Keeping GPs outdoors question

[MagicHouse]

Can anyone advise me here?
I am about to get 2 guinea pigs for my daughter's 6th birthday. I keep reading conflicting advice about whther or not they can stay outdoors in the winter. If they did I would buy one of those insulating hutch covers as well as a waterproof one. We haven't got the option of a shed or garage. The alternative would be to buy an indoor hutch for winter - though the ones I've seen look very small for everyday use.
What is the general consensus about keeping them outdoors??
TIA.

Oh forgot to add Magic - GPs are lovely for DCs (I just read the nightmare bunny thread and I'm so glad we got the pigs!)

They don't bite as a rule. Any animal will react if you push it, but make sure your DC let the GP knows that they are there. (Pinkeyes have poor eyesight if you go for these.But good hearing)

If your hands smell of food, they can 'taste' your skin. To an adult it's ok, to a child it's a 'bite'.

Our boars don't like their greasespots being touched .
Claw cutting is a 2 man job. GP2 pulls his front paws away and nips, but again it's not a bite (no marks)

One of my old sows sunk her teeth into my mum in her death throes, she didn't have the strength to open her mouth. But that's forgivable.

Teach them to hold them right.Hand under the belly, other one under their bum. Hold along your arm or on your shoulder. Support bum and back.

And they can jump- GP1 jumped out of my arms onto the floor of the pighouse. He was fine, shaken but fine.
DD had to go to school worrying while I kept watch and googled vets.
Luckily he didn't need the vet, but gave me a few more grey hairs!

70isalimit/ Mimsy Thank you so much for the detailed replies - didn't want you to think I was ignoring you - I have friends staying, so no time to suff on the internet at the mo! Wil have a good look tomorrow when they've gone and get back if I have any more questions. Thanks again :)

Hello again - hope you come back to this thread!
We have the guinea pigs - two boars, a week earlier than we said.
They are LOVELY! But a bit skittish. We got them yesterday and were advised not to handle for 24 hours.
We got one out this evening - he seemed ok with my dd - pooed and weed on the the towel she had over her though - would that mean he was really scared - or is that normal? - My dd was in heaven (she said his little eyes peeping at her from the hutch made her want to cry!) The other one I couldn't get hold of to come out - though he did let me stroke him eventually.
They are in a hutch with 2 covers - insulating and waterproof one, and seemed warm and cosy in their hay. They seem to poo all over the hutch, but mainly in a bit just outside the bedroom, so I've cleared that out the last couple of days.
More questions - do I let the more skittish one be for a while - or catch him and get him used to being handled?
Also - baths..... have read about them, but never really thought it through. Can't even begin to imagine it - when would I start doing that? I think it would give them a heart attack at the moment!
And treats - we've given them carrots, cucumber and strawberries after reading in a book that was ok - should treats be occasional though - or is little and often ok?
TIA for any replies.

No - don't worry - they do wees and poos a lot and aren't worried about anyone seeing them

I have a poorly guinea at the moment with what seems like a tumour on her back end which has an ulcerated looking sore on it. Vets tomorrow

They pooh anyway, whether they are higher than kites or laid back to the point of being horizontal. GP2 managed to slip 9 droppings out on me this afternoon.
The peeing will get better with time.You'll recognise the stampy stampy dance that they'll do before they wee. We have a washing basket with a towel in it for our boars.They wee then we cuddle them again.

With the skittery one, let him have a bit of time to settle.Once he sees his cagemate being cuddled he'll realise there's nothing to worry about. It might be best if you pick him up rather than the DCs ,then towel wrap him and let them cuddle when he's settled. I left our boys in the house for the day we got them then we cuddles them, but ours were adults so much more staid.
You'll find out who is the bolshy one and be prepared for a few in-house squabbles when they get older. Neutering doesn't change their attitude, BTW.
They pooh everywhere in their house.If you are lucky they might choose one area. Mine have a toilet corner.I put fresh newspaper there daily, but they are not selective where they go.There are 2 distinct pooh nests in the hay.
I'm still giving mine a SnugglePad and a hot water bottle (fleece cover on each, buried in the hay) they have really deep hay to burrow in.

Get yourself some shampoo from Gorgeous Guineas. They have a selection for lice, mites, fungal, conditioning.I used Just for Boars yesterday, they are lush now. I've given our 3 baths ,we've had our 6 months.

The treats you have to careful with are things like the honey sticks. GP can get diabetes (that was news to me) and shouldn't have honey,dairy or seeds and nuts.(choking hazard)
Things like apples,grapes,strawberries should only be once a week and cut small to avoid ulcers. They love cucumber but it's watery so limited amount.
No iceberg lettuce. Limited spinach and watercress and parsely.
I give ours a 'colour selection' so carrot, red/yellow pepper/rocket/spring greens/cabbage,pea shoots, mimi sweetcorn.celery leaves (take off any stringy bits)tomato and at the moment watermelon.
3 or 4 veg should be enough really, give them a little bit, not chilled.They will pick their favourites, but their main food should be hay,pellets and water.
If ours have grass they don't get veg at night.

Now most important : colours and breed??
We need photos and details.

Oh loopy poor GP. Sounds painful.

oh reading this I am so jealous, I love guineapigs, I was in the petshop today (buying dogfood) and there was an adorable ginger Abysssinian.

I know my totally hyperactive & twitchy dog would never understand that he could not 'play' with a guineapig :(

pours another glass of wine

magic there's a few threads on here about unwell GPs. (One in chat as well).

Read up as much as you can.
Get yourself a guinea-pig first aid kit. (I started a thread about what to put in, and most of it is available online)
Check your garden for weeds that can poison- especially as yours are babies, this will be their first summer on grass.

And enjoy the baby stage, they are so funny.

alias STEP AWAY. (you know you'd need to buy two anyway)

I could fit 6 in my hoghouse by floor area. My boars and my DH would at me if I even thought about those lovely little hogs in P@H.

(They had 4 boars in rehoming in the 'adoption cage'
Or 2 boars that their owner 'couldn't handle'.

Can you imagine my boys face if I sneaked them in)

70s I've stepped away - I know my dog would be totally unreliable. (and I know we'd need to get 2, was trying to pick out a second that would go with the ginger...) It was just the wine talking...

Can I be a GP auntie?

black goes with ginger.
We've got a black and an agouti ( ginger and black flecked) and they look lovely together.

I'll put them in a box to you, first class post

They'd eat the dog though....

needs to be an Abyssinian, had one as a kid and have loved them since.

Black and ginger does sound nice though.

pours another glass of wine

the agouti is a smooth chunky boar
the black one is very fluffy with 2 'rossettes' but not the stiff crests like a proper Abyssinian should have. Is it 14 rossettes they should have.

I wonder sometimes if the different 'types' have different personalities?
When I was a child I had 2 smooth, 1 Peruvian and the rest (9) were Abyssinian.

Breeds like Teddy,Sheltie,Rex,Satin,Skinny and Vampire weren't available (maybe only to fancy GP breeders)
It's a shame in a way to change what is fundamentally a good,solid rodent .
Our little Abyssinian is much smaller than his brother (bit of a weird family tree going on there) but all my rossetted GP were smaller than smooths.