newbie...few housing questions

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SianD

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Hello :) I would like to get a pair of piggies...I'm completely new to them though so want to my research. I didn't do any before getting rabbits...boy did I regret it lol. I have a few questions :)

The piggies would be outdoor ones...what is the minimum recommended hutch size? Does a run need to be attached?

if a permanent run is not attached to the hutch what is the minimum exercise time they should get?

What do you guys use to line the hutch?

do piggies usually choose one area to do their toilet business?

Thank you :)
 
The minimum is 2ft by 4ft for a pair, however if you intend to keep them outside all year you will need to make some arrangements, such as heavily insulating the hutch, and buying some snuggle safe heat pads. Piggies need a fairly constant warm temperate, much like humans.

The run does not have to be attached, but if it were you would need to be able to stop them going on it when the grass is wet or when it snows. In the winter they wouldnt be able to have as much run time as the summer, but as much time as possible, so whenever your home you could pop them out.

Unfortunatly no. Piggies are not litter trained, and ive neverheard anyone sucessfully do it. :/
 
This is a lovely site to read - I still go into it 14 months after having my first pair of boars (have 15 little tykes now rolleyes :(|))
We all help each other on here too, I had very limited knowledge until I joined and couldn't have done what I have for my piggies if not for this forum ") :(|)
http://jackiesguineapiggies.com/
 
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Connie said:
Unfortunatly no. Piggies are not litter trained, and ive neverheard anyone sucessfully do it. :/
Click to expand...

I have one of mine "semi" littertrained. I bought a litterpan to put his hay in, and being the lazy slob he is, he spends practically all his time in their so I find most of his pee and poo in there haha :)
xx

Oh, and SianD, welcome to the forum! I think Connie has already answered most of your questions :)
You can line the hutch with:
Kiln dried pine dust extracted wood shavings,
Carefresh bedding,
Megazorb bedding,
I cant remember what they're called but theres a bedding which is like cardboard squares? Can another member enlighten me? :)
Hay
Some people line theirs with straw, but I heard somewhere that it can be quite dangerous (dont know why) so I'm not sure about that one.

Welcome to the forum, I am also called Sian by the way :P xx
 
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TiddlesMidnight&Squeaky said:
I have one of mine "semi" littertrained. I bought a litterpan to put his hay in, and being the lazy slob he is, he spends practically all his time in their so I find most of his pee and poo in there haha :)
xx

Oh, and SianD, welcome to the forum! I think Connie has already answered most of your questions :)
You can line the hutch with:
Kiln dried pine dust extracted wood shavings,
Carefresh bedding,
Megazorb bedding,
I cant remember what they're called but theres a bedding which is like cardboard squares? Can another member enlighten me? :)
Hay
Some people line theirs with straw, but I heard somewhere that it can be quite dangerous (dont know why) so I'm not sure about that one.

Welcome to the forum, I am also called Sian by the way :P xx
Click to expand...

Straw can cause nasty eye injuries due to it being sharp and pointed so not recommended :)
 
TiddlesMidnight&Squeaky said:
I cant remember what they're called but theres a bedding which is like cardboard squares? Can another member enlighten me? :)
Click to expand...

You mean Finacard :) you can also get Greenmile and Ecobed. Ecobed is rubbish though, not at all absorbant.

I use Greenstable, another kind altogether, which is recycled egg boxes. It is very cost effective and very absorbant! I too use hay, and loads of it, in the bedding area, I get mine by the bale from the yard my share horse lives at.

As others have said you will need to heavily insulate the hutch for winter, we have recently done ours with radiator insulation, bubble wrap, perspex over the doors and a tarp over the whole lot. We also have snugglesafe heatpads.
 
I would also like to add, that before adding bedding you could line the hutch with plastic lino tiles so the wee doesnt seep through and damage the wood. Someone on here has done that. :)
 
We used left over lino on the bases too, cut to size and it is a great barrier for wee rolleyes A good squirt of pet disinfectant and wipe keeps it nice and clean and smelling fresh :))
Coroplast is good too. We begged a shed load of old hanging signs from B&Q and used that for a time but resorted to lino this year.
 
Mine live indoors so i use finacard its not as messy as shavings..you might be better with shavings..straw to make a nice cosy bed..
 
Hiya!

I don't know much about outdoor housing, and i've found that guinea pigs do not seem to care much about litter training at all!

However, they mainly soil around their food/water areas and in their hay. So i stick a megazorb-filled (or whatever you decide to use) kitten litter tray under their food bowl and water bottles, and a rabbit corner litter tray to plonk most of their hay in, and between them they seem to catch most of the mess.

:))

Jo x
 
I tend to put cat litter trays or corner trays in areas where mine spend the time munching their food (mostly the hay racks) to minamise the mess they make while eating but I still find areas where they have decided to lie and wee/poop and they are not litter trained. I change the trays every other day and have newspaper then shreaded paper (animal dreams stuff, looks like shreaded toilet paper).

Mine are inside now for the winter, in a huge pen (as there are 4 piggies) on fleece, in the hutch I had fleece upstairs and the paper stuff downstairs where they spent their munching time.
 
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