inside or outside

inside cage or outside cage?

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rachx

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:) hello
i was just wondering about this and would love to see some of your cage setups

Also my friend said that if guinea pigs are inside they die earlier then if shoved outside(dont believe her)

I would also love to see your outside hutches and if i ever were to get piggies advice on outside or inside and how to keep them warm inside

Also she uses shredded newspaper is this right

Also I would prefer to keep them inside because i have a chinchilla proof room that would be perfect for guinea pigs!

Also roughly how much would 2 guinea pigs cost a month on average because i have a month
2 chinchillas - £15-£25
insurance- £12
but i get £50 so at the least i would have £13-£23 a month to spend so i need to find a pet within my limits

Thanks
:) rach :)
 
please

i need advice

also can guinea pigs be kept in the same ROOM as chinchillas
 
I think you will be able to affored two guinea pigs a month. I am currently looking for a hutch for mine because they cant live inside (not litterally) my mum said i have to keep them out its unfair. As to wether you can keep cavys and chinchillas in the same room my answer would be a yes but dont keep them close to each other or let them out at the same time and wash your hands after handling each animal hope this helps.
Not including vet bills because this could cost anything.

Brendan
 
What would you do if a guinea pig needed urgent vet treatment that could cost upwards of £100?

I would not use shredded newspaper as often guinea pigs would ingest it - not all newspaper publishers use natural inks. Hay is an excellent and cost effective bedding though I use fleece, brush it and stick it in the washing machine.

I keep mine inside and will never keep them outdoors again - far too cold for them if you don't have a heated/insulated shed to keep them in. Your friend is talking nonsense and trying to justify her own decision to keep them in the freezing cold. I had a pig die of pneumonia a long time ago because he was kept in an unheated outbuilding.

I see no reason why they shouldn't be kept in the same room as chinchillas as long as both are kept clean, they don't come into direct contact with one another and you wash your hands between handling them.

DSCN1638.jpg


This is the cage I had for 3 pigs. It is now longer for 4 pigs. It cost me less than £40 to make - the base in the picture is lino but I now use correx (corrugated plastic). See www.guineapigcages.com for more indoor cage ideas. Note that we don't use the radiator in the pig hence why the cage can be right in front of it!

For 4 pigs I spend £11.65 a month on their food (cavy cuisine), about £10 a week on veg, £7.99 every 2 months on megazorb for their litter tray and about £10-£15 a month on hay. I don't spend anything on bedding as I use fleece with newspaper underneath. Vet bills are on top of this as and when they need a vet visit.
 
I don't spend that much..... I buy a bale of hay £3 which lasts well over a month with two rabbits and five guineapigs munching it. I buy a bag of Wagg Optimum pellets from Asda £4 which lasts about 3 weeks and a sack of readigrass from a local horse supplier costing £3 and that lasts ages and ages. The biggest cost for me is the veg, but if your mum buys lots of veg anyway she probably won't notice the extra ;) but budget on £5 a week, although obviously if you shop around at markets etc you can often find veg cheaper at the end of the day. As for vet bills...... we don't have spare cash but I'd have to find the money/use credit cards.

Mine are inside in a C&C cage but once the cold weather passes i'm moving them outside to the shed then into the garden in warm weather. My reasons for this are I've had enough with the vet bed washing, i get loads of washing every week from my OH and son and the piggy washing is just too much to cope with, but that's me personally. The vet bed is expensive to buy but I might be selling some soon and I will post it when I do. I've ordered two 5ft hutches (rabbit shack) off Ebay in readiness - they were a bargain £43 each as they're clearing out old stock. I'll also attach runs to the front of these and covers for warmth.

If you're used to chins inside you'll probably be ok with piggies :)
 
well i already know about vet bills with chins and any extra money will go towards vet bills and everything
 
well mine are kept freerange outside in the shed the boys are in 2 seperate c&c cages

personally if you have the room and you dont plan on having more than 2 then keep them indoors

I like mine being in the shed as i can go sit with them its nice
 
Inside or outside question - I would say it depends on your circumstances, however if outside a shed or other type of outbuilding is a must (in my opinion) in the winter.

