Cold Weather Care For Guinea Pigs

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KookyK said:
Ok a stupid Q from me - if you staple on insulation, I take it you need to pull it all off when the weather gets warmer? I ask as I've stapled on lots of insulating stuff and then wondered!
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As as suggestion you could always use velcro . . . :)
 
I have been thinking about preparing for the winter today, so this thread has really helped :)
 
i have all my pigs outdoors although they are really well sheltered in my 'catservatory'. each hutch is covered in insulation board before having having layers of duvets and blankets over them. i don't have to worry about the rain etc as they are not open to the wet weather. they have vetbed for bedding, cosy cups to snuggle up in and loads of hay in the sleeping areas.
this is the insulation board:
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this is how they are covered:
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KookyK said:
Ok a stupid Q from me - if you staple on insulation, I take it you need to pull it all off when the weather gets warmer? I ask as I've stapled on lots of insulating stuff and then wondered!
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Depending on the insulation type it can work both ways. It will keep the hutch warm in the winter and cool in the summer. x
 
Great advice, I'm glad it's here because it's something not everyone thinks about!

Thank you bsjlmb for the insulation board suggestion as we have LOADS of that at home so I think I'll be modifying my hutch tomorrow.

I myself at the moment use a piece of old carpet that I drape over the hutch at night and for our old hutch we used to have perspex windows!
Unfortunately, I have no photos as my dad got rid of the hutch in a hope to stop us buying more (didn't work!)

Basically he cut grooves in front of the mesh on the doors of hutch and we would slide a piece of perspex in if it was raining heavily or especially cold.

I'm hoping I can keep mine as warm as the old ones this winter but unfortunately the hutch I have now isn't a patch on the Super Dad Hutch (he built the whole thing from scratch, having bred piggies as a boy). I've already had him made modifications to the sleeping area so it's more snug for them and I've been filling it with hay every night before draping the carpet over.
 
fruitdance said:
Great advice, I'm glad it's here because it's something not everyone thinks about!

Thank you bsjlmb for the insulation board suggestion as we have LOADS of that at home so I think I'll be modifying my hutch tomorrow.

I myself at the moment use a piece of old carpet that I drape over the hutch at night and for our old hutch we used to have perspex windows!
Unfortunately, I have no photos as my dad got rid of the hutch in a hope to stop us buying more (didn't work!)

Basically he cut grooves in front of the mesh on the doors of hutch and we would slide a piece of perspex in if it was raining heavily or especially cold.

I'm hoping I can keep mine as warm as the old ones this winter but unfortunately the hutch I have now isn't a patch on the Super Dad Hutch (he built the whole thing from scratch, having bred piggies as a boy). I've already had him made modifications to the sleeping area so it's more snug for them and I've been filling it with hay every night before draping the carpet over.
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Thank you for sharing your ideas :)
 
It was very chilly as I was locking my tribe up for the night, so I've put their heater on so it's nice and warm for them. ;)
 
I know I added this in to a thread I made earlier, but I wanted to post it here to. With my pigs living free range in a shed, they had a wooden platform built for them, where they can just step up onto. I am hoping, as it is raised off the ground, that it will be warmer for them up there? On the platform there are lots of cozies etc, I was thinking of putting a heat pad underneath it to, I'm sure they would love that, in the colder weather. :)
 
All of my piggies have been kept outdoors. Here's what I do for them in the winter:

Firstly, I have a light that can be turned on and off from my kitchen. i turn this on just as it's about to turn dark so that the heat from the bulb warms the cage up a bit and takes the chill off.

During the day while the shed door is open, I have a sheet of plastic that covers most of the chicken wire on the door (it has a small gap at the top for air.) This plastic sheet also stops the wind from blowing into the cage.

All of their favourite hidey houses etc go at the back of the cage as far away from the day as I can put them, and I give them extra blankets.

Occasionally, I put warm water into a hot water bottle and warm a blanket around it for them. They LOVE laying on it. I don't make it too hot, just nice and cozy warm. This year I'm going to give them warm bran-mash on the occasion too, since I've never tried it with my other piggies.

