Does your guinea pig like its outdoor time? Mine hate it.

Shelley anne

Shelley anne

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I have been trying to give my two girls some outdoor time for their Vitamin D requirements. I got a reasonable sized cage for them and put some tubes and hidys in etc. and picked some grass for them But they do not look happy in there and I think they are biding their time till I bring them back in again. They really don't look happy at all. they eat but most of the time they just sit there looking frightened in a tube. I am hoping they will get used to it. What are other peoples experience with their guinea pigs in their outdoor cages?
 
Do you put a cover/blanket over the cage? If not, then give that a try. They can feel vulnerable being outside.
Mine loving being out in their run on the lawn, they have lots of hideys, and their run is covered and they are fine. They don’t like it when I bring them in!
 
At my old house my boys used to go outside and they hated it at first as well. i guess there are a lot of new sounds and smells to get used to and they can feel very exposed but food overrules everything and the reward of nice fresh grass soon got them loving garden time. Sadly at my new house we don't have a garden so they can't go out but they did get used to it quickly. Also for a long time they used to come out and play when I was watching from the window but the moment I opened the door they would run and hide and pretend they were there the whole time.
 
Piggies&buns said:
Do you put a cover/blanket over the cage? If not, then give that a try. They can feel vulnerable being outside.
Mine loving being out in their run on the lawn, they have lots of hideys, and their run is covered and they are fine. They don’t like it when I bring them in!
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I put a sheet over a third of it and they still look miserable.
 
Sweet Potato said:
At my old house my boys used to go outside and they hated it at first as well. i guess there are a lot of new sounds and smells to get used to and they can feel very exposed but food overrules everything and the reward of nice fresh grass soon got them loving garden time. Sadly at my new house we don't have a garden so they can't go out but they did get used to it quickly. Also for a long time they used to come out and play when I was watching from the window but the moment I opened the door they would run and hide and pretend they were there the whole time.
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I can see them from the window, sitting and sitting some more, probably wishing I would bring them in. It is encouraging to hear yours didn't like it at first either, so i guess there is hope.
I haven't put their run on grass but picked their grass instead which they are normally fine about. Their run is on smooth'ish' concrete. perhaps they cant get used to the feel of something that is not fleece? I might try a sheet of fleece under it and see how that goes.
 
Piggies&buns said:
Oh dear! How many times have you put them out (ie are they new to you and this is the first few times they are going out?)
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I've put them out about half a dozen times, more recently. I've had them for about 8 months. I will admit I am a bit paranoid/OTT about their safety so haven't really thought about it until more recently and then I decided that they should have it for their health but then they looked so unhappy about it.
 
It may just be because it is so new to them then. It’s a good idea to put something softer under foot for them and their familiar hideys etc. I’d perhaps try covering more than a third of the run with a blanket as well and see how they get on. It may just take time. My boys live in my shed so are used to outdoor noises (so when I bring them in if it gets too hot in summer, they tend the hide a bit more, much the same as yours are being when outside), indoor piggies will have to get used to new things.
 
Piggies&buns said:
It may just be because it is so new to them then. It’s a good idea to put something softer under foot for them and their familiar hideys etc. I’d perhaps try covering more than a third of the run with a blanket as well and see how they get on. It may just take time. My boys live in my shed so are used to outdoor noises (so when I bring them in if it gets too hot in summer, they tend the hide a bit more, much the same as yours are being when outside), indoor piggies will have to get used to new things.
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Yes I'll cover them a bit more too and just give it time. Funny thing, I think they like it better when i am out there with them. They are so used to my presence that perhaps it makes them feel safer. I'll try and sit out there longer next time as well.
 
Mine stick firmly to the guinea pig 24 hour clock of being active dawn and dusk.

At the weekend I laid out a fantastic floor time for them with tunnels and forage and hideys and their favourite thing parsley, and they sat in the hideys sulking because it was midday. If it had been during their active time they'd have run about.
 
The outdoors are an environment that is overpowering the sensory input of indoors guinea pigs at first.
The first exposure resembles that of the arrival from a pet shop into a home environment: Arrival in a home from the perspective of pet shop guinea pigs

Please give your piggies time to get used to it; it can take a summer for them to be come gradually more confident and comfortable with being outside in my own experience.

Please place a towel over the cage and peg it to the top to give your piggies the protection they need when their prey animal instincts are set to high. Wide open spaces scream danger and exposure to both ground and aerial predators to guinea pigs.

Please also never leave guinea pigs fully exposed to sunlight without any safe retreat in double shadow so any plastic or wooden hide is not turned into a baking oven. Vitamin D is good but roasting in the sun is not and can kill (heat stroke).
It would be good if you read this guide here, as it can really make the difference between life and death for your piggies in a fast warming world: Hot Weather Management, Heat Strokes and Fly Strike
 
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