Will they be warm enough?

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redfrock

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I'm probably being paranoid but I'm worried my girls might be a bit chilly. The breeders they came from kept them outside, one in a shed and one in a sort of lean-to, both unheated. At one point it went down to -10 there. They are winter babies so know no different and are hardened, so to speak. We simply do not have room inside the bungalow for their cage so they are in the conservatory (until late spring when they will go outside until autumn). It does have a radiator out there but it really only keeps the chill off. Our heating is on from about 5 - 8am and 4pm - 11pm as we are out at work. It is on for a lot longer at weekends. It is damp free. However they are in an extended indoor cage, on fleece and inco pads. I have light fleece blankets (the cheap light blue ones from Ikea) that put over them at night, and they are draped over the back during the day. They have a little wooden house about a foot square that OH built for them and plenty of tubes etc. I'm wondering whether they should have some form of bedding in their house but then surely that defeats the idea of the fleece? They are all very happy and healthy - scooting through the tube connecting the two 140 cages like bullets, popcorning and calling out for veg. They have lost a lot of their nervousness already and no longer hide when I am there - instead they tend to come out to see me. They are putting on weight well. I am slightly concerned though as I think Thistle might have a bit of a sneeze. She isn't wheezy and is as bright as a button.

So (sorry for such a long ramble) please feel free to tell me if I am paranoid, or if there is anything I should be doing differently.
 
Your being paranoid I'm sure they will be fine :)!. They have fur too and it's not like they are outside!
 
it is out job to be paranoid as piggie parents :)p

they sound very happy if they were really cold they wouldn't come out of their bedroom xx
 
it does sound as though you have done enough to keep them warm maybe put in a box of hay for them to hide in but my boys all squash the hay down and pee on it and lie on top of it so kind of defeats the object of keeping them warm:)
 
:red rolleyes :)) Thanks guys! :))

thought I might be! I've always kept animals and tend to know my stuff, but having lost Roman and Oscar at such young ages - they were inbred, with dubious history - I think it has knocked my confidence. Oscar had kidney and heart problems and died at just a few months old, and Roman was just over a year, and was found to be riddled with tumours when he died. He was a great character and I was devastated when he went :0
 
I'm sure they are fine but if it will put your mind at rest put something like a cat snuggle sack in for them to get in and snuggle down in.
 
redfrock said:
Roman was just over a year, and was found to be riddled with tumours when he died. He was a great character and I was devastated when he went :0
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8...

I'm sorry your other piggies died. I'm always heartbroken when any of my pets die, so I have an idea of how you must have felt. :(
 
daleksarah said:
maybe put in a box of hay for them to hide in but my boys all squash the hay down and pee on it and lie on top of it so kind of defeats the object of keeping them warm:)
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actually they have a big pink cat litter tray filled with hay that I clean and refill every morning and yes they do exactly the same as your boys! Saying that it, it is keeping the fleece so much cleaner. I only wish my rabbits were as keen on hay as the piggies are. I don't know how they fit it all inside their little bodies, they eat that much of it!
 
It sounds like they are toasty already but if your worried put a litter tray filled with hay and then a cardboard box over it and stuff it with hay, I'm sure they will love it and it should keep the hay in the litter tray. I use a litter tray with hay and they only get a few bits of hay on the fleece. :)
 
-10 is very cold, hopefully that spell is over now. Perhaps instead of a light fleece over their cage at night, you could use something a little more substantial, and maybe in their little wooden house could you fit a snuggle sack/cozy then they will be 'surrounded' by fleece. Sounds like you are doing a massively better job than the breeder did. xx
 
nutmeg said:
-10 is very cold, hopefully that spell is over now. Perhaps instead of a light fleece over their cage at night, you could use something a little more substantial, and maybe in their little wooden house could you fit a snuggle sack/cozy then they will be 'surrounded' by fleece. Sounds like you are doing a massively better job than the breeder did. xx
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Thanks Nutmeg. It hasn't been -10 at mine, but at one of the breeders. I'm looking into something fleecy for inside their house at the mo - I've used Hammocky Hammocks before for the degus. I know breeders aren't always the best place to go but it was the right decision for me this time. Nearly all my animals are rescues, including one of my chooks but the upset I had with my last piggies made me go down this route as I was able to check out the parents of the my girls as well.

I have to say this forum is helping restore my confidence. Thanks everybody for all the advice and support that you provide :)
 
So sorry to hear you lost your previous piggies :(

I'm sure your two are nice and cosy, sounds like you've made quite a nice home for them :) One thing to consider if you're after something cosy for inside their house though is 'vetbed' bedding. Like fleece it wicks away pee, but due to it's thick pile, it holds body heat extremely well. My girls have a square in their pigloo and they seem to love it!

Another thing is a snugglesafe pad. You heat these in the microwave for 6 mins and they stay warm for hours (although it sounds like you don't really need this and *fingers crossed* we're over the worst of winter now)
 
That's really cheap! I think I'll be getting some more of this too :(|)

I bought a square aprox 50cm x 50cm from ebay and it was about £8 delivered
 
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