Guinea pigs in conservatory.

flowerfairy

flowerfairy

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I have recently moved Saffron and Shimmer into the conservatory, from an insulated shed (with no electricity). They were not getting any sunlight and Shimmer had bubbly breathing.

They now have some sunlight but there is no insulation in the conservatory (more of a lean to really, home made by past house owner in the 70s).

I have got snuggle safes for them but I am now considering getting some cosy fleece hides to help them to stay warm. Would it be ok given that they are in a lean to and not actually indoors. I have been leaving the door to the living room open but I can't really expect my lodgers to put up with that in the evenings.

Would an oil filled radiator be worth getting or is it just a waste in a non insulated space?

Lean to has a glass front (windows and sliding door to garden) and a plastic roof and solid sides with little windows at the top of each side. The remaining side is double glazed glass doors into the sitting room.

They are in an indoor cage which is covered with fleece and a duvet cover.

They have an ikea bed, a stick bridge and a box and lots of hay.
 
The only way tho really know is to measure the temperature with a digital thermometer. Some alarm clocks have them. Piggies shoukd be kept between 18C and 23C. Lower than that and their immune system will be sacrificed for other bodily functions and your piggies will deteriorate. I think Shimmer should be vet checked as immune reactions such as coughing and sneezing can be suppressed by cold conditions so he could still have an infection but not have any symptoms 🙁 If the heater maintains the temperature, then its OK, if not, then something more is needed. The Snuggle Safes help heat a small space, but piggy still needs to go out and eat and could get very cold then.
 
Bringing them in somewhere warmer is a good idea if one is displaying signs of illness (vet check required for this). But you also have to be careful to not expose them to a very sudden large increase in temperature either - they can overheat when coming indoors in winter.
The key information is really going to be what the temperature was in their shed and what temperature is your lean to?

It may not be worth heating an uninsulated space and instead you may have to use other measures to keep them warm - you’re probably not going to know unless you try. A 70s lean to and an insulated but unheated shed may be pretty much one and the same in terms of measures you need to take to keep them warm (ie whether it’s feasible to use fleece items/whether it is going to dry if it’s cold in the lean to)

Snugglesafes only provide a warm space to sit, they don’t heat an area; but you can have several located around their cage so they have multiple options
 
If you decide to try heating it, I bought a cheap heater from Argos to temporarily heat a room. It doesn’t have a timer or thermostat but it does have options of different powers, and on the lower setting I found it’s enough to take the edge off without being too hot or drying. It kept the room about 17-18 overnight instead of 13-14. It could go warmer but I didn’t want that. Not sure about now well it would work in your space but it’s a cheap option (maybe apart from the leccy bill though!) I doubt I’ll use it more than 3 days a year tbh but it’s small enough to shove in a cupboard.

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/581....ds&gbraid=0AAAAAD9II9ne3jz18S-QT10CkrcQTnSa_
 
They are nowhere near 18 degrees either in the shed or in the lean to at night. I can't imagine that an oil filled radiator would be powerful enough to get the space up to that.

The lean to was at around 10 degrees for most of the day thanks to the sun.

I am going to dry a fleece hide and see how that goes. They both enjoy laying under the ikea bed in the sunny area of the cage and under the stick bridge in the hay area of the cage.

I wish that I had space for them in the house.
 
As they are used to being in an unheated shed then you may well find they are fine in the lean to as is.
Do you know what temperature it was in the shed?
How long have they been in the lean to?

You don’t ever want to expose them to more than a 5 degree difference in one go so you don’t want to suddenly make the lean to 18 degrees anyway (even if it is possible to do it) if they are used to it being 10. They tend to adapt to cooler temperatures easier than heat.
 
Oh thank you for your response Piggies&buns.

The shed was often at minus one recently. They had been there a few months. It was summer when they moved to the shed and less than a week in the lean to.

I think I will get some fleece hides and an oil fired heater for when the lodgers needs the sitting room doors to the lean to closed and for overnight.

Thanks again for being positive, practical and non judgemental.

I have also ordered a load more hay!
 
Oil fired radiator helped and so did the snuggle safes. It is now getting very hot in there so lots of curtains needed for shade.

I want to get a nice solid predator safe run for them for outside on the north facing lawn (front garden) for when the sun room is too hot.

Getting a new shed soon (current one is ancient and rotten in places).

Does any one know of a company selling good quality solid runs?

I have seen a chartwell hutch and run combination but not sure how strong they are.

Ideally I would like a ryedale pet housing run but their website is down at the moment.
 
flowerfairy said:
Oil fired radiator helped and so did the snuggle safes. It is now getting very hot in there so lots of curtains needed for shade.

I want to get a nice solid predator safe run for them for outside on the north facing lawn (front garden) for when the sun room is too hot.

