Swan&Honey
New Born Pup
Good evening, I have 2 female guinea pigs in a pets@home XL chartwell 6ft double storey hutch. I am getting seriously anxious over the cold weather and making sure they are comfortable. Please could you guys help me! The hutch is in a sheltered corner backing onto our lounge wall, we are adding a hutch hugger and a hutch snuggle and a doubled over blanket under the cover at night. I am using newspaper, then vet bedding in the whole hutch and have 2 fleecy hides and 2 snuggle mats for the 2 bedroom areas(one GP won’t go up or down the ramp so they tend to stick to their own sleeping compartments!) I plan to make a cardboard hide to go over these fleece hides and stuff with hay and around it(should I cover this with insulation as listed below?)They are alpaca GPs so not sure it the extra fur keeps them warmer?!
Questions for you are:
Do I completely fill the whole hutch with hay in the winter or just stuff the sleeping compartment?
Should I line the inside of the hutch with this too?ThermaWrap Self-Adhesive Pet House Insulation 1000mm x 7m
Where do I put the GPs when I need to clean out the hutch as I know it’ll be too cold for the run and we shouldn’t bring them inside due to the temperature change.
Can we not hold them in winter or give them any extra exercise?
I guess we take the blanket off during the day but keep the hutch cover on?
I'm thinking of a plastic greenhouse to go over the hutch as a bit more protection from wind/rain - anyone done this? They seem to be about £50 from Argos?
I’m going to get a thermometer for the hutch too but so worried I won’t be able to keep it warm enough or have any interaction with my babies?
Lastly, I keep topping up the hay each day to make it snuggly but how often should I change it all?
Thanks for your help from a very anxious GP owner.
Questions for you are:
Do I completely fill the whole hutch with hay in the winter or just stuff the sleeping compartment?
Should I line the inside of the hutch with this too?ThermaWrap Self-Adhesive Pet House Insulation 1000mm x 7m
Where do I put the GPs when I need to clean out the hutch as I know it’ll be too cold for the run and we shouldn’t bring them inside due to the temperature change.
Can we not hold them in winter or give them any extra exercise?
I guess we take the blanket off during the day but keep the hutch cover on?
I'm thinking of a plastic greenhouse to go over the hutch as a bit more protection from wind/rain - anyone done this? They seem to be about £50 from Argos?
I’m going to get a thermometer for the hutch too but so worried I won’t be able to keep it warm enough or have any interaction with my babies?
Lastly, I keep topping up the hay each day to make it snuggly but how often should I change it all?
Thanks for your help from a very anxious GP owner.