How soon can baby Guinea pigs go outside on the grass?

[CWheeler15]

We have some new baby Guinea pigs which is very exciting! They are about 2 weeks old and already into everything. Can I put them outside in the run on the grass or are they too little for this? I’m guessing it should be ok as they would be outside in the wild but didn’t want to put them out to play without checking first. To be clear, they live inside so I’m not planning on moving them outside, I just wanted to let them go out for a couple of ours enrichment. Thanks in advance

 

[Piggies&buns]

How did you come to have baby piggies?

I’m going to tag @Wiebke as our pregnancy expert on what age babies can first go onto grass and any other considerations that need to be taken with ones so young.

What I do know is that any guinea pig has to be very slowly accustomed to fresh grass each year - same goes for adults every spring after a winter off the grass.
Too much fresh grass too soon will cause digestive problems and in such young babies it would be a huge problem. They certainly could not go out for a couple of hours - it would be a couple of minutes (literally 5 minutes if that) at most.
I spend lots of time handpicking small amounts of grass to feed to my piggies in their cage so the amount can be very carefully regulated and built up gradually over a couple of months before they get any lawn time (I start late winter before they first go into the lawn in late spring/early summer).

Temperature outside would also be a big consideration - babies cannot regulate their body temperature so could not go out unless the temperature range was perfect and not breezy or damp.

 

[CWheeler15]

This is so helpful; thank you! We were sold girl Guinea pigs but one of them was actually a boy. They are very cute and it is exciting to have the experience but not quite what we had expected!

 

[Piggies&buns]

I'm sorry to hear that you are another unsuspecting customer of missexing.

I assume you’ve separated dad and sexed the babies?

 

[CWheeler15]

Yes I have seperated the dad and he is booked in for castration as I’d like to put them back together longer term.
I have sexed them and plan to move the boys in with Dad once they reach 3-4 weeks or 250g.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Yes I have seperated the dad and he is booked in for castration as I’d like to put them back together longer term.
I have sexed them and plan to move the boys in with Dad once they reach 3-4 weeks or 250g.

How many boys do you have?
What are the sexes of all the pups?
You won’t be able to keep more than one boar with a female(s), and you are unlikely to be able to keep more than two boars together long term. A very occasional boar trio will work but boars only really work in pairs.

Baby boys need to be separated at 21 days of age or 250g whichever comes first.

 

[CWheeler15]

We actually have 3 litters….ranging between 1 week and 2 and a half weeks as we had/have 3 adult females and one male.
From what I can tell we have 6 males and 4 females (one of those males possibly female as not as obvious as the other males are!)
Our plan is to keep a couple of the girls and extend our main cage (which is a C+C 6x2 cage currently) and put the dad back in with them once we he has recovered from surgery and is definitely sterile.
Then we hope to find good homes for the boys- our next door neighbour wants to have a pair of them and I am going to look at responsibly giving away/selling the rest. I do not want money for them but understand it is unsafe to offer them for free in case people use them as snake food .
If we cannot find good homes for the remaining boys then we will of course keep them and buy additional cages to keep them in pairs and/or keep one of the boys with his Dad in a separate set up.

 

[Piggies&buns]

That’s good, it sounds like you are fully prepared.

We would recommend contacting a rescue centre to arrange rehoming so you can ensure they go somewhere well suited for the potential issues of teenage boar pairs. (Rescues are currently fit to bursting though)

 

[CWheeler15]

That’s good, it sounds like you are fully prepared.

We would recommend contacting a rescue centre to arrange rehoming so you can ensure they go somewhere well suited for the potential issues of teenage boar pairs. (Rescues are currently fit to bursting though)

Thanks I will do that

 

[Wiebke]

How did you come to have baby piggies?

I’m going to tag @Wiebke as our pregnancy expert on what age babies can first go onto grass and any other considerations that need to be taken with ones so young.

What I do know is that any guinea pig has to be very slowly accustomed to fresh grass each year - same goes for adults every spring after a winter off the grass.
Too much fresh grass too soon will cause digestive problems and in such young babies it would be a huge problem. They certainly could not go out for a couple of hours - it would be a couple of minutes (literally 5 minutes if that) at most.
I spend lots of time handpicking small amounts of grass to feed to my piggies in their cage so the amount can be very carefully regulated and built up gradually over a couple of months before they get any lawn time (I start late winter before they first go into the lawn in late spring/early summer).

Temperature outside would also be a big consideration - babies cannot regulate their body temperature so could not go out unless the temperature range was perfect and not breezy or damp.

