Damp hutch and shed

Jess134

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Hi , so I have one guinea pig that lives in a two story hutch and lives in the shed . Recently the shed has been getting really damp in the corners and on the floor due to the weather .
I have started to notice that the hutch itself is starting to come damp inside , the top floor the wood has started to become damp
Does anyone have any ideas on what to do ?
Thankyou
 
:wel:

A few questions

Is the shed and hutch insulated?
Is it properly ventilated? (Insulated sheds without adequate ventilation can condensate)
Are there any obvious holes etc in the shed where it might be leaking?
Is the roof well felted?
Is the shed properly lifted off the ground?

Realistically, if your piggy is being exposed to damp conditions, the best thing would be to move him/her indoors until you can found out why it is getting damp and can rectify the issue
 
yes it is insulated
It isn’t ventilated
There is holed as it’s an old shed
The roof is fine it’s just the flooring as it’s not of the ground
 
If the shed isn’t off the ground, then moisture is going to seep up from the ground (even if it isn’t directly sat in puddles). This is where your floor problem is going to be coming from. The only way to solve it is by putting the shed on a raft to lift it off the ground by a couple of inches and so air can flow underneath. Probably not an easy thing to do with an already constructed shed and if it’s old I may not withstand the movement of doing so (even if if is possible) and it may be that a new shed may already be needed if the floor is getting wet, it is going to rot out.
Ie my shed is on a concrete base which sits higher than ground level so water doesn’t sit on the concrete. The shed itself then sits on a slats which lifts it a further inch or so off the concrete base so my shed is about three to four inches higher than ground level so doesn’t sit in water
Once the shed is wet inside on the floor, without sufficient ventilation it is going to just be stay damp inside as it can’t escape sufficiently and of course a damp UK winter it’s unlikely to dry out sufficiently anyway, which in turn obviously means everything inside is going to be exposed to excess damp.

Any holes which are allowing water in can easily be filled, boarded over but if there isn’t an actual vent in it, then the holes may be allowing for some ventilation unless and until water actually manages to seep in through those holes. The biggest problem sounds to be if the shed is directly on the ground though.

Are you able to move piggy indoors to be out of the damp until you can decide what to do about the shed? It won’t be healthy for him/her to be in a damp space
 
Thankyou so much for the help
Yes I think the shed does need sorting , the piggy couldn’t come inside that’s the thing as there is no space , I would put him outside with a waterproof cover over but I think it would be to cold for him
Any suggestions ?
 
Everything I can think of would need the hutch out of the shed and ideally piggy out of the hutch.
ie the hutch needs to be removed from of the damp conditions and allowed to dry out.

The hutch would need to be kept dry if it was put outside with covers but while also allowing sufficient ventilation for it air out, and ensuring piggy isn’t exposed to draughts. Not sure if it is going to be a bit of a catch 22 with it being winter.

Putting him outside will mean he is colder than in the shed but by how much is going to depend on the temperature difference - it’s obviously not going to be as great as from inside a house to outside, but it could still be an issue.
 
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