I have had to move back in with my parents and have the small box bedroom. There is no room for large piggy cages in there - and personally I wouldn't want them in my bedroom as a permanant situation. My parents don't want them in their living room - so the only way I can offer large, spacious housing for my piggys is by giving them free range pens inside a well insulated shed. I provide heat pads for them in the winter (enough pads for one each - I have 4 piggys currently) and in very cold conditions (like now) they are being cleaned out everyday to ensure that the bedding is always dry. In the summer they have runs on the lawn. I am happy to sit out in the shed for hours at a time - whatever the weather - so I am happy with the arrangement however, when I am in a position to have my own home then they will come indoors, at least for the winter!

In terms of cost - mine are spoilt rotten! I spend £11.65 on their dried food (cavy cuisine) but it lasts about 2 months. I buy an assortment of meadow hay for bedding boxes and different feed hays like Oxbow timothy so spend about £15 per week ( :o) on hay. This is just me spoiling them though - they could just have 'normal' hay but I like to treat them :). I use Russell Bedding in their open areas which is about £3 per week. I probably also spend about £10 per week on veggies for the piggys and the rabbit. I would recommend trying to put a little aside each month for unexpected vetbills.

Now I have wrote it down I really am spoiling them - no wonder I always feel like I am skint :D :D
 
Gosh Sabrina that makes me feel really tight ;D ;D

I have ordered some posh hay off the hay experts but they'll get their main hay from the bale.
 
This is my cage... outdoor I have two rabbits and two guinea pigs in there. I built it with my dad lol

100_0597.jpg
 
kayjay said:
Gosh Sabrina that makes me feel really tight ;D ;D

I have ordered some posh hay off the hay experts but they'll get their main hay from the bale.
Click to expand...

Actually I am feeling rather shocked - when it is all written down, I spend more on my animals than I do running my car :o :D

I keep vowing that I won't keep buying the expensive hays but I can't seem to help myself. Don't feel tight - I am stupid!
 
Mine cost about £5 each a week on fresh food. Between them it's about £2.70 on hard food and £9 a week on hay.
 
lolseh said:
Mine cost about £5 each a week on fresh food. Between them it's about £2.70 on hard food and £9 a week on hay.
Click to expand...

£9 a week on hay :o You need to find yourself somewhere to buy a bale from, mine are about 4ft long by 2ft deep and fit on top of the hutch and lasts ages and ages for only £3 (I bet it lasts over a month even longer and I have two rabbits eating it too)
 
kayjay said:
I don't spend that much..... I buy a bale of hay £3 which lasts well over a month with two rabbits and five guineapigs munching it. I buy a bag of Wagg Optimum pellets from Asda £4 which lasts about 3 weeks and a sack of readigrass from a local horse supplier costing £3 and that lasts ages and ages. The biggest cost for me is the veg, but if your mum buys lots of veg anyway she probably won't notice the extra ;) but budget on £5 a week, although obviously if you shop around at markets etc you can often find veg cheaper at the end of the day. As for vet bills...... we don't have spare cash but I'd have to find the money/use credit cards.

Mine are inside in a C&C cage but once the cold weather passes i'm moving them outside to the shed then into the garden in warm weather. My reasons for this are I've had enough with the vet bed washing, i get loads of washing every week from my OH and son and the piggy washing is just too much to cope with, but that's me personally. The vet bed is expensive to buy but I might be selling some soon and I will post it when I do. I've ordered two 5ft hutches (rabbit shack) off Ebay in readiness - they were a bargain £43 each as they're clearing out old stock. I'll also attach runs to the front of these and covers for warmth.

If you're used to chins inside you'll probably be ok with piggies :)
Click to expand...
 
were you pleased with your hutches off ebay? i'm about to order one when i decided if i'm having 4ft or 5 ft ::)
 
owl said:
were you pleased with your hutches off ebay? i'm about to order one when i decided if i'm having 4ft or 5 ft ::)
Click to expand...

Yes I am, they're well built and were easy to put together. They're not very deep though so I would go for the 5ft one. I'm also working on attaching a run to the front of each one to increase the space.
 
