Putting baby guinea pig out in run in the garden.

[starpatch]

My existing adult guinea pig was bereaved and we have a new baby guinea pig called dot to keep her company. Dot is about 8 weeks old, she is about a quarter the size of an adult guinea pig. (Will try to post a pic!) She is understandably nervous and if startled she just runs around randomly. I have tried putting her in the run on grass with our older guinea pig but she just hid. I probably started a bit soon as she has only been with us a week. Would you persevere or wait a few weeks? My other guineapigs have loved being on grass so I don't want her to miss out!

I'd do it very slowly as she's probably not been out much. Maybe put her out by herself and a quiet time

Our babies went out from quite early on, just make sure they have plenty of hides. The little one will soon get brave when she follows the older one. Also, a sheet or blanket over the run may make it feel less exposed for the baby.

Thanks both

I caught them in a tube this afternoon and put them both out with a cover over ( and two hides) It went better as they hid under one of the hides but on the grass so did do some nibbling. Took the opportunity to clean out the c and c so now they are both running round and round disputing over space, seem happy though.

I'd cover the pen with netting, in case a gull or similar thinks the baby would make a nice snack.

@sueellekerI did mean that, we have a very secure wooden run with wire mesh and always drape a blanket over the top. Wouldn’t dream of them being out in an open top run.

Also have a wire topped run so I don't think birds of prey etc can get them thanks.

Hi @starpatch, sorry to hijack your thread but wanted to ask you a question. I’m planning to get some GPs soon and have been looking at the c&c cages, plus the cute liners etc. My husband’s not as keen (and he hasn’t even seen the cost of the accessories 😂) and he is worried they will smell. So my question is - do you use the fleece liners etc, do your GPs smell and how easy is the c&c cage to clean? Hope you don’t mind me asking.

Thanks a lot,
Flissty

Just make sure it's warm enough and the grass isn't damp when you put the baby out! Being small, she'll get cold more quickly than your adult guinea pig does. If you haven't done this already, perhaps a hay-filled container, placed inside the run, would be useful for her to keep warm.

We had a guinea pig, and used hay for bedding. The piggie only smelt of hay.

I have a C&C inside with fleeces. I clean them fully (as in the fleeces get washed) every second day and I spot clean plus change the pee pads (where they wee the most) on the day in between. Mine don’t smell, except for of hay!

Get two sets of fleeces then you don’t have to wait for the washed ones to be dry before putting it all back.

Thanks @arachnidadriana ! Can I ask another question? Are your piggies boys or girls? I keep hearing boys smell more than girls (I don’t mind a bit of natural animal pong but my husband doesn’t share my feelings) so I’m keen to hear if I should be trying to find girls (which seems a shame as there are far more boys needing homes). Thanks in advance for your guinea pig wisdom!

@Flissty I have two girls living in my daughter's bedroom and they don't smell at all. 8x2 C&C: newspaper on the bottom, then a fleece liner, then absolutely tons of hay, enough for them to burrow right into. Top up the hay every night and spot clean, with a thorough clean out once a week (they also get a bath whilst that's happening). You can only smell hay. They tend to do their business in one corner so spot cleaning is easy and everything wicks down under the hay. If you use a fleece liner without a hay layer on top you will need to swap it every other day or so I think.

The only thing I would say is that their wee does splatter a little bit so you want to work out where and protect that wall/have perspex panel in that spot instead of metal wire.

I don't know if boars are smellier, but I think they need more space than sows and also that they can be a bit bolshier with each other.

Super helpful, thanks both x

I’ve got sows now but I had intact boars before. They weren’t any smellier, and they were tamer than the girls. Cutest boys ever! They do need more space though, and pairing them (unless they’re litter brothers, but even then they can fall out when they hit teenager-time) can be trickier. They also need one each of everything to stop them bickering over things!