Moving guinea pigs outside

[noimaginationforausername]

We have two guinea pigs (age 2.5) that have always lived inside, due to moving the rooms around we would really like them to live outside.

Is this possible after they have been in for 2.5 years? Me and dd adore these pigs so wouldn't want them to be unhappy! Also know they would have to be brought in for winter. We don't have a shed/garage where they could live so they would be in the garden.

Any tips advice would be great or please tell me if it's a no and they are forever house piggies!

Most Guinea pig rescues wouldn’t rehome pigs with you if you were going to keep them outside! So no it’s not ok to keep them outside, even in summer.

Really? We have friends who keep their guinea pigs outside and bring them in for winter, also this is on the RSPCA website.

I had guinea pigs as a kid for about 10 years, they were out in a run on the grass in summer with a covered area and bed box with hay then in winter they had a big 2 level cage in the shed with bed box and hay, they seemed fine. I find it quite surprising people keep them indoors, I've always thought of them as an outdoor pet.

I would keep them Inside with an outdoor play run, but I'm sure it's possible to transition them if you really want to, but I'd take advice on when/what temperatures they'll be ok with etc. plus how to keep them cool in the summer.

When I was a child, ours lived outside all year around, they didn't even have covers over their cages or anything. Their hutches were just placed to shelter the open bit from the prevailing wind.

then years later as an adult I had indoor Guinea pigs. Who had a run outside for dry days, but only when I was home keeping an eye on them. Their indoor cage was huge, in the big utility/boot room (it was our main entrance& just off the kitchen/family room, so they weren't alone) they had a lot of time out of their cage in our huge hexagonal entrance way & loved playing with us & running about.

however, despite trying all the options possible, I hated the smell of them
indoors, but I couldn't put them
outside other than for a play in the run. It just felt 'too mean' after being indoor Guinea pigs.

I've since moved & this house doesn't have those options, so I won't have any others until I'm in a more suitable house.

Mine live outside. In a shed in the winter. They are happy and healthy. There are Guinea pig groups on Facebook where there's lots of advice. Mine can't live in as they set off my sons asthma.

Similar set up to mine.

I am not sure however, how well ops GP's will do if they have been used to a warm, indoor enclosure

I think it would be very unfair to move indoor piggies completely outside .

We have our Guinea pigs indoors in conservatory in winter time. In summer it gets too hot so they go outdoor hutch during the day and sometimes to the lawn.

It;s the damp that is bad for piggies too .
You need to make sure they don;t get too hot or too cold but also make sure they dont go from a hot-to-cold environment or vice versa.

Our piggies had an old playhouse (one of those Swiss Chalet types that the DC outgrew) with a solid floor . DH fixed the windows so we could take two out but the space was filled with bars+chicken wire+mesh to keep them safe from unwanted pests from foxes to flies .
They had big floor level sleeping areas that they could get out into the floor for a wander but always protected . And it was nicer for us cleaning the houses as we were protected too .
It was shaded too , under a huge tree

In a traditional hutch the front is open to rain, wind, sun. They'd hide in the sleeping area , which is small and a boring space .

We got all of ours from Rescue , they were kept in big sheds with hutches inside .
In winter we brought them in at night (starting at Guy Fawkes ) we gave them the small bedroom but no radiator and there's no door (so we could hear them whittering all night and had to put a sheet on them . I;m sure GP1 and GP2 were all Oi , we're not bloody parrots y'know
If it was too cold to go out , and whn they got old , they stayed in.

You can insulate a pig shed with loads of dry hay and some of those PetSafe Snuggle Pads (go in the microwave and bury in the hay)

There's loads of ideas on rabbit keeping sites for transforming a shed , but I always kept our run seperate so I could move it , and make sure the grass was dry enough .