Having a C&C cage in a shed

[hollieharwood]

Hi, I am looking at rehoming a pair of guinea pigs in the near future and I've been researching the best cages and information. I have seen that a C&C cage is one of the best options and easy to maintain. I would be keeping the guinea pigs in a large shed (that has power so temperature is not an issue) but I can't see if C&C cages are suitable for being outdoors. I was planning on getting a 4x2 cage with a stand and a lid.

Will this cage be suitable for this? Alternatively, are there any outdoor hutches that you recommend that may be better suited?

 

[Siikibam]

I’m not sure I would use a c&c even in a well heated shed. Hutches...the name has now escaped me! Someone else can suggest some hutches to you.

Depending when you rehome them, be aware you may not be allowed if you’re planning to house them outside. Some rescues don’t allow it until a certain time in the year.

I would also try and give them as much space as possible. Boars need minimum 12sq feet.

 

[Piggies&buns]

A C&C in a shed is ok in theory, provided it is kept warm enough in winter and it is going to be entirely predator proof (no rats or mice etc able to get in the shed) as a c&c offers no protection.
A 4x2 c&c is big enough for two sows (not big enough for two boars though).

My piggies live in my shed but because it doesn't have power I keep them in a hutch (with access to the shed floor for playtime) so I can keep them warm enough.

Chartwell Hutches are well recommended.

The biggest issue I have with keeping my piggies in a shed is actually the summer time heat, not winter cold. The shed gets blisteringly and dangerously hot very quickly so my piggies move inside for the summer. This summer just gone it hit 40+ degrees and didn't come down for weeks (even overnight)

 

[hollieharwood]

Thanks very much both of you for the response. From your advice, I'm not sure keeping my guinea pigs in a C&C cage is the best idea, I think I will consider a hutch which I will keep in the shed in the winter and keep outdoors out of the sun in the summer.

Piggies&buns - can I please ask what bedding you use in your hutch? I had been looking at fleece bedding, but this was when I was considering a C&C cage.

 

[Swissgreys]

I would be very wary of using a C&C in a shed as I imagine it would be very hard to make it predator proof.
If the shed is pretty solid then you might be ok, but I would consider a solid wooden hutch wihich will also offer more insulation and be easier to keep warm in Winter. Heating an entire shed to 20+ degrees would be astronomically expensive and a hutch is easier to cover and insulate and heat with snuggle safe heat pads.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Thanks very much both of you for the response. From your advice, I'm not sure keeping my guinea pigs in a C&C cage is the best idea, I think I will consider a hutch which I will keep in the shed in the winter and keep outdoors out of the sun in the summer.

Piggies&buns - can I please ask what bedding you use in your hutch? I had been looking at fleece bedding, but this was when I was considering a C&C cage.

You still need to be careful with the positioning of a hutch outside in summer. Hutches tend to trap heat and become hot also and in a hutch even in a warm breeze in a shaded position can make the hutch too hot inside - possible to do it of course, but of course it’s something to be prepared for. A thermometer and a plan B for any living situation is a must. In the height of summer, as I say, mine move into the house and only given their outside run time on the lawn during the early morning and late evening. I can’t move my hutch in and out of my shed which is why they are in the shed while it isn’t too hot, and then have to come into the house when it is

In the hutch, I use a layer of newspaper, then aubiose (or if I cant get aubiose, I use shavings) as an absorbent layer and then fully cover the whole thing with a lot of hay (a hutch full during winter). The shed floor is covered with the same. However, in summer I do use fleece as bedding in the shed only (its always aubiose and hay in the hutch year round). Using fleece outside in winter can be problematic so you need to be very careful - often fleece outside doesn't dry properly and can wick moisture from the air, and the Piggies are then left on wet bedding. In winter they also need lots of hay to snuggle into for warmth, and using microwaveable snuggle safe heat pads is a must.

Plenty of people do heat their sheds and they are better placed to advise on that than me (as I said, I sadly dont have electricity out there) but you need to be wary of when the heating goes off and if it is then going to allow the temperature to drop before it comes back on (thermostatically) thereby exposing them to temperature fluctuations. Bearing in mind, of course that the heating is going to need to be used for a lot of the year (mine start getting their extra warming measures overnight (thermal hutch covers, extra hay, snuggle safes etc) around October and they are still using them come April time.

 

[KHBz]

Just adding to what Piggies&buns has said, we have an electric heater which is plugged into a thermostatic plug so that we aren't relying on the heater's inbuilt thermostat. We have the thermostatic plug set to a target temperature of 21 degrees at the moment. This never fluctuates by more than +/-1 degree so the shed temperature is pretty constant: never lower than 20, never higher than 22. The heater isn't on at night but they are shut in a well insulated and covered hutch so the temperature hasn't been dropping below 17 degrees in there even when much lower in the 'shed'. They have a C&C run attached to the hutch, but our 'shed' is more of an outside room, insulated and without drafts.