Bringing guinea pigs indoors.

[FlyingFig]

We have two GPs that we bought in July and so far they've been OK outside, but last night I brought them in (making a makeshift home from the cat's carry box!). We've bought an indoor cage, which will have to stay in the DD's room as there's nowhere else for it to go, this should be OK I think?

I've gone from worrying about them being too cold, to stressing that they'll be too warm in the house! Any tips for keeping piggies indoors and making sure they're happy?

Also going to have to make sure the DD's bedroom door is shut when they're not in it as I'm worried the cat will pester them, he doesn't bother them outside but I wouldn't trust him, he's a cat after all

[treedelivery]

The amount of poo is astounding.

[ByTheWay1]

"The amount of poo is astounding."

Shows they are fit and healthy and getting enough roughage!

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

I actually check (not too closely but a quick once over) the size and state of their Pooh Nests (how sad am I?)

Because my boys don't cuddle up they do 3-4 quite distinct little piles.

I need to keep an eye on the little boy -too much veg makes his pooh a bit squidgey and he has a hay/pellet/water day (Much to his brothers disgust) .

I sound like that doctor on TV who waxes lyrically about stools - Festive Vom Face

[treedelivery]

Is anyone else interested in poo colour

We've only had them a month and it is all new to me. We have many shades of brown. I'm yet to spot what causes what but admit to being strangely interested in it.

I'm gld to hear it's a good sign as I don't think they do get enough fresh food (at present life here is chaotic and the humans don't get enough any fresh food let alone the animals]. Hopefully the pellets and hay and fresh I do manage to get them is doing ok. They seem happy enough.

Glad to hear that mine aren't the only ones to sleep apart. From what I had read I thought they would be really nice to each other. Actually, Poppy is a mardy cow who beats up the rabbit, a huge fat cat, a scratchy daft kitten and her flat mate Daisy.
She has rage!

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

the colour varies as to what they eat but should be brown/olive. It's mre to see if the shape and texture is 'normal', not mucousey, not shrivelled up.(Dehydrated and not enough bulk)

My GP2 scoffs raw beetroot which gives his an aubergine hue
And GP2 did peach coloured wee after red & yellow peppers. Back to normal after 36 hours

When I was a child my guineas did navy blue poohs and pale blue wee after they got hold of some craft paper (heavy pigment)

[Worley]

megatron (our GP) came to live in a couple of winters ago when Optimus prime died (ds1 named them)... I thought he would freeze out by himself.. I thought it won't be for long as megatron will probably go to heaven too.. but now at 7 he is showing no signs of age and talks to us all the time.. he doesn't smell.. he has shavings. then a layer of newspapers and some shavings in his house and is cleaned weekly. I'm paranoid about smells but my mum (who would soon tell me ) says he doesn't smell...
I sound like a mad old guinea pig woman!!

[treedelivery]

Ours are running around the playroom refusing to go back in their cage. They have eaten the rabbit food and have flattened all his hay. The rabbit is sat in their cage. I give up and am leaving them to it.

I'd read that rabbits and gps don't mix, but mine are fine. Maybe because they all arrived together and young.

[ByTheWay1]

Worley - few more years yet then - mine went at 12! .... this year ....... so no wheep wheep this Christmas..... but I am enjoying not having to clean them out, and having no hay trodden into the house.....

But yep - I was a "poo-watcher" too - little piles of browny/greeny plump poop and all is well, mucous, very wet, or very dry, something needs doing....

By the way (see why it is my MN name...) mine stayed out in their hutch at the back of the house all year round except for when we had that snow and REALLY cold -8 snap that lasted for a month 2 or 3 years ago - we put the hutch in our (unused) garage for a week or 2 - staying out didn't do them any harm at all....

