Wooden or plastic house?

[Alicia]

My guinea-pigs only have one little house in their hutch, and as I'm getting another guinea-pig in February, I think I definetly need another little hut or two. The little house they have now is a plastic red house, and it fits two of them in it. I don't really like houses with a base because my guinea-pigs just pee in them and it's hard to clean. I was going to buy another one the same, but I didn't know if wooden houses are better? I know they look better but I don't really mind about that, I've just wondered whether the plastic huts can get quite hot in the summer or not?
I mean the little hidey houses, not hutches

 

[Claire W]

I have both. My pigs have plastic bottomless domes and bottomless wooden lodges. I have found pros and con for both. Plastic ones can get hot during.the summer and can become damp with condensation in the winter if used in outside hutches. They are easy to wipe clean. I prefer the wooden ones in winter as I think they ate warmer. They take longer to clean though when piggies wee in them. I think it is all down to personal choice x

 

[teddy2011]

I like wooden ones because they keep warmer in the cold and they provide nice shade if its sunny!

But one of my boars chews his wooden house - not too much tho!

x

 

[Bekki]

I like plastic for its ease of cleaning but wood wont feel cold to the touch and will hold heat in better id think. I like the plastic huts with a bottom in because I can just tip them out daily and refill with bedding and thats the majority of the pigs wee and poo is overnight so the cage bedding doesnt get dirty :-)

 

[Connie]

I tried both, and i decided to make all my own houses from fleece. They are a similar size and shape to a wooden hut just made from fabric. They love these and its works for me as they are inside.

They also get lots of cardboard boxes and these are a fave.

 

[LittleEskimo]

wooden ones look nice and are great for the pigs to chew on. But plastic ones are easier to clean if you have a messy pig and are more colourful so it is up to you really

 

[Hanwombat]

Mine all have plastic as they're very easy to clean but they do like to chew around the entrance

 

[gogoguineas]

My lot wreck anything like that so I give them cardboard boxes, up turned and i cut a whole in each end. I think for outdoors i would go with wood tho. Mine are indoors and have boxes, big cardboard tubes and fleecy houses

 

[piggyfan]

I really recommend wooden cabins. They are so much nicer for piggies. They can also gnaw on the wood. If they try to do that with the plastic ones they can leave sharp edges and cut themselves.

 

[*becks*]

I really recommend wooden cabins. They are so much nicer for piggies. They can also gnaw on the wood. If they try to do that with the plastic ones they can leave sharp edges and cut themselves.

Where is a **/cheap place to get these from?

 

[NatalieMT]

I think the wooden ones look prettier and it doesn't matter if the piggies chew them! Mine have apple wood sticks in their cages anyway but they still try and gnaw anything and everything!

The bottomless plastic houses are much easier to clean though, you can wipe them down with disinfectant or soak them in soapy water etc. I have 4 cages with the plastic houses and 2 with the wood. The plastic houses way outlast the wooden ones, I've had some of them for yonks.

As another member mentioned you can also buy fleece corner huts that hang from the cage bars, they are very cute and cosy too and easy to remove and put through the washing machine.

 

[Dawny]

My piggies have both plastic and wooden homes.

The postives for the Plastic homes are:
They are easy to clean
Nice and warm for the winter

Negatives for plastic ones:
If it has a bottom to it, they tend to use it as toilets.
Can be too hot in the summer for the piggies



Positives for Wooden ones:
They can safely chew on the wood to help with their teeth as they grow all the time.

Negative for wooden ones:
When they wee and poo in the corner of wooden homes (the bottomless ones) the wood then absorbs all the wee and consequently gets easily discoloured. (But these wooden homes can be cleaned then left to dry.)

Hope this helps :-)

 

[liquorice allsorts]

i have both too, the wooden ones do tend to get a bit smelly if piggies wee in them, even though they dont have bottoms in them, along the bottom edges that touch the ground/ floor, but look nice!