Inside or outside to keep a guinea pig

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emmapig

Hello. We are going to get our daughter a guinea pig. We want to keep it indoors and have ordered a large 120cm long indoor hutch. I just wondered if we were to keep it indoors would it be ok to put it in a run outside on the grass during the day for exercise. I wasnt sure if the constant transition from indoors to outdoors would harm it in anyway?

Thank you
 
Firstly welcome to the forum :) If you're thinking of a piggy for your daughter, please consider a pair. They are much happier when they have a little friend to chatter to and play with ;)

Whilst it is nice and warm, you'll be okay to take the piggies outdoors for a couple of hours. I'm sure they'll love the change of scenery and will love to nibble your grass even more!

It's not to wise to do this once it gets much colder though (in the Wintertime), as they're not very good with big temperature changes.
 
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Hiya great to have you on board! And good for you asking advice before going ahead.

In the summer it's absolutely fine to have indoors and then put out for a run on the grass provided the run has some shelter / shade.

Did you mean you are only getting one guinea pig? Guinea pigs are herd animals and do very well with other guinea friends. They don't respond nearly as well on their own. They feel like they need to be on watch all the time and wont relax at all but with another pair of eyes they feel a bit safer.

Personally I would suggest getting 2 girls or 2 boars that have been bonded by a guinea pig rescue. There are loads of brilliant rescue centres on this forum who can help you and make sure you get happy, healthy and bonded pairs of guinea pigs. Have a look in rescue and rehoming.

Enjoy the forum :)
 
Hello and welcome to the forum.

Lovely to hear that you are going to be getting two piggys rather than one.

The cage you have ordered will be fine for two piggys as i know that the recommendation is at least 120cm long for two piggys.

When will the new piggys be coming home and where are you getting them from?

:)
 
That's fine for 2

When you get a bit experienced you can add a small upstairs to that cage too. But even without that it's okay for 2. Zooplus are good too - quick considering it's from europe.
 
thats good then, thank you. Just waiting for the hutch to arrive and then we will be looking for the piggies!Haven't a clue where from though but my daughter wants a black, white and tan one! I also prefer to have short rather than long haired ones
 
I think I'm more excited than my 3 year old is about getting some piggies now!
 
Whereabouts are you? We might be able to suggest a rescue that has some pigs that would be suitable. :)
 
Well I would say stay away from pet shops. I have had one die as a baby and one come with a lifelong condition needing medication from a petshop. Don't even think pets at home have a good track record.

You could also end up with mis sexed one and pregnant guineas. The list goes on.

The best place is from a rescue as they have been treated with preventatives for any skin conditions, they are already bonded in pairs so you don't have to stress about that (it's very stressful) and you can just take them home and love them worry free from day one. :)
 
I think we're all like that ;) (excitied by piggies I mean)

Maybe you could put a post in the 'rescue wanted' section with what your're looking for ;)

My three girls are all pet-store piggies but if we had any more I would definatley go to a rescue.

Good luck finding your perfect piggies!

p.s. We have a black, white and tan piggie - Pippa..

DSC_00822.jpg
 
just another thought..... the cage has only 1 sleeping chamber. Is this suitable for 2 piggies to share or do I need to order another one so they have a sleeping chamber each? Sorry for all the questions but I want to get everthing right and in place before we get out piggies
 
Oh my word that is such a cute piggy and just like the one my daughter wants! Thank you, we are about 20 miles from Leicester so thanks for that info
 
emmapig said:
just another thought..... the cage has only 1 sleeping chamber. Is this suitable for 2 piggies to share or do I need to order another one so they have a sleeping chamber each? Sorry for all the questions but I want to get everthing right and in place before we get out piggies
Click to expand...

If you get boys, you'll need two of everything pretty much to help reduce the chances of falling out - But you don't need anything fancy as such - Cardboard boxes will do the trick.

Personally, I would go with two girls with the cage you have ordered. I have one very similar except it doesn't have the stand bit built round it and although it is fine for 2, girls are much less likely to fall out. I upgraded from a 120cm one that I initially got to 2x 150cm ones (still very similar to yours) because my pet shop pair weren't two girls like I thought and they had four babies. I kept the 120cm cage though and now have a little boy in it who I will pair with another pig soon.
 
Oh, and don't worry about asking questions :) anything you want more info on, someone here will be able to help :)
 
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