Can They Live Outside All Year Round?

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RedVelvet18

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Hello everyone, I've just joined this forum to learn more about the little animals before I plan on getting them. So I was looking for an outdoor animal and I had seen videos of outdoor guinea pigs in hutches but I don't know if they are just there to use it as a playpen or whatever (I know nothing about guinea pigs FYI). So my question is can they live outside in a hutch all year round? I would have a thermal cover over the hutch though. Thanks :)
 
It would be helpful if you let us know where you actually live. You can add that info to your profile page
 
Yes @Lilly I agree, if you live somewhere where it gets really cold at night, I wouldn't recommend it unless they were in a shed, and they would be safer in a shed anyway! And you could also have a heater in the shed for colder nights, they are quite cheap! Around ten pounds for a good quality one? And the thermal cover is a good idea, it will make them warm but I would make sure it is a dark colour so they know it's night time for them!
 
Hiya and :wel:!
I assume you are living in the UK.

If you want your guinea pigs to be really safe you could house them in a shed, garage or wendy house as predators can get piggies and people can steal them too sadly. Do you want to be seeing them in the dark and cold? Do you want bedding blowing around everywere on windy days?

Mine were in a hutch in a garage/shed. ( no car was in the garage ) they had a normal hutch cover and inside was house insulation. They had two snuggle safe heat pads and plenty of hay. They had bubble wrap over the doors with holes, to keep out the draughts. They had emergency blankets which I put on the inside of the doors, sides and roof. This reflected the heat from the heat pad and piggies. ( which look like tinfoil and are bought from poundland ) ( Buy them early as they get sold out very quickly ) Finally as posters above have said you can buy heaters with thermostats and timers.

I hope this helps.:)
 
Mine are indoors, but I hear of people having them in sheds with heater to keep them warm, I think as long as there are no draughts on them and they are kept warm they should be fine :)
 
Mine were outside to start with in a hutch.. My own personal experience was I wanted them inside, they are now indoors.. I am not a fan of standing out in the rain and wind trying to clean a full hutch out .. If you have to have them outdoors I would defo recommend a shed, so they are warmer and safer.. Good luck and keep researching before you get them..
 
Maisy and Poppy said:
Hiya and :wel:!
I assume you are living in the UK.

If you want your guinea pigs to be really safe you could house them in a shed, garage or wendy house as predators can get piggies and people can steal them too sadly. Do you want to be seeing them in the dark and cold? Do you want bedding blowing around everywere on windy days?

Mine were in a hutch in a garage/shed. ( no car was in the garage ) they had a normal hutch cover and inside was house insulation. They had two snuggle safe heat pads and plenty of hay. They had bubble wrap over the doors with holes, to keep out the draughts. They had emergency blankets which I put on the inside of the doors, sides and roof. This reflected the heat from the heat pad and piggies. ( which look like tinfoil and are bought from poundland ) ( Buy them early as they get sold out very quickly ) Finally as posters above have said you can buy heaters with thermostats and timers.

I hope this helps.:)
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Yes, I agree! I think you have covered everything! But I just want to verify!

There should be NO CARS in the garage! The fumes are likely to make your piggies ill in a worst case scenario and the noise will scare them!
 
Hey there, welcome to the forum. Yes it does depend on where you live really. If you are living in the uk for instance, you cannot have a hutch outside all year, it would simply be too cold during winter, however if you have a heated garage (with no car)/shed that is fine. Piggies feel uncomfortable below 15 degrees :)
 
That's a good point @Cavy_Slave :) when we had the girls in the garage the bottom of the garage door had quite a gap so we glued a rubber strip underneath so it also prevented water entering.
 
Cavy_Slave said:
Yes, I agree! I think you have covered everything! But I just want to verify!

There should be NO CARS in the garage! The fumes are likely to make your piggies ill in a worst case scenario and the noise will scare them!
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Don't worry, I know the dangers of car fumes and I assure you there is no room for a car with all the piggies equipment inside the garage.
 
Hi and welcome to the forum. My pigs are outdoors all year round. My garden is incredibly well sheltered but as long as you take precautions such as covers etc you should be ok. We have a double garage that we can move them into if the weather is really bad too
 
Hello and welcome to the forum! There isn't anything else I can add to the great advice on here :D
 
RedVelvet18 said:
Wow I never thought I would get this many replies! Thank you everyone so much. I do not have a shed and where I live it is always below 15 degrees. I think I'll wait until I have space indoors to keep piggies. Thanks again!
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Good choice! 15 degrees will be way too cold for them. I live in the opposite direction - it's always too hot for them so mine live indoors too. But even that can't always be enough. One has to resort to air con inside or other means of keeping them cool. Basically the theory is if you feel cold or hot so will your piggies because they can only tolerate the same temperature gradient as we do. And of course they can't take off clothes or add them to make them comfier.
 
Oh!
Maisy and Poppy said:
Don't worry, I know the dangers of car fumes and I assure you there is no room for a car with all the piggies equipment inside the garage.
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I wasn't saying that about you! I just wanted to make sure that @RedVelvet18 knew about the dangers of car fumes! Some people don't know about it!
 
Don't forget about heat when your pigs live outside too! You'd need to change their water very often in summer to prevent it warming up (who wants to drink lukewarm water XD) and cover it to stop algae growth. Make sure they have good ventilation and are out of full sunlight, too ^-^ Also, keep a very close eye out for flystrike in the summer, especially if your new pig will be long-coated or elderly :)
 
Lady Kelly said:
Hi and welcome to the forum. My pigs are outdoors all year round. My garden is incredibly well sheltered but as long as you take precautions such as covers etc you should be ok. We have a double garage that we can move them into if the weather is really bad too
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Hello, I see you keep your pigs outside. Please could you tell me what bedding you use in their house. Do you put something (like a structure, cardboard house etc) inside the sleeping compartment or just fill with bedding? Mine is quite big.

Thanks for any advice, I am new to guinea pigs!
 
What do people who keep their piggies outside all the time (those who live in built up areas) do about fireworks? I must admit that the date mine move indoors now is as much to do with the time the damn fireworks start as the temp! Having seen how much they jump if I drop a dish - I know they would be terrified of the noise.
 
Fireworks started going off here last month. My piggies are indoors but they are still scared and run for their pigloos. Two fireworks that went off in the street last night rattled the windows and set of burglar alarms they were so loud. I'd play music to blot the bangs out but they hate that too. They sit in the pigloos and grumble at music so don't know what to do for the best.
 
Last month! Oh for goodness sake this is getting ridiculous, why on earth do people want it to sound as though this country is at war and what happened to them only supposed to be selling them around the 5th of November?
 
Alexa said:
Hello, I see you keep your pigs outside. Please could you tell me what bedding you use in their house. Do you put something (like a structure, cardboard house etc) inside the sleeping compartment or just fill with bedding? Mine is quite big.

Thanks for any advice, I am new to guinea pigs!
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I just use lots and lots of hay. Though you can buy fleece beds and the like for them as well
 
We have problems with fireworks here too. Those large 'bomb' types are just horrendous. Somebody needs to invent soundproofed hutches!
 
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