Getting a new shed soon (current one is ancient and rotten in places).

Does any one know of a company selling good quality solid runs?

I have seen a chartwell hutch and run combination but not sure how strong they are.

Ideally I would like a ryedale pet housing run but their website is down at the moment.
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Mmmm that’s tricky @flowerfairy
When I used my wooden run outside I was always about to monitor them
( there are so many predators for piggies)
I don’t know of any outside safe runs
I’m sure someone will be along with some advice
Good luck
 
Personally, I would not buy a hutch and run combo - they are difficult to move, difficult to clean out and the ramps are usually too steep (and, unless your piggies already use a ramp, theres the risk they won’t use the ramp). Separate hutch and run are my own preference.
I have two chartwell runs - one which folds up and one which doesn’t fold. The one that folds has been fine for several years but is now less stable. The non-folding one has faired so much better and is as stable as the day I got it.
 
I would be using the hutch for the guinea pigs, facing away from the run and with the ramp closed and the run for the rabbits with an old chartwell hutch inside it.

It is only for the times when the shed and sunroom are too blazing hot for them. I would be around most of the time to keep an eye on them.

I have a folding run but it seems too flimsy for overnight use/predators.
 
The folding run is definitely too flimsy for overnight use, I don’t think any commercial runs are strong enough for night time use outside.
 
They have a welfare hutch company hutch attached to their current shed. I may have to use that whilst the new shed is being installed. I wish the welfare hutch company were still going.
 
My girls live on fleece in a C&C cage in our conservatory for most of the year. It does have central heating, but it’s quite rubbish! I monitor the temperature with a digital thermometer. This is what we do.

Spring and Autumn: Mostly they’re just fine as they are. If we have a night that’s going to be particularly chilly, I add a decent pile of extra hay and a couple of Snugglesafes dotted about. They also have a cuddle cup each from Kavee that they like to curl up in, and I will cover the cage with a blanket. I recently bought a lovely hidey that’s warm also, I’ll post a picture (not my piggies pictured!). I line it with a folded clean fleece every day as they seem to like to go to the toilet loads in there!

If it’s warmer than is ideal I’ll open the small top windows for a breeze so that they don’t get too warm.

Winter: Once it gets really cold I set up their run in my dining room. It’s not ideal because it is big, but overnight even with the radiator on it just gets too cold. If they’re really in the way (for example on Christmas Day when I need the space back) I will move them back into the conservatory for the daytime with the heating and an oil filled radiator on because in the day I can keep it a steady temperature in there.

On the positive side it’s lovely having the run flat on the floor so that we can just step in to sit with them. They were in with us the vast majority of the time this winter mid-December to March and it’s helped with taming them (my 3 are all under 1 year old) enormously! At night, if they’ve been put in the conservatory for the day, they come back indoors. It is flipping inconvenient I won’t lie but I couldn’t live with myself if they were cold or got poorly.

Summer: When the weather heats up, past about 11am when the sun hits the glass, it’s too hot in the conservatory for them. In height of the heat my conservatory gets up to about 45 degrees with the doors closed - it’s unbearable uneven for a human!

When I get up in the mornings nice and early I open the doors to keep it cool, and later they go in their run in the garden in the shade (I put a big gazebo up, for them and for my children!). Due to how the sun hits by around 9pm it’s cooled down in the conservatory so they go back indoors overnight and generally I leave the top windows open for a breeze.

If we have a spell of really extreme heat that’d be dangerous for their health then they come back into the dining room day and night in their run in the until it passes, as I can keep it cooler in there.

Basically, my spoiled little ladies have three housing options and I switch between them depending on the temperature. Some piggies don’t like moving around but mine are fine with it. My dominant lady just has a little rumble about making sure the others still know that she’s the boss here too, and then they settle down….order restored!

When I first got my (dearly departed) boars they started off living outdoors in spring, but they came into the conservatory for winter and then I’ve never gone back to keeping piggies outdoors full time.
 
Snuggly hidey. It’s a Rosewood one.
 

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Piggies&buns said:
The folding run is definitely too flimsy for overnight use, I don’t think any commercial runs are strong enough for night time use outside.
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I agree. I use our huge folding run indoors for extended periods when needed and it’s absolutely fine for that as we don’t have any other pets. I’d not leave the girls in it overnight outside. They’d be at risk, it’s absolutely not strong enough to withstand a determined fox!
 
Boarworld said:
I agree. I use our huge folding run indoors for extended periods when needed and it’s absolutely fine for that as we don’t have any other pets. I’d not leave the girls in it overnight outside. They’d be at risk, it’s absolutely not strong enough to withstand a determined fox!
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Or rats ….they are everywhere
 
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