I have 5 piggies who live outside in here
PigsHome.jpg


These are 4 of my hutches, a sow & neutered boar in the top (not in pic), the middle is now separated by mesh & have 1 single boar in each half & another single boar below.
NewHutches.jpg


I have them bedded on newspaper & soft shredded straw with hay on top of that to burrow in

However, if i had the room i'd have them all indoors.
This is inside in my bedroom, for my single sow & she's on fleece, which i find really easy to maintain.
LottieHutch26.jpg


Approx weekly costs: Hay £4, Straw £4, Food £2, Veg £8-£10
 
Niki - how does your gazebo/shed cope in the summer? or have you got it in the shade. I'm interested because I have a shed which has a stable door but I need to convert it (or hubby does ;D) to be better in the summer. It gets too hot in there and they don't seem to have the sense to go through the tube into the cooler area outside in the shade.

Sorry, I think I may have asked you this before but I've got confused with all these great set-ups!
 
Jillybean said:
Niki - how does your gazebo/shed cope in the summer? or have you got it in the shade.  I'm interested because I have a shed which has a stable door but I need to convert it (or hubby does  ;D) to be better in the summer.  It gets too hot in there and they don't seem to have the sense to go through the tube into the cooler area outside in the shade.

Sorry, I think I may have asked you this before but I've got confused with all these great set-ups!
Click to expand...

Hi Jillybean
It's in full sun in the afternoon but i drop the "blinds"  :) 
The ends are covered in plastic sheeting & i peel this back about 12" to allow air to circulate.  If it gets too hot (like last summer) i put damp towels over part of the fronts of their hutches & frozen bottles of water wrapped in towel for them to lay against & slabs of stone dampened with a cloth for them to lay on if they choose - it worked great last summer, just had to make sure the towels stayed damp :)
 
kayjay said:
owl said:
were you pleased with your hutches off ebay? i'm about to order one when i decided if i'm having 4ft or 5 ft ::)
Click to expand...

Yes I am, they're well built and were easy to put together. They're not very deep though so I would go for the 5ft one. I'm also working on attaching a run to the front of each one to increase the space.
Click to expand...

Kayjay be careful with Rabit shack runs - we had one for our first rabbit shack hutch and although it was sold as one that would combine with the hutch it didn't fit at all well, and we had to do a lot to it to make it secure. It didn't last as we had to keep moving one side out to get the bedroom door open! Also the mesh is too big - our piggie jumped straight through it when he was outside.

Our latest rabbit hutch is from the rabbit Hutch Shop online which is a hutch on top of a run - its very solid and the mesh is a lot smaller. Piggy is inside now though!
 
I spend £20 every 2 to 3 weeks on hay from a famer its £2 a sack and I get 10 each time ,but with so many pigs its cheaper then other hay and wagg food I buy 2 sacks every 2 to 3 weeks as well, mine are in 2 sheds in the garden one for boys and one for girls heated with air conditioners in summer and stable doors that open right up blinds at the windows and fitted with fly zapper and all cc runs
festivaloftheseaTrafalgerdayandhous.jpg

theres a run built between the sheds with a wire net hinged top, with portable runs in the garden, the 3rd shed is for food and hay
100_1526.jpg


this is the girls run or part of it it extends further along
 
katiep said:
kayjay said:
owl said:
were you pleased with your hutches off ebay? i'm about to order one when i decided if i'm having 4ft or 5 ft ::)
Click to expand...

Yes I am, they're well built and were easy to put together. They're not very deep though so I would go for the 5ft one. I'm also working on attaching a run to the front of each one to increase the space.
Click to expand...

Kayjay be careful with Rabit shack runs - we had one for our first rabbit shack hutch and although it was sold as one that would combine with the hutch it didn't fit at all well, and we had to do a lot to it to make it secure. It didn't last as we had to keep moving one side out to get the bedroom door open! Also the mesh is too big - our piggie jumped straight through it when he was outside.

Our latest rabbit hutch is from the rabbit Hutch Shop online which is a hutch on top of a run - its very solid and the mesh is a lot smaller. Piggy is inside now though!
Click to expand...

Thanks for that Katie - I haven't bought a run yet and we're thinking of making them to fit to the hutches. I asked on RU and someone there suggested using butterfly screws to fix the hutch to the run and said they come off more easily then.
 
Got some beautiful guineas there Michellemuffin. I'm interested in your air conditioning units - how does that work - easy to get?, do they cut in at a certain temperature etc? Info please! :)
 
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