Best Place To Keep Piggies?

[bowiejaggerfred]

Hi

I'm currently awaiting 2 male guinea pigs.
They will be indoor piggies with a double tier cage.

I'm hoping to keep them in our conservatory. We have 2 cats and a dog so they won't be pestered by the other animals in the conservatory.
The only problem is on a hot day, the conservatory gets very warm and in winter quite cold.
Is it just hot weather that bothers guineas or cold too? Should I consider moving them during these periods?

Thanks!

 

[sport_billy]

Hello! Welcome to the forum Could you add you location to your profile please? It helps in case we ever need to tailor advice to your location

Both hot and cold is bad for piggies, Piggies can overheat and can suffer heat stroke, for this reason I would never keep the in a conservatory. So yes, best to move them in summer and winter too

Hot weather tips can be found here Hot Weather Management And Heat Strokes

here are lots of other info threads you may find helpful starting your piggy journey

Settling in and interacting with your guinea pigs:
How Do I Settle Shy New Guinea Pigs?
How To Understand Guinea Pig Instincts And Speak Piggy Body Language
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pig
All Kinds Of Biting And What You Can Do

Family guinea pigs:
Children And Guinea Pigs - A Guide For Parents
Children And Guinea Pigs - Age Appropriate Interaction And Responsibilities.
Guinea Pig Toys

Diet:
Recommendations For A Balanced General Guinea Pig Diet
Feeding Grass And Preparing Your Piggies For Lawn Time
All About Drinking And Bottles

Housing and climate:
All About C & C Grid Cages
Cage Size Guide
Bedding For Guinea Pigs - Overview
Hot Weather Management And Heat Strokes
Cold Weather Care For Guinea Pigs
Potentially Dangerous Cage Accessories

Guinea pig body and care:
Sexing Guinea Pigs: How to Sex a Guinea Pig
Boar Care: Bits, Bums & Baths
Guinea pig body quirks
Guide to Cutting Guinea Pig Nails

Behaviour and managing social needs:
Guinea Pig Facts - A Short Overview
Companionship
Boars: A guide to successful companionship.
Sow Behaviour
Illustrated Bonding / Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics

Hope you enjoy the forum

lee

 

[bowiejaggerfred]

Thanks for replying and for all the links!

I've updated my location

 

[Jesse's pigs]

It really depends on you and your lifestyle. I agree with the above that though a conservatory may provide a space where the guinea pigs won't be pestered, it will be too hot or cold on most days.

I myself have two boars who occupy my bedroom with their cage sitting on an ottama by the bed. In there they get away from my dog (she does come in my room sometimes but cannot reach the cage anyway). It also means I can always hear what's going on in there and it's basically their room now lol.

Obviously if I don't clean it out it will smell but my boars are cleaned out AM and PM everyday so my room doesn't smell and any hay that may fall from their hay rack is hoovered up when necessary. For me nights aren't an issue in fact they make little noise at all and it's quite comforting hearing them pad about and chew. May not be the same in your case haha.

Now I'm not saying- put them in your bedroom but is there somewhere else in your house that has space for a piggy cage?

 

[bowiejaggerfred]

We have an upstairs office where none of the other animals go, it's very quiet up there and room temperature.
It sounds silly but I wanted them downstairs as they're nearer to us whilst we're watching TV or reading at night, just like the cats and dog are!

Obviously they will have a lot of lap time and run time. Maybe the office would be best for the cage whilst we're at work then bring them downstairs for run time and lap time?

 

[Jesse's pigs]

We have an upstairs office where none of the other animals go, it's very quiet up there and room temperature.
It sounds silly but I wanted them downstairs as they're nearer to us whilst we're watching TV or reading at night, just like the cats and dog are!

Obviously they will have a lot of lap time and run time. Maybe the office would be best for the cage whilst we're at work then bring them downstairs for run time and lap time?

That's sounds like a better option but I totally understand- I wanted my boys in the living room but opted for my bedroom instead. I am in my bedroom during the day because I study in there etc but when I'm downstairs I bring them down for laptime. The bedroom also makes a safe place for when they free roam and I suppose it's a place where they can do what they want without interruption.

 

[sport_billy]

We have an upstairs office where none of the other animals go, it's very quiet up there and room temperature.
It sounds silly but I wanted them downstairs as they're nearer to us whilst we're watching TV or reading at night, just like the cats and dog are!

Obviously they will have a lot of lap time and run time. Maybe the office would be best for the cage whilst we're at work then bring them downstairs for run time and lap time?

Sounds like a good plan and I understand you wanting them around you to enjoy their company

We learned a lesson very early on keeping piggies and heat, we had a family party so put them upstairs n our spare room which was a sun trap without thinking , we came to bring them down at end of day and they were absolutely flaked out, it was one of the scariest moments ever. Luckily neither had heatstroke but another hour or so and I fear what could have happened. From that day forth we are extra careful in summer and hot days.