Struggling with the Cold

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piggygirls

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Hello,
Just tonight I got paranoid and brought my girls inside from their hutch. It's about 45 degrees out. They have a pet safe pad heater in their hutch and there is lots of hay lying around, but I still just thought that I would bring them in until I can get this figured out. My parents won't let me keep them inside permanently, but it's supposed to get as low as 35 degrees later this week and I just don't think that it's a good idea to expose them to that sort of cold. So what should I do? Is there a way for me to keep them outside even in that temperature? Or do they absolutely have to be inside when it's that cold outside...
 
Now I'm paranoid that I brought them in too quickly...they are in the bathroom right now and my house is around 70 degrees I'd say.
*temperatures in Fahrenheit
 
Hi and Welcome to the Forum :wel:

Take heart becasue many people do successfully keep their guinea pigs outside over the Winter.
However it is a lot of work and requires effort daily, but you ae clearly a caring owner who is doing a great job.

Depending on where you live and what protection you can offer outside, it may be safer and easier to have them inside over the Winter.
BUT the critical thing is to decide now what you are going to do.
it is not fair to your guinea pigs to bring them inside to the warm ,and then have to put them out again, and expect them to deal with the large changes in temperature.
If you bring them in not you are committed to keeping them inside for the entire Winter, so if you have to keep them outside you need to leave them there, and come up with a pan to make sure they are warm enough.

There is some excellent advice here:
Hot And Cold Weather Care Guide

I am sure otehr people will also be able to offer good tips and advice for keeping your piggies safe and warm wherever they live this Winter.
 
Swissgreys said:
Hi and Welcome to the Forum :wel:

Take heart becasue many people do successfully keep their guinea pigs outside over the Winter.
However it is a lot of work and requires effort daily, but you ae clearly a caring owner who is doing a great job.

Depending on where you live and what protection you can offer outside, it may be safer and easier to have them inside over the Winter.
BUT the critical thing is to decide now what you are going to do.
it is not fair to your guinea pigs to bring them inside to the warm ,and then have to put them out again, and expect them to deal with the large changes in temperature.
If you bring them in not you are committed to keeping them inside for the entire Winter, so if you have to keep them outside you need to leave them there, and come up with a pan to make sure they are warm enough.

There is some excellent advice here:
Hot And Cold Weather Care Guide

I am sure otehr people will also be able to offer good tips and advice for keeping your piggies safe and warm wherever they live this Winter.
Click to expand...

so they are inside right now. should I bring them back outside or leave them for the night and bring them back out in the morning?
 
piggygirls said:
so they are inside right now. should I bring them back outside or leave them for the night and bring them back out in the morning?
Click to expand...
What are the outside temps right now and what is your hutch set up like?
Is the hutch in a sheltered place and does it have a proper cover?
Is there deep bedding and a good draft free place for them to sleep (this can be as simple as a cardboard box stuffed with hay inside the sleeping area of the hutch giving a double wall of insulation)?

At the end of the day only you can really make this decision.
 
Swissgreys said:
What are the outside temps right now and what is your hutch set up like?
Is the hutch in a sheltered place and does it have a proper cover?
Is there deep bedding and a good draft free place for them to sleep (this can be as simple as a cardboard box stuffed with hay inside the sleeping area of the hutch giving a double wall of insulation)?

At the end of the day only you can really make this decision.
Click to expand...

outside temp is about 45 degrees. hutch is split top and bottom. top is where they spend their time. its got their heater, house, hay, water, ect. Hutch is sheltered under lots of trees and has a waterproof roof. they have a little hidey cave sitting atop their heater.
i think i will bring them back outside tonight because I don't want to risk them getting more acclimated to the house temp than they already are. just upset that i've probably stressed them out lots :(
 
They are back outside. Gave them a cardboard box with hay in it to get some warmth in as well. Tossed more hay around in their hutch. God, I really feel awful for putting them through all that. Pray for a safe night <3
 
You say heat pad and then heater. Can you please clarify what type of heat source if is?
It’s great that they have got lots of bedding and some heat source but that alone isn’t enough. Do you have a shed or something you can put the hutch in? It’s fine if you haven’t, but it does mean that you will need to take extra steps to protect them. Do you have thermal and waterproof hutch covers? They are essential to keeping the wind and rain out. its the combination of damp and cold which they can’t deal with. It would also be a good idea to put some thick blankets underneath any hutch covers (so that they don’t get wet) to offer further insulation. Absolutely mountains of hay and cardboard boxes inside the hutch for them to snuggle into.

