Guineaguy123
Junior Guinea Pig
how well does it look like I'm taking care of my pig their cage is outside btw also her name is lily
Guinea Pig housing/comfort
- Thread starter Guineaguy123
- Start date
Mrs Tiggy Winkle
Senior Guinea Pig
Welcome to the forum.
You say Lily is outside? The big problem I see here is that she is not protected from any predators, like neighbourhood dogs and cats not to mention any wild animals.
You say Lily is outside? The big problem I see here is that she is not protected from any predators, like neighbourhood dogs and cats not to mention any wild animals.
Welcome to the forum
I'm also confused by the mention of outside too - a c&c cage is not suitable as outside housing as they are not secure.
Also, outside living in Florida is unsafe due to the weather, heat and predators.
I cannot see any/enough hay in the picture?
I can see a little hay rack but hay racks aren’t really suitable to be used as they don’t hold enough and prevent piggies from properly being able to play in the hay or get inside thee hay to freely forage. We recommend a large pile of hay loose on the floor or even several large piles (in your cage I’d recommend a hay pile takes up half to all of that end of the cage or even fully fill that top level of the cage with hay). Hay is enrichment and entertainment as much as it is food.
Is the bedding made of paper or is it a fluff?
It looks a bit fluffy but it might just be the picture. If it is fluffy bedding (rather than paper bedding) then it is unsafe bedding for guinea pigs and should be removed straight away.
Either wood shavings, paper bedding or fleece should be used (again with large hay piles).
I would also say that there isn’t much enrichment either. She needs lots of hides and tunnels, cardboard boxes with holes cut in. loose hay piles where you can hide her veg so she can freely forage. I would completely remove that blue cage base on the bottom level and add lots of tunnels and boxes in that space for her to play in. Piggies naturally spend hours searching for food so recreating that is important.
We also do not recommend the use of food bowls for the same reasons - eating from a bowl takes away any opportunity to use their minds to forage, so we recommend you scatter her pellets either into an hay pile or around the cage to get her moving and searching for food. Remembering she can have just one tablespoon of pellets per day (never left with constant access to pellets due to them being the least healthy part of the diet).
Essentially she needs a lot more in there to keep her mind occupied. Mental stimulation and enrichment will be even more important for her given it sounds like she is being kept alone.
It would be best if you can get her a friend - piggies are highly social and should always be kept in pairs. Human interaction, I’m afraid, isn’t enough.
Enrichment Ideas for Guinea Pigs
Bedding For Guinea Pigs - Overview
Single Guinea Pigs - Challenges and Responsibilities
I'm also confused by the mention of outside too - a c&c cage is not suitable as outside housing as they are not secure.
Also, outside living in Florida is unsafe due to the weather, heat and predators.
I cannot see any/enough hay in the picture?
I can see a little hay rack but hay racks aren’t really suitable to be used as they don’t hold enough and prevent piggies from properly being able to play in the hay or get inside thee hay to freely forage. We recommend a large pile of hay loose on the floor or even several large piles (in your cage I’d recommend a hay pile takes up half to all of that end of the cage or even fully fill that top level of the cage with hay). Hay is enrichment and entertainment as much as it is food.
Is the bedding made of paper or is it a fluff?
It looks a bit fluffy but it might just be the picture. If it is fluffy bedding (rather than paper bedding) then it is unsafe bedding for guinea pigs and should be removed straight away.
Either wood shavings, paper bedding or fleece should be used (again with large hay piles).
I would also say that there isn’t much enrichment either. She needs lots of hides and tunnels, cardboard boxes with holes cut in. loose hay piles where you can hide her veg so she can freely forage. I would completely remove that blue cage base on the bottom level and add lots of tunnels and boxes in that space for her to play in. Piggies naturally spend hours searching for food so recreating that is important.
We also do not recommend the use of food bowls for the same reasons - eating from a bowl takes away any opportunity to use their minds to forage, so we recommend you scatter her pellets either into an hay pile or around the cage to get her moving and searching for food. Remembering she can have just one tablespoon of pellets per day (never left with constant access to pellets due to them being the least healthy part of the diet).
Essentially she needs a lot more in there to keep her mind occupied. Mental stimulation and enrichment will be even more important for her given it sounds like she is being kept alone.
It would be best if you can get her a friend - piggies are highly social and should always be kept in pairs. Human interaction, I’m afraid, isn’t enough.
Enrichment Ideas for Guinea Pigs
Bedding For Guinea Pigs - Overview
Single Guinea Pigs - Challenges and Responsibilities
hayethusiasts
Junior Guinea Pig
Claire W
Forum Donator 2025/26
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2008
- Messages
- 38,113
- Reaction score
- 31,230
- Points
- 2,915
Hello and welcome to the forum 
Lily is lovely but I too am confused when you say her cage is outside? Sadly, C&C cages are very unsafe for outdoor living as they do not provides the protection from predators and the extreme weather you get in Florida.
I can’t add anything else to what @Piggies&buns has mentioned and I agree with everything she’s said but please do bring Lily indoors asap x
Lily is lovely but I too am confused when you say her cage is outside? Sadly, C&C cages are very unsafe for outdoor living as they do not provides the protection from predators and the extreme weather you get in Florida.I can’t add anything else to what @Piggies&buns has mentioned and I agree with everything she’s said but please do bring Lily indoors asap x
Mrs Tiggy Winkle
Senior Guinea Pig
Lily is a pretty piggy! I'm sure she's adorable. Please let us know you've moved her inside to safety! That's the most important change for now.
There may be a little roof on her wooden hut, I can't quite see, but that won't keep predators out.
There may be a little roof on her wooden hut, I can't quite see, but that won't keep predators out.
