Keeping Guinea pigs warm in cold house

[BandicootCrash]

We got our two female Guinea pigs about 6 months ago. We keep them indoors in a 5x2 c&c cage (so nearly 6' x 2.5') with a fleece liner, a smallish wooden house, a fleece hidey/tunnel thing, and a couple of wooden archways. Tbh they spend all their time either out in the open eating, or inside the house.

Our house can get quite chilly, so I was wondering how cold is too cold considering they are at least indoors? Should I be stuffing their house with hay? At the moment they don't poo or wee at all inside the house though, so I'd rather keep it that way really. They do at least always snuggle in together.

Is there another to make sure they don't get too cold? I'm very aware that they need good airflow in and around the house, but by definition that sounds chilly! Temp can drop to 11 or 12 indoors overnight.

[reallyworriedjobhunter]

A heated pet pad? Yes to extra hay for them to nest in.

Is their cage on the floor? Maybe have it up on a table for winter and make sure that they are out of any draughts.

We keep a thermometer where our rabbits sleep so we know if it's getting too cold for them. We use a plug in radiator to keep them warm when needed.

[FLOWER1982]

Our cage is outside and we only bring them inside if it snows or very hot temperatures. They should be absolutely fine.

[Georgiepud]

So pleased you're concerned for them. Unfortunately one of ours died from cold in his outdoor hutch. I felt awful and sad.

[BandicootCrash]

Thank you for the prompt replies!

The cage is already up off the floor. I'm a bit worried they might chew one of those heated pads? But I do have a small oil filled plug in radiator, so that's a good shout.

It turns out that having pets your kids are emotionally invested in is an almost unbearable responsibility - I swear I worry more about the bloody Guinea pigs than about the actual children! (and no matter how careful you are, you know they live max 8 years anyway 😭😭)

[OchonAgusOchonOh]

I don't think it would be an issue so long as they are indoors. Our two used to be out in the garden during the day all through winter and both lived over 6 years. So long as it wasn't raining we would put them out for a few hours most days. They loved it.

[BigBundleOfFluff]

You have the same set up as me except mine are in my old Victorian conservatory - it's cold.
My c&c cage is directly on top of the tortoise tank so there is some residual heat from it. You could maybe look at a reptile mat for under the fleece, I don't think they run too hot but would keep the chill off.
During the day it's fine but if it's really cold at night I drape a blanket over half the cage, making sure it's properly kept up and well ventilated. I also have 3 houses for mine and I do put extra hay in.
They are sturdy wee things and don't forget - it does get colder gradually so it's not a shock for them.

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

The heated pads(SnuggleSafe) are a solid plastic disc that you microwave , ours never chewed them but we wrapped them in newspaper rather than the fleece cover as it was easier to replace . Buried under the hay .

Cardboard is a good insulator (no tape or staples) they do like to chew it too .
I used rubber mats and polystyrene ( like in packaging ) in the outdoor PigShed , well out of reach of their teeth .

Put a blanket or duvet over the cage at night . Ours had winter nights (and when they got old) in the small bedroom with no door or radiator so they didn;t get too warm .
Putting a cover on reminded them it was time to sleep , not chew their water bottles and grumble at 3am that they were hungry !

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

Hay is the best insulator though . If you lift them up the bit they were sleeping in is toasty warm

[iloveeverykindofcat]

You never know OP, one of ours made a confirmed 10 years when I was a child.
He was a bit of a legend, originally known as Lady, hastily changed to Laddy when he reached...maturity. He grew absolutely huge, sleek, dark brown with a single crown on his head. He was very intelligent and tame, and had a whole harem of wives who all lived happily together. I think he fathered 50% of the guinea pig population in the city.

[Marsyas]

Our house also gets cold, especially the back room where the piggies are - and I similarly fret about them. They have managed four and a half years so far though. They have a cage with a house bit at the back, connected to a run, with newspaper, fleece on top, and some wooden archway house things.

I invested in a small fan heater with a thermostat so it comes on when the room gets too cold - but then I worry about positioning it, whether they are too hot, whether stray bits of hay that float out of the cage might catch fire (no idea if this is possible, I am a worrier!). So I hardly ever turn it on at night. I also cover up the cage on three sides and the top with a blanket in the winter (they still have access to the run and air can still circulate) I have also over the years got them snuggle bags (the idea is they would snuggle inside them, they actually just sit on top), and I also in the winter put bits of material over their wooden archway house thing and fill it up with hay so they can snuggle inside.

[KnittedCardi]

Our two piggies were outside all winter in the South East. By the back door, and under wide eaves, but outside nontheless. I covered their hutch with layers of tarp to keep it warm and dry, and they had lots of hay and additionally layers of newspaper under the sawdust. They had several inches of snow on one occassion, but actually I was more worried about cold wind, which I used to mitigate by further wrapping the hutch. interestingly their water bottle never froze, so it did a good job. They went on the grass when they could, when it was not frosty. They lived until they were 8.

[gotomomo]

The area they are from gets cold in winter, they will be fine indoors in a house, even a colder house. Plenty of hay as bedding is sufficient extra for nighttime