All cages are placed out of the way of as much direct wind as possible, and the cages are sprayed with some type of waterproofing stuff that my dad has.
 
We keep our piggies indoors. I just cut up a big woolen blanket that used to be mine and they get pieces of that, but we also make sure to leave the heating on over night as well. Next year we want to look for a new flat because ours is very badly insulated so we pay a lot for the heating.
 
My plans are changing all the time to insulate my shed, I started off with rolls of space blanket insulation which I was going to board over. Then I was given a load of dense polystyrene boards which I was going to clad the entire shed with then board over. I've now acquired a load of ply board with its own polystyrene insulation glued to the back, so this is the stuff that I'm putting in over the next few days. ;)

sandwich-panels-plywood-foam-soundproofing-and-thermal-insulation-23321-2946329.jpg


the insulation is only a third of this with no backing board. ;)
 
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I know I've posted this on another thread, but thought I'd post it here too as it worked so well when I only had a couple of piggies. I put one of those rabbit tents in their sleeping box and stuffed it with soft barley straw, I then folded an old pillow round the back and over the sides of the tent and then stuffed any spaces with scrunched up balls of newspaper. I'd then put some extra straw (very soft barley) and hay in and a snugglesafe and it kept them toasty. In fact, my old boar used to make me laugh as he'd make himself a little nest within the tent and just sit with the tip of his nose poking out! Now that I've got 5, I've got to somehow scale up this method... In fact, I'm panicking about the winter. I don't know why, as I've always had outside piggies, but I'm definitely getting more neurotic (some may say obsessive) as I get older...
I've already decided that if we were to have another artic winter like a couple of years ago, they will have to temporarily move into my hubby's 'office' - he wouldn't be at all happy, but hey ho... ;)
 
Just a heads-up for all those with outdoor and/or shed Piggies, the temperature is going to fall massively on Thursday night in the UK. At the moment overnight temps where I am are about 10C, but by Thursday night are falling to 4C, and by Saturday could just be 1C.

Such a harsh fall means piggies may need extra tucking in from Thursday night :)
 
Piggylet said:
Just a heads-up for all those with outdoor and/or shed Piggies, the temperature is going to fall massively on Thursday night in the UK. At the moment overnight temps where I am are about 10C, but by Thursday night are falling to 4C, and by Saturday could just be 1C.

Such a harsh fall means piggies may need extra tucking in from Thursday night :)
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I read this too. It could be reaching -1 here on Friday so I shall be making sure my girls (who free range in the shed) have extra hay and fleeces in their wooden lazy bones houses :)
 
My guineapigs live outside. they have glass(that we can take out) in the windowy things heat lamps, insulation and fluffy beds! but we still might put them in a garage...
 
One thing I liked to do when I had piggies indoors (no heating in our old house) is sacrifice an old towel or blanket and just let them have it in their bed area, mine loved snuggling under it and making tunnels in it, and chewing it to bits of course. But the blanket area was always much warmer and cosier than the rest of the cage
 
Hi, I'm completely new to guinea pigs, so new I don't even have any yet. But my son (9) is getting two next month for his birthday. I have every intention of keeping them indoors in a big cage but I've bought an outside hutch with attached run. I was going to put them outside to exercise during the day while my son is at school and I'm sleeping after nightshift. My thoughts were that as long as I took them inside again at night it would be ok. However, after reading this thread, I'm not so sure. We live in the north of Scotland (BRRR!) and so it gets really cold, even during the day. Should I not bother putting them out during the day until summer or should I just put loads of bedding and two of those microwavable pads in the hutch (the "house area" is raised off the ground). Thanks!
 
With the cold weather I thought I would give this thread a quick bump :D My pigs are living outdoors a combination of household allergies and them keeping us awake has meant they've been kicked out. My hutch is a 5ft double but its split into two hutches, the bottom is used for storage so the pigs are away from the cold concrete floor, the hutch is surrounded by a 2 story house on two sides and a 8 ft wall on the third so its quite sheltered it is also south facing so they have the sun all day to keep them warm, and its literally outside the kitchen so I can watch them when washing the pots and nip out to do their snuggle safes even in horrendous weather without getting soaked. They're getting their silver foil all over and some clear coroplast on the hutch this weekend over the large mesh door this weekend.
 
