Guinea Pig Hutch Tips

[acg]

I have got two new male guinea pigs which we have had for a few days now. At the moment they are living indoors, although I seem to be allergic to them so we have decided that it would be best if they were to live outdoors most of the time apart from when weather conditions are extreme when we would bring them in for shelter.

I just wondered if anyone has any tips about good hutches for outdoors. The hutch we got really doesn't seem big enough to me. It is on 2 levels but after looking at the size of some of the hutches in pets at home today I'm not sure it's big enough, it's this one:

http://www.therange.co.uk/lazy-bones-2-level-hutch/cages/the-range/fcp-product/44308

We have the cover for extra protection and plan to have them in the shed so that they are further protected from winds and rain. At the moment we are using wood shavings on the floor and Hay for the bedding but I wondered if there is any bedding that will be extra cosy for them? Or any tips for warmth. Also, do you have any ideas what I can do with the bottom of the hutch as it doesn't have a piece of wood it's just to go straight onto grass/concrete.

Thanks

 

[Goth Mummy]

Hi there! If you are using the hutch in a shed you could put sone lino flooring underneath the run but

 

[madguinealady]

You can get things called snuggle safes that you heat in the microwave then it stays warm for 10 hours I think that helps keep them warm.Are there Windows in the shed?If there is a door in the downstairs run bit you could add a to it to make it bigger.Lino would be great for underneath, you could even lion the whole shed or you could put a ground sheet then fleece or you could use cortex/northern. Fitch would maybe be warmer.I find shavings get up my nose so now use finacard which I love and is dryer than shavings.Used to have to do my litter trays every day but now can do them every two days.There is fleece as well but you have to be able to keep up with the washing Mine are inside and have cuddle sacks and tubes made from fleece.Good luck with them, you will soon be smitten

 

[acg]

Thanks for the tips. I have thought about the snuggle safes I remember I had one for a puppy we had a while ago. At the moment the shed has a small window but after looking around at some other people's posts I'm really tempted to get a new shed solely for the Guinea Pigs to put their hutch in and make it a run too so that in the winter months when they're not able to go on the grass they will still have loads of room to run around.

I know what you mean about smitten they are so adorable! We set up their run in the livingroom today and let them have some floor time. We only got them on Thursday afternoon so we let them settle in for a while before getting them out. They were pretty shy and hid most of the time but they came round a little and ate some veggies from my hand. We've called them Peanut & Fudge!

 

[piggyfan]

I am allergic to mine too but daily antihistamine help. It means I can handle them.

 

[Her Nibship]

Our piggies live in the shed (now renamed The Piggie Palace) as my OH wouldn't allow them to live indoors. They have lots of hides (a mixture of homemade from cardboard boxes - always very popular - , wooden, fleece and pigloos to give them lots of choice) stuffed with hay and Snugglesafes. Each hutch has a cosy cover for night-times which I have made from old heavy, lined curtains and I put a silver screen (the sort of thing you use with campervans) up at the window at night. I also always have a thermometer in there so I can keeps tabs on the temperature. We have a sectional run which consists of metal panels so I arrange this so that they can have free access from their hutch into the run in the shed for some extra space.

Thinking ahead to the summer (it will come eventually!) I have a magnetic fly screen for the shed door so that I can be confident that insects aren't going to get in when the shed door is open, as the screen automatically snaps back into place after you've gone through it. We converted our shed door into a stable door so that they can still have the top open even when our dog is out in the garden.