Urgent!-housing Piggies Outside In Below 0'c

[Poppy Davis]

My 4 male piggies are kept outside in a shed. 3 of them are in one area and then the solo piggie is in another (they used to be together put got into massive fights. The vicious one was rehomed to my mums friend but their pigggie died so now we have him back.)

Their housing conditions are fine for most of the year but recently temperatures have been getting as low as -10'C! I am now extremely worried about them (especially the solo pig) and would much rather bring them inside but my mum has refused. I am even more worried though, because at first i thought that at least the shed would keep them warm, but when i went to feed them this morning, all their water bottles had frozen! I dont know what to do.

I used to keep them inside in a 5x3 c and c cage, but it took up almost the entire floor space in my room so we modified our shed and put them in there. I still have plenty of coroplast and all the c and c cage grids, so it would cost my mum almost nothing (if at all) to bring them back inside but she still wont let me. I told her about the water bottles this morning and said that it was ridiculous and they couldnt stay outside any longer and she said that we could talk about other options but i dont know what to suggest or how to convince her they need to be inside

Sorry for all the rambling, just wanted to get all the information across! If anyone has any idea whatsoever, it would be greatly apprecited if you could let me know! If you have any questions, dont hesistate to ask! Thank you so much!

 

[Swissgreys]

It sounds like a difficult situation for you, and clearly you are trying to do your best for your piggies right now.

Firstly there are lots of tips here on keeping piggies warm in the Winter;
Cold Weather Care For Guinea Pigs

Is it possible to have a small heater in the shed which could keep the temperature above freezing?
Or do you have snuggle safe heat pads you could ass to each hutch so they can lay on those. I would think this is particularly important for you single piggy who doesn't have a companion to lay with when it gets really cold.
Hay is a great insulator, so hay stuffed into a cardboard box with a door cut into it and placed inside the sleeping area will offer double the protection from the cold.

If I were you I would make a list of things you would like if your piggies are going to remain outside over the Winter.
Then ask your Mum if you can sit down and talk about it.
Explain why you are so worried, and what you would like to do to ensure your pets are comfortable and warm.
Then ask if she thinks it might be better if they were to come inside for the Winter, and just see what she says.
If she really doesn't want them inside then you obviously have to respect that, but maybe she will help by buying some extra things to help keep them warm.

 

[Poppy Davis]

It sounds like a difficult situation for you, and clearly you are trying to do your best for your piggies right now.

Firstly there are lots of tips here on keeping piggies warm in the Winter;
Cold Weather Care For Guinea Pigs

Is it possible to have a small heater in the shed which could keep the temperature above freezing?
Or do you have snuggle safe heat pads you could ass to each hutch so they can lay on those. I would think this is particularly important for you single piggy who doesn't have a companion to lay with when it gets really cold.
Hay is a great insulator, so hay stuffed into a cardboard box with a door cut into it and placed inside the sleeping area will offer double the protection from the cold.

If I were you I would make a list of things you would like if your piggies are going to remain outside over the Winter.
Then ask your Mum if you can sit down and talk about it.
Explain why you are so worried, and what you would like to do to ensure your pets are comfortable and warm.
Then ask if she thinks it might be better if they were to come inside for the Winter, and just see what she says.
If she really doesn't want them inside then you obviously have to respect that, but maybe she will help by buying some extra things to help keep them warm.

Sadly there isnt really any way I could get a heater in their house as it is quite far away from my house for a start and my piggies are quite the chewers! I will have a look on viovet and vetuk and make a list, but I'm not sure that my mum would let me get anything for them because she doesnt think that they need anything. She keeps comparing them to our previous guinea pigs who were always outside throughout their entire life, as says that they were fine so why wouldnt mine be. Our previous pigs only lived to between 2-5, which i keep trying to explain to my mum isnt a good thing and they should live a lot longer but she is still persisting with them being absolutely fine in -3'C!
I will try to talk to her about it later but I'm not very hopeful that she will let me bring them in or buy them anything to keep them warm. If it comes to it, i may just have to give them away if thats what it will take to give them the proper accomodations that they need :/