Should an old guinea pig be kept indoors all the time?

[tabelmabel]

Hi,

Benson (the rex in my avatar) is still going strong and will be 6yrs old in June. He lives with Mike (also in avatar) who is 2yrs old.

They are indoors 24/7 just now and have been in since last year about September i think.

Benson is eating well and is still a sturdy pig but he does sleep a lot now. In fact, recently he has given us a few hairy moments as he is so fast asleep, we have thought he has passed but when he wakes up he is pretty mobile and chirpy.

With the warmer weather coming at last, will it be ok to put Benson outside for short times if the grass is dry or should i not chance it at all with a pig of his age?

Last year he slept out in the hutch at night and never ailed a thing but i have a feeling this summer might be his last as he is an old chap now.

What do you think?

 

[Sue and Smartie]

I expect he'd enjoy some time on the grass but if he were mine I'd keep him mostly in, especially overnight. Mainly to avoid stress from rapid temperature changes, as he won't be so resilient as a younger pig.
I love rex pigs, they have such lovely whiskers

 

[Freela]

We put our old pigs out on the grass provided the weather was nice... they always enjoyed grazing. I would just make sure they have shade and it is not too hot, just like a piggie of any age.

 

[tabelmabel]

Thanks, you two! Am a bit wary as we lost Benson's brother almost two years ago to chest infection which seemed to come on shortly after we started putting him on the grass. And i was left with a lot of 'if only' kind of thoughts. He does like going out though so it's good that he could have the chance to spend more time outside

 

[Eriathwen]

When I had my old lot of piggies, I had a boy that lived outside alongside some younger boys, he lived out there in all weather's until 8 years of age where we decided to bring him in to live out the last of his life in comfort next to the indoor girls...he lived to 11 he loved going back out on warm days and would sleep on the grass for ages.

 

[tabelmabel]

Wow! 11 is an amazing age @Eriathwen ! Very hardy, maybe as he was kept out all year round - benson is the house most of the year as we are in Scotland so there's not a lot of dry warm weather at all. Usually late june til early September is it. It is raining right now here (though i believe still warm in England today?)

I think it's the change in temperature that can be a real problem can't it. And of course we get so much rain, even on sunny days, the ground is often damp for ages

 

[Betsy]

My two Rainbow Piggies lived outside all year and lived to five and five and a half. Lenny had a huge abscess on his neck that came up overnight and I took him to the vet. The abscess is what killed him a days later as it shut off his wind pipe even though the vet drained it. Gizmo died of a broken heart 6 months later. He did not want another piggie anywhere near him. Lenny was the love of his life. They were fine outside and very hardy piggies.