Guinea pigs - inside for night outside in day?

[Sittin]

Just wondering what is best - it’s going to be 3 degrees at night later than no the week. Is it okay for Guineas to come in for night and be outside for the day - it is still mild in the day and they love the grass! I’ve looked online but it looks like people move them in for the winter full time. Wondering if there is a particular reason why?
Any hints for best indoor house? We have space but also a dog. They ignore each other but definitely need a lid!

I think it's because guinea pigs don't deal well with sudden drops/increases in temperature, so fine to bring them in and out in summer when the temperature inside and outside is similar, and they can even cope OK living outside all year round if they have a very well insulated hutch (although I think not ideal in freezing conditions), but taking them outside in winter when it's much colder than inside with the heating on wouldn't be good for them...

Www.theguineapigforum.co.uk might be able to help. They can seem quite militant at times but then so can Mumsnet to some people..!

That makes sense. So if there was a warm day they could go out for a bit? Our house varies in temperature quite a bit though too!

Mine live out in their hutch all year and go in their run all year too unless the weather is particularly bad. The hutch has loads of bedding, a thermal cover and two horse rugs so it's well insulated. They are about 5 now and v healthy.

My piggies had hurches in a wooden playhouse (DH adapted it for the pigs )

We started off with a big haybox on floor level then over the years (and the cycles of guinea-pigs) we ended up with a rabbit hutches on the floor with a "door" cut in one end and a big plastic trunk ( the sort for garden cushions) with 2 doors cut out .

Changes of temperature hot-cold and cold-hot is bad for guineas as is damp .
Which is why they suffer more in the UK . ( And if I had a £ for every well in the wild in Peru they have really cold nights I would be a millionaire ! )
Dosmetic guinea-pigs have been Domesticated So nothing like their rangey Peruvian cousins .

Ours really liked the Pighouse , easy to clean, I could stand up in the centre .
We insulated it in winter - cardboard between the hutches and the walls , polystyrene or radiator roll ( out of reach of little teeth) .
I used a rubber boot liner on the floor (under card board and newspaper ) again out of biting range .

Hay is the best insulator , they can cuddle in it , eat it (pee in it ) but needs to be fresh dry clean hay . We stuffed the haybox full but it is amazing how they compress it down ( and soil it)

My pigs much preferred hay to fleece .

Although its frowned on now I have kept guinea pigs in a shed with insulation in the past. Last winter kept ours indoors but put them out for 2 hours a day most days, put them out for 30 minutes a day on very cold days. I made sure they had a dry mat they could sit on and nibble the grass, so they didn't get wet tummies if the grass was damp!