Morning. I got 2 guinea pigs yesterday and once we got home i popped them straight in the hutch. The hutch is huge 2 storey hutch with 2 up and 2 down rooms. They havent ventured out the sleeping area i popped them into. Ive put food into them this morning but i was keen for there food to not be in the sleeping area. Do i leave them be for a few days amd theyll eventually explore ? Or do i move them downstairs so they wander up ? I dont want to freak them out . Thanks guys
Advice please
- Thread starter Mummyem83
- Start date
Hi and welcome
Firstly, please make sure that the hutch is in a safe place well out of the sun and not in a heat trap area. Bring your piggies indoors into the coolest room during the hottest hours of the day whenever temperatures climb over 25 C.
Lots of piggies have died from heat stroke in hutches and on the lawn over the last weekend and are going to when temperatures rise again. Protection from the prolonged summer heatwave has to have absolute priority.
Please take the time to carefully read the guides and the links in them. They can literally save lives!
PS: The same goes in winters - an outdoors hutch needs to ideally come under cover and be insulated. Guinea pigs should be treated like tender plants.
Hot Weather Management And Heat Strokes
You will find a whole section in our new owners' guide collection devoted to settling in and making friends with guinea pigs in ways that they understand instinctively, as well as tips on how to minimise the risk of dropping/bling jumping from guinea pigs, especially around children.
Our guide collection also contains helpful tips an dconsiderations for parents; what to look out for in new guinea pigs as well as learning what is normal or not, including how to double-check the gender (mis-sexing is sadly still very common); and guides for understanding behaviours and social dynamics as well as the more general care advice.
We have tried to address all the areas with practical tips and information that we know from long term experience really do work. We are also touching upon areas that many new owners are not necessarily aware of but that can cause major problems in the future to help them to as good a start as possible.
Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides
You can access our full and extensive guide collection on a very wide range of subjects via the shortcut on the top bar, but you are always welcome to ask any questions you may have at any point. We are a friendly place and are aware that there are no 'silly' questions when you come up against something that is puzzling you.
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