Can Guinea pigs be outdoor AND indoor depending on season?

Canucks

Canucks

New Born Pup
Joined
Jun 15, 2021
Messages
32
Reaction score
96
Points
185
Location
Herts UK
Just to set the scene, we have no piggies yet and we're still making sure everything is ready.
The initial plan for our "pets to be" was an outdoor hutch, and I will have assembled a 6x2ft double hutch in the next day or so. It has snuggle and rain covers so it's weatherproof, and we have a lawn and a 6x3ft run for variety, and the hutch can also go in the garage in the coldest weather. That was the plan at least! Then I've had a few doubts about what happens in a really cold snap if the garage gets below their tolerance level.

But anyway, being Mr Belt and Braces, and for many reasons (hutch cleaning time in poorer weather, taming / socialising on wet days, etc) I also thought it couldn't hurt to get a C and C cage plus fleeces etc, and then we'd have somewhere to put them other than the hutch as a contingency. So there's a 6x2 C+C now as well.
I've also ended up with extra panels which, could raise the indoor cage and potentially extend it even longer, 7 or 8 ft.

Reading the forums carefully there seems to be basically a split of indoor owners OR outdoor owners. Is there a reason why summer in the outdoor hutch, and winter in the indoor cage wouldn't work? Do piggies get so used to one place that they wouldn't feel at home in a second place? Can they get used to, and feel at home in both, so long as houses, bedding, hidey holes, smells etc remain familiar?

Thanks for your views.
 
Some are outdoors year round, some indoors year round and some spend summer outdoors and winter indoors! It depends on your set up and location.

However, I tend to do the opposite. Mine live outside in my shed. I find summer much harder to manage than winter. I am quite able to keep the warm enough in the shed in winter, but the problem I have is keeping them cool in summer. To that end, mine live in the shed autumn, winter and spring, but they tend to move indoors (in a fold away c&c cage) at the height of summer so I can keep them cooler.
 
I see you come from the same part of the UK as me, the temperatures we've had the past few days, a hidey in a run could have reached dangerous temperatures for heatstroke. I use frozen water bottles and opening and shutting windows and curtains at the right time, to keep temperatures safe. I find heatwaves a worry, and indoors I feel more able to manage.
 
My piggies used to be outside piggies all year round and I kept them warm in the winter with lots of hay, snugglesafes, snuggle tunnels etc. Now that I have moved, they are in the garage. I prefer them in the garage to outside, mainly because I don't have to go out in the rain to clean them out/feed them/interact with them and they're not out in the elements either! The hutch has a snuggle and a waterproof cover on it so they stayed dry when they were outside. I keep them warm in the winter the same way as I did when they were outside. It's warmer in the garage by at least 5 degrees to outside in winter as it is attached to the house on one side and is very close (about a foot) away from next doors garage. I have had no trouble keeping them warm enough.
 
Very good to know, thank you all... so comfort and especially temperature are the real key drivers in this, rather than necessarily having one single place to live the whole time. Sounds like we should be able to move them around if necessary to avoid the worst conditions, and they shouldn't be too put out.
 
Yes that is right. Piggies are generally most comfortable between 18 and 22 degrees
Although changing location into a new environment can trigger dominance and territory issues but these can be mitigated by using soiled bedding when you first move them to the new cage. This helps them realise it is still their space as it smells like the,
 
Regarding continuity, the piggies I've had from a young age would be used to me continually changing their c and c, which I love doing. A newly adopted piggy was cross about change and butting her hidey etc. They'll let you know 😊 Main think I think is having secure places to hide, fabric clipped over a c and c or hideys or snug in a hutch.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top