[guineapiglet]

Wow by the way - 12 is an amazing age - stunning! They must have come from a very strong gene pool!! Are they the ones on a thread ages ago who had siblings who were also that age, it is really rare. They were obviously a pretty hardy lot as well, I think some of them do acclimatise well, depending on where you live and how damp it is in your area..... we had ours in a north facing shed at the edge of the peak district and the shed doors would ice up etc, horrible, thats when they used to come inside. Like you I am pigless this Christmas for the first time in 8 years, and will miss them, like you there are things I wont be too sad about, like having an endless supply of newspapers and curly kale! - but I shall miss their cheery faces and squeaky demands......

[ByTheWay1]

Yep - they had a very strong gene pool - their mother outlived them by 6 weeks!! and had siblings which died not long ago too. They had been bred from outdoor piggies and kept outdoors even when young, so I guess they were hardy...

Can't decide whether to go for more or not as - strangely..... I am not an animal person really.... (I know.... 2 guineas for 12 years, and a dog, and fish...)

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

Aww, ByTheWay - I remember reading about your two pigs going to The Bridge. (They died together IIRC).
I didn't realise their mum-pig had died too. But they must have had good genes

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

And what will you do with the stalk from the brussel sprout tree this Christmas. We had 2 very happy benefactors last year.
We weren't so enamoured with GP2s gassy bottom after

[guineapiglet]

Oh yes! I remember well mistakenly giving our 4 girls some sprout leaves one Christmas ( they loved broccoli, so I assumed sprouts would be acceptable) - one of the girls devoured them like they were chocolate from Heaven, the others looked judgey, to use your excellent word, what has she given us now? type look, and the leaves were ignored or pooed on as a gesture of annoyance. The devouring girl gave off hideous smells for about a week after, and the cage smelled like a compost heap! - Sprouts were off the list the following year, cabbage and spinach much more fragrant options!

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

- my DD has banned the sprouts this year as well.

I'm hoping being upstairs (in the quiet) will allow the boys to be peaceful with themselves at night.
When I gave them a pillow in their main haybox to snuggle in and a trug full of hay (2 trugs. One 40lites one 25 litres IIRC) the little toads both snuggled into the trug (it had a lid). All the space, a cuddly pillow (with a Snugglepad) and they sit in a hay filled rubber trug.
2 little rodenty faces looking up at me


Inside, if they stick to their individual boxes, they seem ok.
We cuddle them seperatlely to give them space from each other. Then GP1 gets a bit fretfull and wants his brother (sweet)

[guineapiglet]

How are the boys doing inside 70 have just been outside and do worry about all the little critters who are outside overnight,furry and feathered alike, have just broken 2" of ice of my waterfeeder for the birds/squirrels, so any guineas outside with waterbottles will need checking as it ices up so quickly - your boys are lucky to be inside and well fed and insulated. It is the damp which is so penetrating and horrible, I can feel it in my bones, so for little guineas it is not a good temperature.
Watching last nights prog about climate change, and a predicted move towards Scandanavian winters, is a bit of a warning for all with outdoor pets, it really is depressing, what happened to all those warnings about it changing to a med.type climate, where our smallfurries would be outside laying in the heat????

[PostBellumBugsy]

Ours live inside and only go out on dry days when the grass is dry for a run in the garden. At this time of year, they don't go out at all.

We don't have a smell problem, as I find that they wee in very specific areas of their indoor pen & as long as I scoop the wee areas out (they are on dust free wood shavings), then the pen doesn't honk. The poos don't really smell unless they are in the wet wee.

I love having them inside, as they are so chatty. As for their excitement when the fresh food is delivered - it makes me smile everytime.

Love piggies so much. [soppy emoticon needed]

[Lancelottie]

Ours are in all the time.

I do feel sorry for them sharing the utility cupboard room with the washing machine, but they seem used to the noise. Not too bad in summer as they go outside in the run nearly all day.

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

Ho guineapiglet-
yes the spoiled gits boys are sharing their cage space quite happily .They have two cardboard boxes ,but some nights they've been sharing a box which is nice.GP1 stomps round and 'marks' his bed .
They go up to bed when the DC go to bed so are in for a evening cuddle for 2-3 hours. The room they are in is quiet, not too warm and I put a duvet on them.

