2 year old guinea pogs going outside all year

sarah Louise Robinson

sarah Louise Robinson

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Hi Recently we have seen two 1 to 2 year old guinea pigs in a pet shop that were abandoned.
We already have indoor guinea pigs in c&c cages that are allso nearly 2 so know about size cage guiding ect.
My question is we thought that if we had adopted these 2 boys and we only started to put them outside as it gets warmer to help them climatise could they live outside all year round in a insulated hutch.
I know thst boys should only live in pairs but when asking lady in shop she said that yiu can have more than 2 boys living together and becouse these 2 boys are onout 1 to 2 year old they shouldn't live out side. Thier was other things she said were we knew she didint fully have a clue so om asking about the outside living and would they be okay or not as these boys have been in the pet shop now for over 2 moth for sorption and I don't want that the lady has just stopped them from getting a home were they will be loved and looked sfter properly. Theses boys were originally abandoned. Thankyou x
 
sarah Louise Robinson said:
Hi Recently we have seen two 1 to 2 year old guinea pigs in a pet shop that were abandoned.
We already have indoor guinea pigs in c&c cages that are allso nearly 2 so know about size cage guiding ect.
My question is we thought that if we had adopted these 2 boys and we only started to put them outside as it gets warmer to help them climatise could they live outside all year round in a insulated hutch.
I know thst boys should only live in pairs but when asking lady in shop she said that yiu can have more than 2 boys living together and becouse these 2 boys are onout 1 to 2 year old they shouldn't live out side. Thier was other things she said were we knew she didint fully have a clue so om asking about the outside living and would they be okay or not as these boys have been in the pet shop now for over 2 moth for sorption and I don't want that the lady has just stopped them from getting a home were they will be loved and looked sfter properly. Theses boys were originally abandoned. Thankyou x
Click to expand...
Should of stated I live in north east UK
 
Hi, guinea pigs can live outside all year round but it’s a lot of hard work and they wouldn’t be able to go out until May time when night time temperatures are around 15 degrees and we’re no longer having night frosts.

The hutch would need to be insulated and have a wind / rain cover over the insulation. They would need plenty of hay in the colder months. A lot of people with outdoor piggies move the hutch in to an un used garage or shed to protect them from the elements during winter but if you can’t do this, their hutch would need to be placed in a sheltered area of the garden. Snugglesafe heat pads are great for outdoor piggies. You put them in the microwave and they stay warm for up to 8-10 hours.

You must also make sure to keep your piggies cool during the summer as hutches can become heat traps in hot weather.

Boars should live in pairs only as anymore than two will fight

You may find the following links helpful

Cold Weather Care for Indoor and Outdoor Guinea Pigs

Hot Weather Management, Heat Strokes and Fly Strike
 
:agr:

Any piggies who have been indoors up until now cannot go out until April/May time.
After that they need to be acclimatised slowly - outdoors during the day but still coming in at night until nighttime’s are warmer.

They can then stay out year round. However come September/October time ideally moving their hutch into a shed or outbuilding for extra protection.
As Claire has said, outdoor piggies need a fully insulated hutch, including thermal and waterproof covers. Lots of hay inside the hutch and heatpads. It is a lot of work.
Mine live in hutches inside my insulated shed year round. Even keeping them warm in the shed is a lot of work.

The biggest issue faced with outdoor keeping is summer - it’s easier to keep them warm than it is cool them down. Hutches can quickly become dangerous. My piggies do live out in the shed year round but come the height of summer they have to move into the house because keeping them cool is far too hard. Piggies should not be exposed to temperatures over 25 degrees and given a heated breeze can raise the temperature inside the hutch, it can be quite hard. My shed can easily reach 20 degrees on a sunny day when it is only 10 degrees outside.

The advice you have been given about being able to keep more than two boys together would likely lead you into trouble. Boar trios and quartets have an almost 100% failure rate. Very occasionally somebody will get lucky but it is rather rare. It is certainly not likely to work in young piggies (under around 5 years of age at least).
The only time boar groups stand much chance of working is when they are older and testosterone output has fizzled out. These groupings still require a lot of piggies - you’d want more than six boys - and the space would need to be huge. You are looking at at least a square metre of space per piggy. A hutch certainly would not come anywhere near the space needed.

For two boys you require a 6ft hutch.

Another thing, you say you have guinea pigs indoors already. You don’t say what sex they are but be aware that bonded boars should not be in the presence of sows. Introducing sow pheromones to a pair of bonded boys can cause the boys to fall out.

Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
 
Hi thankyou fir replying 🥰. i know that boars can only be in pairs, I have 4 boys 2 from babies and 2 rescued they live in a 2 tier c&c cage so separated. I'm a mber of guinea pigs uk on Facebook so no all about boars and testosterone aawell as cage sizings/ hutch sizings so would never put more than 2 boys together and I know thst if yiu di have girls they can only have 1 boy with them due to testosterone and that as well as needing to be castrated that they have to be quartined before bonding on a neutral ground, becouse the girl on the pet shop mentioned about putting more than 2 boars together this is what made me realise that she ither didint have a clue what sge was talking about or fully have a clue.
I've never had apart from as a kid I'm now 40 guinea pigs outside but have seen about clomatising them and about heat versus cold, we don't have room all year round to have them indoors as would of prefured this, but we are able to take them inside during the summer months when too hot and we have a caravan with a 6 foot double home and roost hutch for our other boys so in summer they would be with us at our van in thier own 6 foot hutch kept cool.
In winter we were thinking about building a small shed over the top of thier hutch and insulating it on the walls aswell as a hugger over hutch with plenty of hay. With ither fleace or sawdust which ever would be best for them.
You have been really helpfull x
 
You can’t use fleece as bedding for outdoor piggies - it won’t dry properly. An absorbent layer with hay on top is best
 
Claire W said:
Hi, guinea pigs can live outside all year round but it’s a lot of hard work and they wouldn’t be able to go out until May time when night time temperatures are around 15 degrees and we’re no longer having night frosts.

The hutch would need to be insulated and have a wind / rain cover over the insulation. They would need plenty of hay in the colder months. A lot of people with outdoor piggies move the hutch in to an un used garage or shed to protect them from the elements during winter but if you can’t do this, their hutch would need to be placed in a sheltered area of the garden. Snugglesafe heat pads are great for outdoor piggies. You put them in the microwave and they stay warm for up to 8-10 hours.

You must also make sure to keep your piggies cool during the summer as hutches can become heat traps in hot weather.

Boars should live in pairs only as anymore than two will fight

You may find the following links helpful

Cold Weather Care for Indoor and Outdoor Guinea Pigs

Hot Weather Management, Heat Strokes and Fly Strike
Click to expand...
Thankyou so much for yiur reply and advise. I'm a member of guinea pigs uk on Facebook so I knew as soon as she said about boars living in more than 2s that she didn't have at least a full clue which i know in pet shops of big chain's thst they dint always.
I have 4 boys in sepret 2 tier c&c cage, 2 from babies and 2 rescued.
I wasnt looking for anymore then kept on seeing these 2 boys that had been abandoned, I would prefer them to be in doors but don't have space for all year round but can bring indoors in summer months but we also have a caravan we're we have a 6 foot double hutch fir our boys so they could have thier own 6 foot hutch too and be kept cool .... I think it was more whst she said about age and not being able to be outside that through me.
My husband was on about building a small shed over the top of the hutch and insulating the inside walks of it to help from tge cold and also a hugger with lots of hay and ither fleace or shavings fir bedding.
Thankyou for your help/advise and for the links you and anouther person has given us it has give us allot of info fir us to look at and think about 😊x
 
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