Hi and welcome

Are your parents used to eating grass themselves in larger quantities and has been fed since birth on a failry regular basis? If yes, then the pups' microbiome should have adjusted to it as they have got traces in the mother's milk and have also got used to it while they have gone gradually from nibbling solids to mainly eating solids now.
It not, then please introduce grass slowly in a small quantity at first and in increasingly larger portions. Avoid feeding damp grass since it can make piggies even more prone to diarrhea or bloating. Please do this over the course of a week.

When putting indoors piggies outside, treat them like tender plants. Always check with your own bare feet first that the ground is still warm and dry to your feet after 5 minutes. Make sure that the first trips are relatively short to accustom your babies to all the smells and sounds and that you supervise to ensure that your babies cannot squeeze between the bars of a rabbit run or cage top or wiggle through a little dip in the ground - and have no illusions - they will find it long before you. But they can basically go outside from about day two or so for shorter spells, provided conditions are pleasant (no too hot and not too cold and damp around 20 C), safe and there is always an area that is away from the sun and wind (double shade).
Here are our practical tips: Feeding Grass And Preparing Your Piggies For Lawn Time

Also be aware that you cannot put piggies out in hot weather - not even in the shade when the run is in the way of a sun-heated breeze of over 50 C. Nursing mothers have an immune system that is working overtime right now and babies haven't yet the body mass and an immune system that is still very under construction for the coming weeks. They are all much more prone to heat stroke. As soon as the current cold summer weather turns, you have to be extra careful indoors and out since especially a sudden major heat spike is a real danger for your little family.
Our very comprehensive hot weather guide contains all possible information and the widest range of how-to tips that reach far beyond providing a frozen water bottle. You may find it very helpful when tackling the effects of climate change picking up speed now.
Hot Weather Management, Heat Strokes and Fly Strike
Hot weather warning for the UK - plan now to keep your piggies safe! (our members's practical experiences and feedback with keeping their piggies cool in different settings last summer)

Here is our neutering and post-op care advice thread. Please be aware that you may find it more convenient to pair up your dad with one of his sons (if there are any). Have you sexed your babies yet? I am very sorry that you are in this situation.
Neutered / De-sexed Boars And Neutering Operations: Myths, Facts and Post-op Care
What-to-do-with-a-dad-your-short-and-long-term-options
Illustrated Sexing Guide

 

[CWheeler15]

This is all SO helpful. Thank you. How long could we keep the baby boars with Dad? At what age do they begin fighting? I know long term that I can only have a maximum of 2 together but like the idea of seeing who gets on best in the short term. I think we have 6 boys and 4 girls (possibly 5 boys and 5 girls as one I was unsure of and will recheck before they reach 250g/ 3 weeks).

All the adults- 3 females, 1 male- are used to going outside and their normal routine on good days is to go outside each day for a few hours and then they are brought back inside every evening. On wet/cold/very hot days they do not go out.

 

[Wiebke]

This is all SO helpful. Thank you. How long could we keep the baby boars with Dad? At what age do they begin fighting? I know long term that I can only have a maximum of 2 together but like the idea of seeing who gets on best in the short term. I think we have 6 boys and 4 girls (possibly 5 boys and 5 girls as one I was unsure of and will recheck before they reach 250g/ 3 weeks).

All the adults- 3 females, 1 male- are used to going outside and their normal routine on good days is to go outside each day for a few hours and then they are brought back inside every evening. On wet/cold/very hot days they do not go out.

Hi

You can keep any baby boys with dad until the teenage hormones kick in when the testicles start descending and scraps happen increasingly - it very much depends on the personalities involved. If you have an even number of boars (including dad), try to pair them up. With an uneven number, pair up the two that get on best and have the odd one out neutered to live with the sows. If you have all dominant boys, then they may not be able to stay together even in pairs. Being related is not safe-proofing any personality clashes during teenage. You separate at 3 weeks or 250g - whichever comes first in order to prevent early pregnancies. If you have several boys, then ideally move them across together. Any boy over 200g is safe to move with a larger sibling.

You may find this article series I have written for Guinea Pig Magazine about development that follows a piggy life from birth until death fascinating. The third chapter deals with the formative 'school' weeks between weaning and teenage, i.e. the period you are looking at and what happens then. Having a dad for any boys allows you to give them the best social environment as they grow up. I would recommend that dad can meet them either through the bars in a divided run before or in little meetings on neutral ground beforehand for better acceptance. Seeing the pups with his ladies means that he is much more likely to accept them with much less than if they are just strangers. Not all boars are equally accepting of suddenly being in the company of babies although they will never harm them.
Journey through a Lifetime: The Ages of Guinea Pigs
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics (see chapter baby bonding)

 

[CWheeler15]

This is really really helpful. Thank you so much