Guinea pigs in or out in warm weather

[ChesterandPatch2025]

Our Guinea boys are a couple of years old.We rehomed them from a friend (they were fighting with another boar) in January and they have been living indoors but going out in the daytime when the temp has risen above 10+ degrees.
They have had a thermal hutch cover which is usually off now unless it is abit windy/chilly.I wanted to get them a run however our garden is COVERED in daisies and I read that this can be harmful to them.Which is a shame as would have loved to pop them on the grass.
So they have been outside in the hutch in a corner of the garden where the sun gets in the morning when the temp is lower, but not in the warmest part of the day....it's shaded then.
Does this sound suitable as the weather warms up....as we move into summer and the temps rise to being in the 20s plus more I wasn't sure if they would be best to stay indoors on hot days.
They love their hutch and the extra space but don't want them struggling being too hot.
Advice appreciated, thanks

 

[Piggies&buns]

Welcome to the forum

In warm weather a hutch becomes a dangerous place as the temperature in a hutch is often higher than the outside temperature. Therefore you need to have a thermometer in the hutch and use that to know whether it’s safe for them to be in it. Don’t go by the outside air temperature. Even in shade, a hutch can still be unsafe as they can be heated by hot breezes.
They definitely must stay indoors on hot days in the height of summer and definitely not be in a hutch.

They are only comfortable around 18-22 degrees.
Anything over 25 degrees risks heatstroke but there is also the humidity to consider.
Indoor piggies shouldn’t really go out until it is over 15 degrees.

Mine live in my shed. During the hottest summer days and days when I can’t keep my shed below 25 (which unfortunately is now a lot of them), they move either onto the lawn if I’m home (and it’s still cool enough for them to be on the lawn) or into my house. During the hottest days they only get lawn time 7-8am and then come back indoors. In a evening they will get lawn time again as soon as it’s cool enough, probably around 7pm for about 2 hours and then either go back into the shed if it has cooled down enough or they come into the house for the night.
It was 20 degrees yesterday and my shed was 27 degrees so it was far too warm for them to stay in there … it’s only May!

Hot Weather Management, Heat Strokes and Fly Strike