Cold weather

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Jasper

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Hi I have 15 Guinea pigs. They are kept in a log cabin but with the weather being so cold I’m worried about them. I have nowhere inside my house for them. Do you have any tips to keep them warm and could cold weather have a detrimental effect on them?
 
Could you give us a bit more information please

Is the cabin insulated?
Are they in hutches inside the cabin?
Are the hutches insulated, including thermal covers, blankets etc?
Do they all have snugglesafe heatpads inside their cages?
Are they all fully bedded on hay?
Do you have a thermometer in the cabin?
Are you cleaning out regularly to ensure their bedding is always dry? Cold is not good for them but being cold and damp is a big risk factor.

I have four piggies who live in a double hutch in my shed. The shed itself is insulated. The hutch is insulated, has a thermal cover, two blankets, and then a normal hutch cover on it. They have lots of hay as bedding in the hutch, a their hides are filled with hay and they have the heatpad each.
its been very cold but they are staying warm enough in the shed.

Cold Weather Care for Indoor and Outdoor Guinea Pigs
 
The log cabin is not insulated and they are not in hutches within the cabin. I don’t have heat pads but they are on hay and are cleaned and changed regularly. They all seem happy and are eating well. I do have a thermometer which is at zero at the moment. They are on 2 levels within the cabin but it’s the ones on tile I’m concerned about.
 
Jasper said:
The log cabin is not insulated and they are not in hutches within the cabin. I don’t have heat pads but they are on hay and are cleaned and changed regularly. They all seem happy and are eating well. I do have a thermometer which is at zero at the moment. They are on 2 levels within the cabin but it’s the ones on tile I’m concerned about.
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Is this their first Winter in the cabin?
I only ask as zero is far too cold for them.
Do they have lots of hay filled boxes and a thick layer of insulation on the floor?
 
I had 9 last year but I’ve had 6 babies born this year. I don’t remember it being this cold last year to extent that their water bottles were frozen. What sort of insulation would you use on the floor?
 
If the cabin is at zero you need to do a lot more to keep them warm. It is far too low - they should not really below 15 degrees.

When you say the ones on tile, what do you mean by this?

I assume you don’t have electricity in the cabin?

At the very least you would be well advised to fully insulate the entire cabin if they free roam within it.
Proper celotex insulation and then plywood line the whole cabin is the most effective insulation but the silver foil insulation is also good.
My shed insulation alone is keeping the shed approximately 8 degrees warmer than outside, in addition, the fact my piggies are in hutches, the hutches themselves are also insulated and lots of hay and heatpads means despite it being -3 outside, my hutches are currently sitting around 12 degrees. So you can see if makes a world of difference.

For now and while you can arrange insulation, lots and lots of hay stuffed into hides will give them somewhere warmer to sit, but heatpads really are essential for outdoor/shed dwelling piggies - one pad per piggy.

How did you come to have pregnant sows?
How old are the babies? If they are very young then they (and their mother) do need to be brought indoors. Cold is particularly dangerous to youngsters
 
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The youngest are 6 months and when said tile I meant top-typo mistake. I had shelves built for the piggies so they are on 2 shelves-9 on the top and 6 males on the bottom-split into 3 runs but none on the floor. Where is the best place to get heat pads and silver foil insulation?
 
Jasper said:
The youngest are 6 months and when said tile I meant top-typo mistake. I had shelves built for the piggies so they are on 2 shelves-9 on the top and 6 males on the bottom-split into 3 runs but none on the floor. Where is the best place to get heat pads and silver foil insulation?
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heatpads you can get from pet shops - I know pets at home sell them - or Amazon.
silver foil insulation from diy shops
 
I once had piggies living in a free range uninsulated shed. I insulted the floor with silver bubble foil you can buy from diy shops then covered this with lino, newspaper wood shavings and hay. I gave them two big wooden houses at either end of the shed that I insulated and filled with hay so they at least had somewhere warm to go. They also had several snugglesafe heat pads dotted around 24:7. It was hard work but we made it work until I had a piggy who had to have an eye removed so I bought them in and they never went back out x
 
I would prefer them to be inside but I have too many. I’ll see if can get insulation for the shed in the next day or two although it was only built last year and is very sturdy. The piggies have plenty of hay and soft little houses so hopefully they’ll be okay.
 
Jasper said:
I would prefer them to be inside but I have too many. I’ll see if can get insulation for the shed in the next day or two although it was only built last year and is very sturdy. The piggies have plenty of hay and soft little houses so hopefully they’ll be okay.
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We had no room indoors at our old house to have them inside so they lived outside all year round. It wasn’t until we moved house and had a spare bedroom that we could have indoor piggies. It’s hard work to keep them cool in summer and warm in winter when they live outside but it can be done. Plenty of hay and snugglesafe heat pads is key to keeping piggies warm x
 
Jasper said:
The youngest are 6 months and when said tile I meant top-typo mistake. I had shelves built for the piggies so they are on 2 shelves-9 on the top and 6 males on the bottom-split into 3 runs but none on the floor. Where is the best place to get heat pads and silver foil insulation?
Click to expand...
If you read the cold weather guide linked above it lists all the supplies you need and places to get them.

Also try looking in the shed gallery here for more ideas
Member Gallery: Sheds
 
Can I also ask how you ended up with pregnant sows if they are split into single sex groups please?
 
I bred one of my females with one of my males and she had 4 babies but unfortunately the male was still in with her when she gave birth so she became pregnant again and had another 4 babies.
 
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