Best outdoor bedding to keep piggies warm during colder nights?

machuandpicchumummy

machuandpicchumummy

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My piggies are outdoor and now the nights are starting to get colder we want to know the best ways to keep them warm. They're in the Bluebell XL hutch from Pets at Home and we have the thermal hutch cover. What's the best bedding to use inside the hutch so they can keep warm? They have loads of hides and carrot cottages etc which we're stuffing with hay right now- is this the best way or is there something better? Also does anyone know of any heat pads that do not require a microwave as we don't have one (will buy if we do need it though). We do have an indoor cage for emergencies or if the temperature gets extreme either way but ideally don't want to have to swap them around different environments much as they're coming up to teenage (they're boars). Plus, under our tenancy we're meant to keep them outside. Although the landlord has been very understanding when we've had to bring them in for emergencies. Any help appreciated as these are my first piggies since childhood and we know a lot more about piggie welfare since then.
 
Mine live in a hutch in a shed.
Lots and lots of hay is needed - as it gets colder, stuff the hutch (not just the hides) literally full with it. Hay is the best thing to use. Straw, while more insulating, is not suitable for guinea pigs due to it being sharp.
My hutch is in the shed which keeps them warmer than the outside temperature but in addition they have a thermal hutch cover, then two blankets, then a further hutch cover, and then a duvet thrown over all of it.

I would suggest you just buy a microwave to be honest! I only use my microwave (£20 from a supermarket) for heating the boys pads! My two have four snugglesafes between them.
The alternative is an electric heater, something like a greenhouse heater but I’m not sure how safe they really are near hay etc
 
We have our rabbits in an outdoor hutch, although it isn't in the open it is inside a shelter.
Coming into Winter I spend a day 'weatherproofing' it.
I attach polystyrene panels to the main outdoor walls and then cover these with a layer of bubble wrap.
Then we have a thermal cover that goes over the whole thing with additional blankets over the front at night to offer extra insulation.

As @Piggies&buns has said stuff it as much as possible with hay and I also use corrugated cardboard boxes (more insulated than regular cardboard to create smaller hides inside the actual hutch.

We have a variety of heat pads but I don't know any that don't use a microwave unfortunately.
 
Hay is the best and, as someone above has said, put loads of it in at least part of the hutch so they can burrow in. Stuffing hides full of it is also a great plan. We usually stick a cardboard box in the "bedroom" part of the hutch and put hay both in it and all around it for extra insulation.

On the heat pads you could probably use a hot water bottle wrapped in something to stop them eating it, but they don't stay warm for as long as the microwaveable ones.
 
Hot water bottles aren’t recommended as they can pose a safety hazard (burst, be unwrapped and chewed etc and then piggies are exposed not only to hot water but wet bedding). And as you say, their warmth will not last on a cold winter night outside
 
It’s a good plan! Ensure the hutch cover is covering the hutch well so the blankets etc cannot get wet
Don’t forget a thermometer on the hutch also.

Do bear in mind that now it is getting colder, then you will need to keep them outside and not bring them indoors (even for cuddle time) unless they are to permanently stay in for winter. The fluctuation in temperature between indoors/outdoors will soon become too great. We
 
machuandpicchumummy said:
I think we'll get a cheap microwave to use heat pads and stuff with loads of hay and use blankets over the hutch etc. If it gets ridiculously cold they can come in
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Snuggle safe pads are brilliant! We managed to find a few quite cheaply on Facebook marketplace so well worth looking around.
The only thing I would say is that my piggies were very wary of the snuggle pad at first. It might be worth introducing them to it slowly a few days before you feel you absolutely need it so they are used to it. ☺️
 
Piggies&buns said:
It’s a good plan! Ensure the hutch cover is covering the hutch well so the blankets etc cannot get wet
Don’t forget a thermometer on the hutch also.