Guineaguy123
Junior Guinea Pig
thanks for the replys a few things i need to clarify when i said the cage is outside i meant in my porch so theres a mesh and door protecting her from any predators however my parents wont allow me to bring her cage indoors any suggestions how i keep her cool
Mrs Tiggy Winkle
Senior Guinea Pig
Thanks for your reply.
Is the mesh strong enough to keep predators out? If it's like mosquito screen, it's probably not strong enough.
On keeping her cool - she needs shade over her cage and you need to make sure that the sun can't shine onto her cage w/o her having any shade at all. Other than that, I'm not well-versed in keeping piggies cool. I assume Florida is far hotter than anything I've ever experienced.
Note that a lot of mbrs on here are in the UK or other countries in Europe, so off to bed now, may not answer till tomorrow.
Is the mesh strong enough to keep predators out? If it's like mosquito screen, it's probably not strong enough.
On keeping her cool - she needs shade over her cage and you need to make sure that the sun can't shine onto her cage w/o her having any shade at all. Other than that, I'm not well-versed in keeping piggies cool. I assume Florida is far hotter than anything I've ever experienced.
Note that a lot of mbrs on here are in the UK or other countries in Europe, so off to bed now, may not answer till tomorrow.
Guineaguy123
Junior Guinea Pig
the mesh is strong enough weve never had any instance of any animal breaking into our porch since by family bought the home also she is in the shade
Guineaguy123
Junior Guinea Pig
another thing i want to clarify is weve owened lily for a long time years we used to have another guinea pig named zack which was her companion however a year ago he died which was a very sad time because zack was the first guinea pig we got and we got lily for my brother he died due to an illness and we brought him to the vet however he said there was nothing they could do so we had him put down i was thinking of giving up lily since i know they are herd animals however i ultimatly didnt since again we had her for years and i didnt want to just let go of her also i was worried being put up for adoption and given to a new family or shelter with other guinea pigs would make lily have difficultys connecting with other people also lily was never really a social pig she didnt seem to affected by the death of zack
I’m sorry to hear your lost Zack.
For information, Most piggies do seem to continue as normal after the death of their companion but they are most definitely affected by it and will still feel lonely if kept single even though they may never show it. They grieve the same as we do but are ready for a new companion around 1-4 weeks after the companion has passed.
Actually, if a piggy does display signs of being affected by the death (known as acute pining, which is rare for it to actually occur), it is then becoming an emergency situation with emergency measures needed (a vet checked, syringe feeding and switching from the routine weekly weight checks and instead weighing daily) and often requiring a new companion immediately without the 1-4 week grieving period
Keeping her safe and cool in a c&c cage on a porch outside is going to be a huge task and risk. Florida simply isn’t a place where it’s safe to keep them outside.
We are used to, and it is more normal, keeping piggies outside in the UK but even here it is becoming harder to manage with our summers getting hotter - my own piggies live in a shed but have to move into the house during summer (where I can implement a multitude of cooling measures) as there is very little that can be done to battle the heat and hot breezes outside.
Cooling measures are listed in this guide - see if there are any of things in there that you can implement to help her, I’m just not sure how easy or effective they will be outside. Being in the shade is obviously what is needed but it won’t protect her from sun heated breezes blowing into your porch, such breezes can be very dangerous. Piggies aren’t very good at keeping cool and keep in mind that coping with heat becomes harder the older they get.
Heatwave warning for the UK - How to combine lots of little measures to save lives.
Hot Weather Management, Heat Strokes and Fly Strike
Do make sure to implement all the other things I have mentioned - she needs a lot more hay available to her and she needs a lot more enrichment in her cage.
For information, Most piggies do seem to continue as normal after the death of their companion but they are most definitely affected by it and will still feel lonely if kept single even though they may never show it. They grieve the same as we do but are ready for a new companion around 1-4 weeks after the companion has passed.
Actually, if a piggy does display signs of being affected by the death (known as acute pining, which is rare for it to actually occur), it is then becoming an emergency situation with emergency measures needed (a vet checked, syringe feeding and switching from the routine weekly weight checks and instead weighing daily) and often requiring a new companion immediately without the 1-4 week grieving period
Keeping her safe and cool in a c&c cage on a porch outside is going to be a huge task and risk. Florida simply isn’t a place where it’s safe to keep them outside.
We are used to, and it is more normal, keeping piggies outside in the UK but even here it is becoming harder to manage with our summers getting hotter - my own piggies live in a shed but have to move into the house during summer (where I can implement a multitude of cooling measures) as there is very little that can be done to battle the heat and hot breezes outside.
Cooling measures are listed in this guide - see if there are any of things in there that you can implement to help her, I’m just not sure how easy or effective they will be outside. Being in the shade is obviously what is needed but it won’t protect her from sun heated breezes blowing into your porch, such breezes can be very dangerous. Piggies aren’t very good at keeping cool and keep in mind that coping with heat becomes harder the older they get.
Heatwave warning for the UK - How to combine lots of little measures to save lives.
Hot Weather Management, Heat Strokes and Fly Strike
Do make sure to implement all the other things I have mentioned - she needs a lot more hay available to her and she needs a lot more enrichment in her cage.
Mrs Tiggy Winkle
Senior Guinea Pig
It sounds as if you maybe just wanted to introduce yourself and Lily and weren't really looking for advice on her cage set-up and its position. I thought you were a totally new owner hence my first rushed comment.
I hope you find some of @Piggies&buns suggestions helpful.
I hope you find some of @Piggies&buns suggestions helpful.
Guineaguy123
Junior Guinea Pig
I have merged your new post back into your original thread so they everything related to this matter is kept in one place.
From an enrichment and hay point of view, yes things do look improved now. It’s great.
From an enrichment and hay point of view, yes things do look improved now. It’s great.