babyroxie
New Born Pup
Hi all,
I had Guinea pigs as a child and am ashamed to say I had no idea they weren’t meant to be outside below 15 or so degrees, they lived outside in a standard hutch all winter. Now we are looking at getting either a pair or a group of four for our four children and I’m trying to work out how to keep them comfortable with the right amount of space.
Firstly, we don’t have space in the house for them aside from a 1m x 1.5m space in a spare shower room where they could possibly go when it gets really cold.
Therefore I’m trying to work out how to keep them outside for most of the year, bar the minus degree cold snaps when they could come inside and be in a too-small enclosure for shortish periods.
I’ve seen some Eglu hutches by Omlet that say they are insulated and suitable for all year round use. What are peoples thoughts on this? They are only 80cm x 80cm which is much too small to fulfill the recommended size for 4 piggies of around 70cm x 200cm (we would like to future proof hutch and run size for four, even if we only get two to start with).
I don’t understand why they are so small unless I’m misinterpreting! I get that they are meant to be used with a run, but is it ok to have four piggies in this size space when shut up to keep warm overnight? Or are you meant to leave the door open to the run all night?
We have a big back garden which can accommodate lots of run around areas during the day in nice weather. Is it safe to let the guineas in the run when it’s below 15 degrees or wet from dew, rain etc? Would they even want to go out in those conditions? I’ve looked at an 8ft x 4ft run which has a see through plastic cover that can go over it which would keep off the rain and I presume the dew, and also would trap in heat from the sun on colder days. Would that plus a 80 x 80 hutch be ok or too small?
I’ve also seen insulated dog kennels which I could modify a little to make into a hutch. They have rigid board sandwiched between two layers of wood. The largest one of these is 116cm x 80cm, so better but still not the recommended size.
I’m confused about what to do, but happy to spend a bit of money on the right set up if it will keep them warm and safe. Can anyone who has multiple piggies living outside for most of the year let me know what setup you have?
Thank you all x
I had Guinea pigs as a child and am ashamed to say I had no idea they weren’t meant to be outside below 15 or so degrees, they lived outside in a standard hutch all winter. Now we are looking at getting either a pair or a group of four for our four children and I’m trying to work out how to keep them comfortable with the right amount of space.
Firstly, we don’t have space in the house for them aside from a 1m x 1.5m space in a spare shower room where they could possibly go when it gets really cold.
Therefore I’m trying to work out how to keep them outside for most of the year, bar the minus degree cold snaps when they could come inside and be in a too-small enclosure for shortish periods.
I’ve seen some Eglu hutches by Omlet that say they are insulated and suitable for all year round use. What are peoples thoughts on this? They are only 80cm x 80cm which is much too small to fulfill the recommended size for 4 piggies of around 70cm x 200cm (we would like to future proof hutch and run size for four, even if we only get two to start with).
I don’t understand why they are so small unless I’m misinterpreting! I get that they are meant to be used with a run, but is it ok to have four piggies in this size space when shut up to keep warm overnight? Or are you meant to leave the door open to the run all night?
We have a big back garden which can accommodate lots of run around areas during the day in nice weather. Is it safe to let the guineas in the run when it’s below 15 degrees or wet from dew, rain etc? Would they even want to go out in those conditions? I’ve looked at an 8ft x 4ft run which has a see through plastic cover that can go over it which would keep off the rain and I presume the dew, and also would trap in heat from the sun on colder days. Would that plus a 80 x 80 hutch be ok or too small?
I’ve also seen insulated dog kennels which I could modify a little to make into a hutch. They have rigid board sandwiched between two layers of wood. The largest one of these is 116cm x 80cm, so better but still not the recommended size.
I’m confused about what to do, but happy to spend a bit of money on the right set up if it will keep them warm and safe. Can anyone who has multiple piggies living outside for most of the year let me know what setup you have?
Thank you all x