Outside daytrips for Winter?

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gillarms

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Hi, I'm very new to all this and I just want a bit of advice, I posted this under another thread but as I've had no replies, thought I'd try again:

Hi, I'm completely new to guinea pigs, so new I don't even have any yet. But my son (9) is getting two next month for his birthday. I have every intention of keeping them indoors in a big cage but I've bought an outside hutch with attached run. I was going to put them outside to exercise during the day while my son is at school and I'm sleeping after nightshift. My thoughts were that as long as I took them inside again at night it would be ok. However, after reading this thread, I'm not so sure. We live in the north of Scotland (BRRR!) and so it gets really cold, even during the day. Should I not bother putting them out during the day until summer or should I just put loads of bedding and two of those microwavable pads in the hutch (the "house area" is raised off the ground). Thanks!
 
Hello and welcome to the forum. I am just gaining piggy experience as well but one thing I do know is that piggies can't do major fluctuations in temperature so moving them from a lovely warm house into a really cold garden would not be appropriate. My piggies are out in their run on the lawn at the moment - this probably be their last trip out this year as will be moving them into the house for the winter this week. They will be moved back into their outdoor hutch in April/May.

Also, if you are getting the piggies next month and they are just babies then they might not be big enough to tolerate the cold outside over the winter.
 
Thanks, I won't bother then. I think now I'll just let them run about in kitchen during the day although I have read that they could ruin the grouting in between tiles (with piddles). Is this something I should worry about? There are no wires or hidey holes for them to get into so that's not a problem.
 
I was going to let mine run in the bathroom but Mr S has banned that idea because of the pee:grout issue. What about containing them in a collapsible run that you put on newspaper/fleece/puppy pads/incontinence sheet.....
 
Yes, I think I'll look for an indoor run (after buying an outdoor hutch/run that I won't use!) Think these piggies will be taking over the house and we haven't even got them yet.
 
gillarms said:
Yes, I think I'll look for an indoor run (after buying an outdoor hutch/run that I won't use!) Think these piggies will be taking over the house and we haven't even got them yet.
Click to expand...
I bought an offcut of vinyl from a car boot. It is quite a large piece and brand new it only cost £8. It goes under the indoor run and saves any problems that could be caused by staining from your guinea pigs wee. I also cover it with newspapers and sawdust. I found the rest of my home is a constant reminder of my guinea pigs with bits of sawdust and hay around but it is easily hovered up!
 
my piggies have their own room and there is hay all over the house and in the front garden from emptying the litter trays into the bin. Hubby said its like living in a farm. Don't know how it gets everywhere
 
An alternative option to buying another run is maybe to line the kitchen floor with some plastic fabric (like you get for tablecloths) - I got some from dunelm mill for £2.99 a metre (1.4m wide)

I'm currently using a sheet on my bedroom floor for floor time - more to protect the piggies from the carpet than to protect the carpet from them! (I dread to think what state the 17 year old carpet is in!)
 
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