Rainy Day Temporary Housing

[AuntieEm]

Hello everyone!

I'm pet-sitting a three-year-old paraplegic guinea pig who lives in an outdoor hutch. Tinkerbell can no longer go up the ramp into the weatherproof section of her home, which is a problem - the rain is so constant and heavy right now that I wouldn't be surprised to see somebody building an ark.

She has a small (40x50cm) travel cage, and seems happy enough in it, but I've had her there all day (with fresh food, dry food, water bottle and straw bedding with newspaper underneath) as the ground outside is soaked. At this stage of summer it's not unusual for storms to last a full week.

The lower level of her hutch has a solid wood roof, one wooden wall, three wire walls and a grass/open floor. She has a couple of open-floored caves and a pile of fresh straw for burrowing.

Any suggestions for how I can make her more comfortable on rainy days would be appreciated. She is still mobile, but can't go up even a slight incline now that her back legs are no longer working. There are cats living in the house, so indoor time is difficult.

Thank you so much.

 

[Janice C]

Hello everyone!

I'm pet-sitting a three-year-old paraplegic guinea pig who lives in an outdoor hutch. Tinkerbell can no longer go up the ramp into the weatherproof section of her home, which is a problem - the rain is so constant and heavy right now that I wouldn't be surprised to see somebody building an ark.

She has a small (40x50cm) travel cage, and seems happy enough in it, but I've had her there all day (with fresh food, dry food, water bottle and straw bedding with newspaper underneath) as the ground outside is soaked. At this stage of summer it's not unusual for storms to last a full week.

The lower level of her hutch has a solid wood roof, one wooden wall, three wire walls and a grass/open floor. She has a couple of open-floored caves and a pile of fresh straw for burrowing.

Any suggestions for how I can make her more comfortable on rainy days would be appreciated. She is still mobile, but can't go up even a slight incline now that her back legs are no longer working. There are cats living in the house, so indoor time is difficult.

Thank you so much.

Couldn’t she then live in the waterproof section instead of the downstairs!

 

[AuntieEm]

Janice, I should have mentioned - that section is fully enclosed. With the ramp up it's a windowless wooden box. With the ramp down, she makes a gravity-assisted scramble for freedom in about half a second.

If someone tried to put me in a windowless room in this heat I'd run for freedom too!

 

[AimeeOx]

Could the lower level be brought inside, so she is out of the rain but still safe from the cat?

 

[AuntieEm]

AimeeOx, thank you! That's a great point.

The hutch is too big to fit through the doorway, but your post got me thinking about an 'indoor hutch' and I was able to rig one up in an unused bedroom this morning. Sure, it's just a baby gate and some storage crates for walls with old towels as flooring, but it's a huge improvement over that tiny travel cage! I'll just need to be careful to keep the door closed. Cats are sneaky.

 

[Wiebke]

AimeeOx, thank you! That's a great point.

The hutch is too big to fit through the doorway, but your post got me thinking about an 'indoor hutch' and I was able to rig one up in an unused bedroom this morning. Sure, it's just a baby gate and some storage crates for walls with old towels as flooring, but it's a huge improvement over that tiny travel cage! I'll just need to be careful to keep the door closed. Cats are sneaky.

Best lock the door if that is possible.

 

[Janice C]

AimeeOx, thank you! That's a great point.

The hutch is too big to fit through the doorway, but your post got me thinking about an 'indoor hutch' and I was able to rig one up in an unused bedroom this morning. Sure, it's just a baby gate and some storage crates for walls with old towels as flooring, but it's a huge improvement over that tiny travel cage! I'll just need to be careful to keep the door closed. Cats are sneaky.

That’s great news! Sometimes just getting ideas from others gets the brain ticking over! You will get that used to checking that the doors closed that it will become automatic!