Inside or Outside?

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Jillybean

Sorry if this has all been done before but do you think it's best for guineas to be in or out. I like the idea of them being outside (or in a shed) in the summer but to come in for the winter but don't know if I'd be making them less hardy and make it worse for them. I have an infra-red light on at night in the winter which they LOVE! - it's great to see them all sat together in a circle underneath it, but I don't want to keep it on day and night and I feel really cruel when I turn it off in the morning. I feel sorry for them during the day - they all seem to be huddled up, must be miserable.

Has anyone got any experience of heaters on a thermostat control? I've got an old guinea book from about 30 years ago which says about using greenhouse heaters on a thermostat and it sounds quite a good idea.
 
Obviously everyone has their own opinion on this one but I think it is good for piggies to be out in the summer and brought in either the house or a shed in the winter. I have had piggies live out all year round and to be perfectly honest they were fine. I know alot of people think they should be in all the time but I think they need fresh air just like we do. Saying that if I didn't have so many kids and had more room in the house I would love to have them in all the time!
 
I have decided to keep my 2 inside purely so we can interact with them and visa versa.... I read lots of opinions on in or out but decided to keep them indoors, I have a large hutch for summer when I will put them out during the day, I have just started building a huge C & C pen for inside :D
 
I think if you live in the UK there are certain times of year guinea pigs just need to be indoors. It gets too cold. I wouldnt want to think of mine outside in the wind, rain, snow or at the mercy of vandals and some of the kind of sick individuals I read about in the local paper who cut off rabbits ears and decapitated someones cat! :o

I like them indoors where they are snug and safe and where I can visit them anytime without having to go outside.

There are so many other benefits of having them indoors... I did a page a while pack with them all http://www.susieandpigs.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/indoor.htm

Obviously a personal choice but I wouldnt have mine anyother way! ;)
 
Thats great! People who see my guinea pigs are always suprised how big they are and how tame... its all down to their indoor lifestyle if you ask me! (:
 
When I had 12 guineas, I kept them in a shed. It had heating, lighting an electrocter for flies and an alarm. They were in purpose built runs the length of the shed and Hubby also set up a cctv camera so i could watch them on the telly! Now I've only got the 1, I keep him indoors for the company. If you only have 1 or 2 I'd say keep them indoors and let them on the lawn in summer. In England the winters are far too cold to have them in an outside hutch, an I'm sure they would be pretty miserable. The ideal temp for them is 60 to 70 degrees.
 
But lets not forget that wild guinea pigs live outside and i know that ours aren't wild but they do adapt to whatever weather. I don't really like the thought of them being outside either, especially in snow and things but sometimes needs must and not everyone has the room to keep them all inside. As long as they have a very strudy hutch and loads of hay and straw and things to keep them warm they will be fine!
 
Guineas are so social and love being part of the household. i think they should be indoors (mine are in the living room in front of the telly). I would be so lonely if they didn't live with me. Imagine not being able to just reach in for a stroke when you go by!

Mine enjoy going out on grass in the summer but even though my parents' garden is secure, they are never left unsupervised.
 
Wild guinea pigs live in places like brazil, and Argentina. Also don't forget our pets are pampered and not used to extremes of weather. If you do need to house them outdoors they need to be in a sheltered area and covered completely at night from drafts and damp. I think I'm a bit soft though as I've had a few sleepless nights worrying about a wild mouse and her family of babies I disturbed in our garden, wondering if they are warm enough. Hubby thinks I'm nuts! :-\
 
They are happiest outside in the summer and indoors in the winter. They love to hear the birds sing. If you are lucky you will get the chance to hear a singing pig give a concert. These are usually triggered by birds and happen at bedtime and cause a mass refusal to get back in the hutches ::) They all want to stay up and listen :-\
My permanent residents live in large enclosures in the summer and enjoy tootling about eating leaves (they polished off the grass years ago ::))following the patches of sun and generally living the free life. In the winter they come indoors or into the piggie shed, the old ones getting priority for indoor spots, and have to amuse themselves by yelling at the hoomans for food and then eating themselves silly.
 
Mine spend the night time in a shed in the summer and the daytime mowing the lawn, in the winter they still live in the shed which is a really thick timbered one which keeps out a lot of the cold, they have lighting and there is heating for the real extremes of cold.
 
What kind of heating can you get for a shed? I don't have electricity in there right now, but can you get electricity-free heaters?
 