Where I live in the UK it has got down to about 7 degrees which is around 45 in Fahrenheit (I think, I don’t work in Fahrenheit!) at the moment but it is due to get down to 2 degrees c overnight next week.
My two live in a hutch which is in my shed. Within their hutch they have loads of hay, it covers top to bottom of both levels of their hutch (they live in a two storey hutch). They have their wooden hideys which are filled with hay and have fleece covers over the top of the wooden hideys to help hold the heat in. I can also pull the fleece down the front of their beds a little way to create a curtain to hold in even more warmth. They then have four heat pads between the two of them - two pads on each level. The upstairs two pads get put in each of their wooden hidey beds. The other two pads get put under piles of hay downstairs. I then have socks and thermal covers over their water bottles. I have a thick blanket over the entire hutch which I pull down over the front. On top of that is their thermal hutch cover and then I have a thick double duvet which I pull down over everything. Given mine are in a shed I don’t need extra water proof covers.
 
an
Piggies&buns said:
You say heat pad and then heater. Can you please clarify what type of heat source if is?
It’s great that they have got lots of bedding and some heat source but that alone isn’t enough. Do you have a shed or something you can put the hutch in? It’s fine if you haven’t, but it does mean that you will need to take extra steps to protect them. Do you have thermal and waterproof hutch covers? They are essential to keeping the wind and rain out. its the combination of damp and cold which they can’t deal with. It would also be a good idea to put some thick blankets underneath any hutch covers (so that they don’t get wet) to offer further insulation. Absolutely mountains of hay and cardboard boxes inside the hutch for them to snuggle into.

Where I live in the UK it has got down to about 7 degrees which is around 45 in Fahrenheit (I think, I don’t work in Fahrenheit!) at the moment but it is due to get down to 2 degrees c overnight next week.
My two live in a hutch in my shed. Within their hutch they have loads of hay, it covers top to bottom of both levels of their hutch (they live in a two storey hutch). They have their wooden hideys which are filled with hay and have fleece covers over the top of them to help hold the heat in. They then have four heat pads between the two of them - two pads on each level. The upstairs two pads get put in each of their wooden hidey beds. The other two pads get put under piles of hay downstairs. I then have a socks and thermal covers over their water bottles. I then have a thick blanket over the entire hutch which I pull down over the front. On top of that is their thermal hutch cover and then I have a thick double duvet which I pull down over everything. Given mine are in a shed I don’t need extra water proof covers.
Click to expand...

It is a pad heater, sorry for the confusion. I don't have a shed, unfortunately, but I am working to get some of those non electric pad heaters (the ones you put in the microwave) and place them around the hutch. Like I said, I tossed tons of hay around and I will put more bedding in tomorrow morning. The sock over water idea is smart- I will do that. I will also put fleece covers over their hideys and try to find something to cover the hutch with
 
Please do not keep switching your piggies between indoor/outdoor the large and sudden temperature changes can cause health issues.

I keep my piggies outdoors, sometimes all year round, last year we had a particularly bad winter and they were moved into the garage for some insulation and shelter (detached garage). Keep using the heat pads and give them lots and lots of hay
 
The microwave heat pads are very good. They stay warm for around 10 hours so I just time carefully when I put them out at night to ensure they stay warm all night! It will soon be getting near to them having their heat pads during the day as well.
I find it very useful having a few of thermometers. I have one just outside my shed, one inside the shed itself and then another inside the hutch. It just helps me monitor how well my measures for keeping them warm are working And whether I need to do more.
 
Lady Kelly said:
Please do not keep switching your piggies between indoor/outdoor the large and sudden temperature changes can cause health issues.

I keep my piggies outdoors, sometimes all year round, last year we had a particularly bad winter and they were moved into the garage for some insulation and shelter (detached garage). Keep using the heat pads and give them lots and lots of hay
Click to expand...

Yes, I realize that that was a poor decision on my behalf. I will not do it again unless I intend on keeping them indoors for the rest of the winter.
 
Please do not stress about it too much, we can only make the best of the resources we have. Do provide waterproof covers and insulation etc as above.

To allay your fears. If you get up tomorrow morning and slip your hand underneath a piggie that’s in its bed and feel it’s tummy and the hay underneath it, I bet it will be lovely and warm. As long as they have lots of hay in their bedroom and not subjected to drafts and damp then they will be fine. They do have a good coat and once moving and feeding they will keep warm during the day, just make sure their bedroom is really snuggly and cosy.
 
My piggies are outside piggies all year round. They have an insulated cover, a thermal waterproof cover and a blanket on top of the hutch. There are fleece hideys in the hutch which get washed every couple of days and swapped with others to keep them stimulated (they are either fleecy tubes or snuggle sacks), loads and load and more loads of hay. They have a snugglesafe each. When I go out in the morning to check on them and lift up the covers at the front of the hutch steam is rising!
 
Bringing them inside for a few hours? If you want to bring your piggies inside for a few hours after school your best option is to turn your heating off in your bedroom, shut the door and go to school. If your bedroom remains unheated during the day then it should be ok for you to have them in your bedroom, just keep your door shut and put a warm jumper on. Once you have put them outside again, then you can turn your heating back on for the evening.

The problem arises when piggies acclimatise to cold weather outside it can shock them when brought into a very hot room, and vicea versa so you need to consider this x
 
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