New Puppy Coming And Guinea Pigs Outside In Winter?

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BigAde

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Hi All,
I've lurked for a while but I'm a newbie member here, so be gentle :D

We have two female guinea pigs Candy and Tilly - Candy's nearly 4 and we've had her all that time. Tilly is nearly a year old - bought as a companion for Candy when her friend Olga was sadly put to sleep.

Presently they live outside in a two storey hutch with rain cover for 3 seasons, but come indoors to the kitchen with the first frosts. This has worked well for us all and with winters getting down as low as -12C here in rural Sussex, I'm glad we have.

We're now planning to get a puppy in the relatively near future. Not sure exactly what breed, but it is likely to be a terrier (long story), either border, cairn or Norfolk. Now I know terriers were bred as ratters so perhaps not an ideal choice, but I'm hoping with careful introductions while the puppy's young we can encourage them to get along.

While the pigs are outside in their hutch, I'm no too worried about keeping them separate from the puppy, but winters are worrying me somewhat. I wouldn't trust a terrier dog alone in the same room as a guinea pig (even in an indoor cage). The house just isn't big enough for the pigs or dog to go somewhere completely separate, so I'm not sure what to do.

Does anyone keep their pigs outside all winter. They could move into a shed or the garage, but I'm concerned it will be too dark for the pigs as they won't get much in the way of sunlight. Also, both of those options aren't heated, so is there much point?

Would appreciate any ideas?!
:ple:
 
I would consider a shed of sorts, all my piggies live outside in a shed. It's walls have been boarded up to prevent heat loss. Having a shed would give you lots of options to customise. Whether it's putting the hutch in the shed and letting the piggies roam on the floor. Or decking it out completely as a palace.

I have a thread on here somewhere with my shed palace...
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/piggie-palace-mission-complete.113548/

My piggies were on megazorb and hay but I had major sneezes with the stuff, they are now on cage liners.

Hope this helps :)
 
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I think they can get cold and ill best to get a cage where the dog can't get at them inside or (as you said) put them in the garage but don't forget about them and make sure to give them plenty of fresh as they can't get to the grass.
Hope this helps JessieSassy:inn:
 
Our piggies live in their hutches in the shed, which is literally one slab away from the kitchen window. During the winter they have hay up to the ceiling in their bedrooms and hides (we get through enough hay to feed an elephant...if elephants eat hay!). They also have fleece cosy caves. We have a ridiculous number of Snugglesafes so they can have a warm one each at all times (I worry that you have to let them cool to room temperature before reheating them, hence us having so many, so that a freshly heated one can replace one that hasn't cooled enough to be reheated) and each hutch has a custom made cover for night-time. Also for night-time we have a silver screen (the sort that you have for campervans) for the window. Oh yes, they also have battery-powered lights. I, too, would love to have them inside, but my OH and very 'enthusiastic' Boxer dog make this a non-starter, but I do feel that we've made them the best environment that we can in our particular circumstances. That doesn't mean that I wouldn't be pleased to pick other people's brains for suggestions, though!
 
Thanks everyone for the ideas! I do like the idea of the pig palace shed - although I still worry it won't be warm enough. I did read somewhere though that what kills pigs in winter is more the dampness than the cold itself, so perhaps my worries are unfounded. They manage to survive in the Peruvian mountains I suppose, so it should be possible.

On this subject, our hutch cover is a Cumfy Pets one and is slowly disintegrating. I can't seem to get a replacement.
Does anyone know where you can get insulated custom made covers from?
Presently we drape an old horse rug over the hutch to provide a little insulation, but it's not really adequate for winter.
 
Her Nibship said:
Our piggies live in their hutches in the shed, which is literally one slab away from the kitchen window. During the winter they have hay up to the ceiling in their bedrooms and hides (we get through enough hay to feed an elephant...if elephants eat hay!). They also have fleece cosy caves. We have a ridiculous number of Snugglesafes so they can have a warm one each at all times (I worry that you have to let them cool to room temperature before reheating them, hence us having so many, so that a freshly heated one can replace one that hasn't cooled enough to be reheated) and each hutch has a custom made cover for night-time. Also for night-time we have a silver screen (the sort that you have for campervans) for the window. Oh yes, they also have battery-powered lights. I, too, would love to have them inside, but my OH and very 'enthusiastic' Boxer dog make this a non-starter, but I do feel that we've made them the best environment that we can in our particular circumstances. That doesn't mean that I wouldn't be pleased to pick other people's brains for suggestions, though!
Click to expand...
I think I might come stay in your shed for a holiday.
 
Hiya,
my piggies live outside too. They are housed in the bottom level of the pets@home 2 level Bluebell hutch. They have a scratch and newton hutch hugger but not the best because it lets the draughts come in. They are getting some house insulation and we are moving them to a shed soon. They have a snugglesafe heat pad and the doors are covered with bubble wrap. This clip is really useful for cheap ways to insulate a guinea pig hutch:
I hope this helps!
 
Jess said:
I would consider a shed of sorts, all my piggies live outside in a shed. It's walls have been boarded up to prevent heat loss. Having a shed would give you lots of options to customise. Whether it's putting the hutch in the shed and letting the piggies roam on the floor. Or decking it out completely as a palace.

I have a thread on here somewhere with my shed palace...
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/piggie-palace-mission-complete.113548/

My piggies were on megazorb and hay but I had major sneezes with the stuff, they are now on cage liners.

Hope this helps :)
Click to expand...

I love your shed Jess. I would love to know how to make it. It looks like a piggy village! Do your guinea pigs ever get cold ?
 
Hi. Not a reply about the housing situation. But I have a Jack Russell terrier and I had him 2years when I got my 2 adult piggies. He was terrified of them. Especially if they started rumble strutting. Lol. Everyone told me not to get guinea pigs as Max would eat them. He generally stays away from them. However my friend was visiting the other day with her dog and her dog a lab cross was barking at the piggies. Max went for kassey and chased her away from the piggies cage. Lol. So I suppose it depends on the individual dog. Also I think getting the puppy to associate the piggies as part of the "pack" is a good thing . That said I would not leave them where puppy could get into them. Is there no way you could raise the cage off the floor? So puppy can't get to it?
 
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