Mine are outside but in an ideal world I'd have them indoors or at least in a brick building :)

I use a small plug in radiator in the cooler months to keep the shed nice and have a fan, frozen ice pack etc for the summer months. They have outdoor hutches and runs for the better days and love lounging around, fully covered of course.
 
Hello! Well, our 3 girls are indoor pigs. They love going out for a graze on the grass though.
I would imagine that in the English winter pigs would be miserable - or worse - outdoors.
 
I use the heat pads in winter. you can buy them anywhere they are used for muscle injuries.
Dont buy the gel ones. Only the ones like sand i wrap them in a towel. and put it in their bedbox
it stays warm for 12 hours. And when they get up the next morning there like little toasties they love it
 
I used to keep my Freddy indoors (as far away from the tv as possible as he used to squeal at it!) - when I moved to my current house my partner and I decided to splash out on a two storey hutch for Freddy outside. He's in a corner though near the house so I visit him every day and if I'm a slight bit late I get the warning squeal!

He was absolutely fine in Winter, he had a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel every night and the hutch was packed with hay which he loves digging around in for treats. This year though he has his girlfriend Flo and a dwarf rabbit so even more warmth in there for them! :)
 
All of mine are all indoors at the moment, due to us having the space to be able to do so.
I also like nowing where they are. My older pigs will always be with me inside. :)

Soon, majority of them are going into a purpose built shed with heating and lighting. :)
 
Hi my pigs were out in hutches over the summer and also had runs for nice days. Now the weather is getting cooler i have moved them into a shed which has electric so can be heated when i heed to. I also have two indoor cages which i use for indoor play and attention. If the weather gets really bad over the winter i will keep them inside. If i had a big house i would have them in all the time.
 
linda.b said:
I think I'm a bit soft though as I've had a few sleepless nights worrying about a wild mouse and her family of babies I disturbed in our garden, wondering if they are warm enough. Hubby thinks I'm nuts! :-\
Click to expand...

I am the same, I would have my pony under a nice thick duvet in bed if I had the chance in the middle of winter!
 
sweep said:
I use the heat pads in winter. you can buy them anywhere they are used for muscle injuries.
Dont buy the gel ones. Only the ones like sand i wrap them in a towel. and put it in their bedbox
it stays warm for 12 hours. And when they get up the next morning there like little toasties they love it
Click to expand...

I'll try to get some of these. How do they heat up? Do they go in the microwave?
 
Alex said:
Hi my pigs were out in hutches over the summer and also had runs for nice days. Now the weather is getting cooler i have moved them into a shed which has electric so can be heated when i heed to. I also have two indoor cages which i use for indoor play and attention. If the weather gets really bad over the winter i will keep them inside. If i had a big house i would have them in all the time.
Click to expand...

I've got power in the shed for a flourescent light and infra-red lamp but will have to have a socket put in aswell I think. What sort of heater do you use?
 
Hi gor a little fan heater that i will use if it gets really cold. I have two lots of three pigs so with lots of hay and each other they shoud keep nice and cosy :)
 
Thanks for all the advice, much appreciated. Sadly, Louisa, who I was going to bring in permanently with another one for company, died this morning. She was blind but managed fine. I think she was diabetic as she seemed to be drinking more but her appetite was fine. Then yesterday she went downhill, wouldn't eat. I cuddled her last night for a couple of hours and got up at 2.30am and she was the same. This morning I got her out and gave her a drink then was about to phone the vet when it opened, checked her once more and she'd gone. Very sad - she was 4 1/2 years and had a good life. Don't know what's worse - wondering if I should have got her to the vets sooner or to be thankful she died naturally.
 
I'm so sorry you lost your piggie. No words I can say will make it any easier for you - just know you are among friends here and we understand.

Big hugs to you.

Sleep tight little one xx
 
Lucinda said:
I'm so sorry you lost your piggie. No words I can say will make it any easier for you - just know you are among friends here and we understand.

Big hugs to you.

Sleep tight little one xx
Click to expand...

Thank you for your kind words.
 
I was there myself not so long ago. It feels like your world has been wrenched apart.

You know where I am xx
 
Hi
Sorry about the loss of your pig. :'(

Always sad to lose a beloved-ed pet but at least she seemed to go without to much suffering and you did all you could.

Keeping pets and learning to cope with the harder times that come with them is a valuable lesson in life i think. Losing a pet and the grieving process is important for children and adults to deal with.

Haven't lost a pig but lost my dog, of 15 years, about a year ago and it was terrible. Being there at the end for him and facing things (had to get the vet in to end his suffering in the end) was important to me.
 
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