Do bear in mind that now it is getting colder, then you will need to keep them outside and not bring them indoors (even for cuddle time) unless they are to permanently stay in for winter. The fluctuation in temperature between indoors/outdoors will soon become too great. We
Click to expand...
I've had my two boars since June and they live outside. So far they have been used to indoor cuddle time, plus playpen time when it rains and they can't go outside in their run. I worry about not keeping up with the handling as I have only recently felt that they are starting to trust me and bond with me, and I don't want to neglect them because they are outside. Can you suggest ways I can continue cuddle time over the winter without bringing them indoors? Would they cope with short cuddle sessions in a cuddle sack to keep the worst of the cold off? Thank you.
 
Lizabel said:
I've had my two boars since June and they live outside. So far they have been used to indoor cuddle time, plus playpen time when it rains and they can't go outside in their run. I worry about not keeping up with the handling as I have only recently felt that they are starting to trust me and bond with me, and I don't want to neglect them because they are outside. Can you suggest ways I can continue cuddle time over the winter without bringing them indoors? Would they cope with short cuddle sessions in a cuddle sack to keep the worst of the cold off? Thank you.
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It depends on the temperature. In reality, if they are outside (not in a shed), then handling etc becomes much harder. If it isn’t that cold of a day, then you may be able to put them in a cuddle sack, but come midwinter it may be rather hard. it may be that you can only sit by then and have a quick head scratch and offer food from your hand. If it is warm in the hutch, you won’t want the covers removed for too long which would then allow too much cold air to get in which then may not warm back up again. It’s all a balance though because you obviously need to clean out as well. It’s probably best to keep any handling to sunny winter days if the hutch has a chance to warm back up again inside.

Even though mine are in the shed and are usually much warmer than fully outside, I still don’t want the hutch covers lifted for long which could cause the hutch to cool much (sometimes the temperature inside the shed is Lower than that in the hutch so I wait until the shed warms up before lifting any hutch covers for any length of time). Covers are quickly and briefly lifted to throw in hay, food and pick up/put back heat pads, grab out any wet bedding out and that is it. I will then wait until the daytime temperature comes up a bit and it warms up in the shed before doing anything more like letting them out for a run, full clean out.
 
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Piggies&buns said:
It depends on the temperature. In reality, if they are outside (not in a shed), then handling etc becomes much harder. If it isn’t that cold of a day, then you may be able to put them in a cuddle sack, but come midwinter it may be rather hard. it may be that you can only sit by then and have a quick head scratch and offer food from your hand. If it is warm in the hutch, you won’t want the covers removed for too long which would then allow too much cold air to get in which then may not warm back up again. It’s all a balance though because you obviously need to clean out as well. It’s probably best to keep any handling to sunny winter days if the hutch has a chance to warm back up again inside.

Even though mine are in the shed and are usually much warmer than fully outside, I still don’t want the hutch covers lifted for long which could cause the hutch to cool much (sometimes the temperature inside the shed is Lower than that in the hutch so I wait until the shed warms up before lifting any hutch covers for any length of time). Covers are quickly and briefly lifted to throw in hay, food and pick up/put back heat pads, grab out any wet bedding out and that is it. I will then wait until the daytime temperature comes up a bit and it warms up in the shed before doing anything more like letting them out for a run, full clean out.
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Thanks for sharing what you do with yours. We have plans to build a shelter over the hutch to keep wind and rain off, then a shed is on the future list - we're renovating our house so things are unpredictable at the moment. My big concern is being able to clean the hutch out without letting too much cold air or rain in but you've given me some ideas. Fingers crossed for lots of sunny winter days!
This weekend I've started putting extra hay in for them when I go to bed but a lot of it is compressed down by morning (and wet with wee!) so I think they are lying on top of it at the moment. I've ordered 2 Snuggle safes for when the night-time temperature drops further. My husband successfully kept guinea pigs outside through the winter in County Durham when he was a child, apparently without any extra insulation, but I'm not taking any chances, especially as that was in the 1980s when people kept piggies and rabbits together and bedded them on straw - please be assured we are doing neither of those things now! I just want my boys to stay healthy.
 
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