannot bring them indoors, the next best option is a shed or some other enclosure that can be heated and kept dry. Another option is to see if they can be rehomed where they can be kept indoors and talk to a rescue about getting smaller pets that will fit more with your living arrangements - for example rats or gerbils.

My two male guineas are beside me here in the living room. They don't smell. If they do, it's my fault for not cleaning their cage often enough! It is wonderful to interact with them. They are extremely tame and really the centre of the family.

It really, really, really is important to consider whether you have the space and resources to look after any pet you take on. I volunteer for a shelter that is inundated with rabbits, cavies and other small pets that people found they couldn't look after. At least these folks do the responsible thing by turning them over to the shelter. It is sad to see though where animals have suffered, not necessarily from the cruelty of owners, but from owners just not knowing what they should do to ensure the welfare of the pets.

Just remember not to put them in the garage if you start your car in there - fumes will kill them.

I've recently adopted 2 male year old brothers.They were living outdoors and are a good size (one is slightly smaller but not much)

They have a 5'5" x5'5" playhouse (wooden ,on a raised wooden platform) with a large wooden ,hinged lid with a carpet on top. A ramp and platform (carpet covered) to access the box-top and provide a hidey-space.
Newspaper under the ramp and a cardboard box with paper shreddings (they use as a toilet) and a spare hay lined box in case one wants peace.
Inside the big box I've got rubber carmats, Megazorb, shredded paper, hay to bed and I've just given them a fleece blanket .(As adviced on this thread).
Its a big box and I don't want to fill it all with hay that gets dirty and they flatten it down.(They have eating hay in a rack)

We've ordered a Snugglesafe pad and I've got a large indoor cage for them.DH will put carpet underlay on the two sides of the box that they can't get their teeth on !

Going to play it by ear for winter. They will come in overnight for Guy Fawkes weekend as it gets very noisy round here.

Mine live indoors all year round. When the weather is nice we put them out in their run and when the weather is bad we let them out in the front room.
They love being cuddled and when we come in the house they sit in their cage waiting for us to say hello tothem.

They are fine outside all year round - IF there is more than 1 - so they can huddle. Ours are now 12 and have never needed a vet in that time so I'm guessing they thrive on it!! Fill the sleeping area to the brim with hay and clean out wet stuff every day.

They do NOT like getting their little tummies wet, so make sure they get towelled underneath if they have had a play in the snow or on damp grass. And don't bring them indoors from a frozen outdoors - the temp difference can send them into shock and kill them.

I think we mollycoddle some pets a bit too much - they are animals, we cannot presume to know what they are thinking. Their behaviour lets me know they don't like their tummies wet, but their longevity tells me we can't be doing too much wrong!

We had, I think, three die from pneumonia :( (One was old and the other two pretty much went at the same time.) My mum had guinea pigs all through childhood and would always keep them outside, perhaps the hutch we had wasn't as well insulated, or something.

I bought a SnuggleSafe pad for my GPs. Not given it to them yet but I gave it a trial run and it keeps its heat maybe 8 hours.

Does it have to go in the cover (doesn't seem too warm in it). I was going to put it under their shredded paper and put their fleece blanket on top, but I don't want to risk burning them.

This thread is exactly what I'm looking for. Just got them an igloo thing to snuggle in but also looking at the heat pads.

Dh wants to insulate the cage. We've a tarp to put over but what should we use in between? Dh suggested bubble wrap as we have it for the greenhouse?

Do they eat fleece when its in the hutch?

And whoever has them using a box as a toilet , did they do it voluntarily? Ours poo everywhere!

My boys have a big wooden box with a hinged lid and I put a cardboard box inside (this is in their wooden playhouse 5'5" x 5'5" on a wooden plinth)

I'm trying loads of different beddings because mine pee and pooh everywhere so I have to quick clean daily and proper clean every 2-3 days.

Rubber car mats, (+ newspaper if I've got some) Megazorb, shredded paper and hay.
In the box there's paper+shredded paper+ fleece and a Snugglepad at night (only in last couple of days).
They've got another 2 boxes/hidey spaces with paper and hay or Megazorb.
They've not eaten the fleece (hay tastes nicer!) but I'm going to stop putting hay with fleece because it's a nightmare to get off. I need to change it daily because they pee it spectacularly.

DH put carpet underlay at the side of the wooden box where they can't get to.

They were in for Guy Fawkes w/end but they were a bit meh in their indoor cage (4' x 2' x18" high) They were glad to get out again.

Yesterday morning the water bowl froze over ( inside the pig-house, not an open front cage, it's all enclosed) .
The boys weren't outside at the time,(just as well)

They now have 4 (2 large,2 small) hot water bottles between 2 hidey-houses ,fleeces, a heater goes on an hour before they go out (plus a load of hay).

Snugglepad IMHO is pants. It's tepid, goes cold very quickly. The only advantage is it's flat so GP can sit on it.

well what you could do is put bubble rap round it. It sounds a bit silly but if you put bubble rap round it it will keep the heat in well most of it. :)

We had snow today, I went to get the GPs in before it started.
They were in their deep hay box with 3 hotwater bottles.
I was thinking they'd be frozen, but their hay was toasty warm, their little bellies, feet and ears warm.

2 boars, they don't 'snuggle' they were about 5" apart, keeping a respectful distance