I can hear GP2 (it's always him ) shredding the cardboard at night.

I put their radiator on 30 minutes before they go out to make the temperature even from house to Pighouse. (Got a thermometer in the Pighouse. When the heater is off it's down to 0c inside. I think -3 c overnight)
As long as their hay is dry they are happy.
Their night cage is cleaned daily.
And food.Lots. My little black Abby boy has even put on a bit of winter fat

They still don't appreciate me though

[guineapiglet]

Well70 it sounds like your boys have a wonderful life, well tended to, and every comfort thought of, I might take up residence myself!!! I think everyone else who has brought their guineas in is very sensible, and their companionship and input to the family is great fun compared to the tiny (!) part of the day spent cleaning them out. .....Personally I never really minded the smell, as you say if they are cleaned out regularly and their deposits removed, they have quite a clean smell, compared say to cat litter which turns my stomach ( no offence! - I am just not a cat person). I used to love hearing them 'have words' with each other and chat when they thought no one was listening.....

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

Aww .
Was your Feathered-Guinea-Pig-Substitute caught by a cat at all?
Or maybe flew into a glass window?

You'd think they'd find somewhere to hide up in the cold.

My boars give my DD very judgey looks when she looks at new baby GPs online or P@H (she's just looking BTW)

I was working out how many guinea-pigs I could fit in my outdoor Pighouse by area.
DH said quite catergorically TWO. Little GP2 agreed.
You could move in with them if you don't mind boar aroma and leave the parsley alone.GP1 would wrestle his own mother for parsley. [

[MagicHouse]

I caved in and bought my two a 140 ferplast cage. They're on the landing and they love it! And so do I. I realise now how stressed I used to feel looking into the garden knowing they were out in this freezing weather! No smells yet. And lots more cuddles. Yay! Can't imagine them ever going out again!

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

The landing sounds ideal, it's airey and light enough with enough 'through traffic' so you don't forget they are there. (Can they still hear the fridge open though?)

we put our fishtank in the upstairs landing. He gets enough light but not too much.And near enough the bathroom for emptying the tank. (And my DS to remember to feed him)

When my boys were in the dining room last year they were waking up really early .GP2 used to push his empty salad plate into his brother's side under the barrier. Then tip over his pellets dish and 'riot'

Now up in our boxroom they can hear us moving about but don't get disturbed by it all. They do start muttering when they know it's time to go out (when the Pighouse has pre-heated. Spoiled pigs)

[alemci]

our male pig has been in since October in the kitchen by the back door. he is in an indoor cage on a wheeley trolley thing. We let him run sometimes on towels but yes so much pooh and mess.

Hope he doesn't smell but would rather that than him being cold and unhappy.

[guineapiglet]

Sounds like all these guineas are warm and comfortable inside - I dont think their smell is unpleasant if they are cleaned out regularly - sometimes in a rush I would do a half clean out, where you take the top layers of newspaper out and replace with newspaper and fresh hay, leaving the bottom layers intact, so you can just roll it all out - so just basically 'changing the sheets' so no lingering smells/wetness. Id you can get an old remnant of lino, you can put this on the floor so guineas can walk about on it, then it can just be wiped down. Poo houses can be made out of old shoe boxes but may or may not work.... depending on willingness of guinea to be taught! Still think we should think seriously about a design for an exerciser so these indoor pigs can stretch their legs.

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

This guinea-pig excerciser must be designed and in production for after the Christmas Veg Binge that all these pigs will enjoy.
I did think you could put sandpaper on a treadmill to give them excercise and file their nails at the same time

But with all these chubby ,lazy boars ,they might find the chafing a bit off-putting .

Mine are using their cardboard boxes to sleep and pooh in (loads) .
I put layers of paper over a good layer of woodpellet cat-litter.It just needs the top layer whisked off. If it does leak through, the pellets will trap it.