This is a great thread, and I was going to start a similar thread for advice. I have had guinea pigs most of my life, but these two I have now my husband reads up on the internet, and because he has read that if you bring piggies in they will lose their "thermal system", so when they are returned to outside they wont be able to survive even in summer. Is this true?

We have two piggies, lots of hay in the bedding area, and bought a thermal cover from pets at home, I am now really paranoid about the piggies, is the shed going to be a better place for them especially now as the winter sets in, or as there is two will they snuggle up together?

We always check for dampness (cage is dry) so they seem happy. but husband is so paranoid that we we clean them out we put them in their temporary pen he leaves patio door open so they dont get used to the heating?

i forgot to say that we have carpet between the cage roof and the thermal cover, plus under the cage on its wooden table that the cage sits on... for extra warmth.

help
 
My two boars have a hutch with undefloor heating everywhere except for the feeding area, is that ok? It also has a hutch cover..
 
CiaraPatricia said:
For outdoor pigs, I'd recommend stuffing the bedroom of the hutch with hay, as much as possible. Check it every night before bed, to make sure it's dry. If it's damp, replace it or top it up. The pigs will tunnel into it and hopefully be really cosy.

For indoor pigs, a big cardboard box filled with hay would be good.

If you only have one pig, then remember they won't have anyone to cuddle up to to keep warm.

Snugglesafe heat pads are microwavable and meant to stay warm almost all night. I can't say if they're good or not but I'm going to get them this year and try. I'm only going to use them at night during the winter. Because someone said not to use them during the day, or the pigs won't get used to the cold, and won't be able to handle it as well.

Wooden hidey houses are better than plastic I think, because the plastic won't be as insulating, and might get condensation inside and be damp. Some people say plastic ones hold in heat better, but I'm not sure, I'd use wooden ones, or a cardboard box, and stuff the hidey house with hay too, but with enough room for the pigs to get in. :)

If you have a few pigs, and if they'll share a hidey house, I think it'd be a good idea to have a house big enough for all of them to get in so they can cuddle together. But have a spare one too in case one pig gets kicked out. And if they're in a hutch, be careful that one pig isn't being kicked out of the bedroom and sleeping in the open part. Mine have been sleeping out there in the summer sometimes, but in the winter they'd be freezing.

Also animals need more food in the winter, so make sure they have lots of high energy food to build up a good layer of fat! :) Corn would probably be good if they're not too fat already :)) and mine will be getting lots of pellets, maybe unlimited cos I know I'll get worried about the cold. (They're still mostly under a year.)

I'm going to have my pigs in the shed for the winter. It won't have any heating and isn't insulated or anything, but hopefully they'll be ok and it'll keep the wind and rain out. I live in the south of Ireland and it's quite mild here, but remember that different parts of the UK can get quite extreme temperatures, so if you live somewhere it gets really cold then it'd definitely be best to bring the piggies inside. I couldn't believe it got to temperatures like -14 where my grandmother lived in reading . . .
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Mine have one of the wicket type houses, stuffed full of Hay that I change daily. They also have a micro heated pad for really cold nights. They snuggle onto it!
 
I love in a 85 year old old drafty house where there's 2 feetu of snow outside and it's -15F but thankfully my girls are on the warmest floor with fleece cozies(:
 
Hi am I right in thinking it's ok for my girls to come in end of autumn as it's turning cooler then go back out towards end of spring when it's warmed up a bit more?
 
Hi. I'm just wondering if it's ok for my pigs to be out at night yet. They've been indoors all winter and I've prepared their summer hutch ready for the warmer weather. Not sure when to leave them overnight. It's meant to be 2 degrees tonight. I have a friend who leaves hers out all year round except if it snows! I've put mine out but I'm thinking of bringing them back in.
 
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