Should I take my guinea pigs to camp...?

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beejj__

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Hi! I guess I'm here to ask a question?

My family and friends are going camping in a month or two but I have two guinea pigs. I don't want to bring them to camp because it's outdoors and I'm worried something might happen. My two guinea pigs are also the more scared type which gives me an extra reason not to bring them. I told my mother about this but she says we'll bring the two and put them in the guinea pig cage we got a while back. I still don't want to, but my mother keeps telling me that. My mother got sad and mad at me when I really told her I was scared for the guinea pigs and should just stay home this time. It was tradition for us to go camp during the summer so it really hurt her.

Now I'm stuck in two situations. Either I play risky by taking my guinea pigs outside and go to camp or play not risky and stay home but make my mother feel sad.

What should I do? Is it fine for me to put the two piggies in a cage to go out for camp?
(side note: my father can't take care of them. he just isn't good around animals and probably is going to be busy that month because of work.)
 
do you have a family friend or neighbour that could pop in or keep them at their house while you're away? what country are you from? depending on the local wildlife taking them camping could range anywhere from risky to a death sentence. Try and get your mother to question whether taking them is for their benefit or hers because really I cannot see how it would be in their best interest.

I know some people do take their piggies on holiday but there is a big difference between a hotel or caravan and a tent in a field somewhere.
 
a few questions to think about and maybe worth talking to your mum about

what sort of cage would they be in/ is it predator proof and big enough?
how would you keep them warm if it was a cold night/ cool if it was a hot day?
will you be able to bring enough hay/ veggies?
will there always be someone at the camp to keep an eye on them or will you be going out on day trips and leaving the piggies?
are your piggies usually indoor or outdoor piggies (the sounds of outdoors can be scary and hard to get used to)?

other options

find a local boarding facility that can take care of them
get a friend to pop in once a day to manage their care
get a friend to keep them at their house

sorry if this repeats some of what I said above but I just wanted to lay it out more clearly.
 
Sweet Potato said:
do you have a family friend or neighbour that could pop in or keep them at their house while you're away? what country are you from? depending on the local wildlife taking them camping could range anywhere from risky to a death sentence. Try and get your mother to question whether taking them is for their benefit or hers because really I cannot see how it would be in their best interest.

I know some people do take their piggies on holiday but there is a big difference between a hotel or caravan and a tent in a field somewhere.
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Thank you for the help! I'll go talk more about it with my mom. I don't really have neighbours I'm too close to... I live in Canada and we're going to camp within Canada.
 
The main thing to consider is how long you will be away for.
If it is only a night or two then maybe you can come up with an easier solution that allows your piggies to stay home - a quick check of water and a handful of hay once a day would be enough in the short term.
Taking your guinea pigs camping would probably be very stressful for them - lots of new sounds, noises and a new cage, all in an environment they are not used to.
Temperature control in a tent would also be a big issue - it really isn't possible to stop the temperature fluctuating a lot, and this is an added issue with piggies who are quite temperature sensitive.
The only 'benefit' of taking them would be so you could go too, and I can fully understand why your Mum wants this. But there really is no benefit at all for your guinea pigs so the best thing is to look for an alternative for them which allows you to go, and keeps your guinea pigs safe.
Do you have a school friend who might look after them while you are gone?
 
Swissgreys said:
The main thing to consider is how long you will be away for.
If it is only a night or two then maybe you can come up with an easier solution that allows your piggies to stay home - a quick check of water and a handful of hay once a day would be enough in the short term.
Taking your guinea pigs camping would probably be very stressful for them - lots of new sounds, noises and a new cage, all in an environment they are not used to.
Temperature control in a tent would also be a big issue - it really isn't possible to stop the temperature fluctuating a lot, and this is an added issue with piggies who are quite temperature sensitive.
The only 'benefit' of taking them would be so you could go too, and I can fully understand why your Mum wants this. But there really is no benefit at all for your guinea pigs so the best thing is to look for an alternative for them which allows you to go, and keeps your guinea pigs safe.
Do you have a school friend who might look after them while you are gone?
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Thank you for the help, I've been talking with my mother about it. I live rather far away from my friends so having friends checking up on them is out of the question.
 
Sweet Potato said:
what are the local predators? are there snakes, raccoons, coyotes, bears, large birds of pray where you're going?
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I don't specifically know the predators but I know that most of them are land animals. Some can be larger in size such as bears and some smaller like coyotes.
 
I wouldn’t risk it in that case. If you were sleeping inside a cabin I’d say consider it, space willing. Could a neighbour pop in? Or perhaps speak to your vet and see if they could keep them. How long are you away again?
 
Siikibam said:
I wouldn’t risk it in that case. If you were sleeping inside a cabin I’d say consider it, space willing. Could a neighbour pop in? Or perhaps speak to your vet and see if they could keep them. How long are you away again?
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I'm going to be gone for about 3 days. I don't think any neighbour can really help because I'm not too close with any of them. I'm also unsure how the pandemic is going to play out in July...
 
In the UK there are people you can pay to come into your home each day and feed your animals. I have a lady who does this when I go away and my pigs are always happy (mainly because I know she over feeds them!) Maybe have a look on google and see if anyone in your area does this?
 
beejj__ said:
Thank you for the help, I've been talking with my mother about it. I live rather far away from my friends so having friends checking up on them is out of the question.
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You mentioned taking them in a cage to go camping.
Would it be possible to take the piggies, their cage and the basic supplies for a few days to a friends house - maybe on the way to your camping trip - and drop them off there?
That way your friend can care for them in a more normal environment, and you can enjoy your camping trip with your Mum.

Alternatively if you are only going to be gone for 3 days then surely your Dad (who you siad will be staying at home) can spend 2 minutes each day checking their water/pellets and adding a large handful of hay to their cage?
 
Swissgreys said:
You mentioned taking them in a cage to go camping.
Would it be possible to take the piggies, their cage and the basic supplies for a few days to a friends house - maybe on the way to your camping trip - and drop them off there?
That way your friend can care for them in a more normal environment, and you can enjoy your camping trip with your Mum.

Alternatively if you are only going to be gone for 3 days then surely your Dad (who you siad will be staying at home) can spend 2 minutes each day checking their water/pellets and adding a large handful of hay to their cage?
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I've talked through with my parents about it. I don't think my friends could care for them because I think they don't know how to. I also don't know if my friends' parents would allow it...
 
Zanzan said:
In the UK there are people you can pay to come into your home each day and feed your animals. I have a lady who does this when I go away and my pigs are always happy (mainly because I know she over feeds them!) Maybe have a look on google and see if anyone in your area does this?
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I didn't know that the UK had that service! Must be really beneficial! The town I live in is relatively small so I don't really think there's a service like that.
 
beejj__ said:
I've talked through with my parents about it. I don't think my friends could care for them because I think they don't know how to. I also don't know if my friends' parents would allow it...
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I'm in a similar boat--my friend doesn't know a lick about pet care. I personally give him a to-do list for each day and try to pre-prepare food as much as possible (ie portion out veggies/pellets ahead of time). As long as they want to do it and are willing to learn I see no issue in "hiring" a non-cavy-savvy friend. :)
 
When I go on holiday (for longer than a weekend) my piggies go to see "Aunty Lucy" who is a guinea pig boarder. I give her a long list of what they need, what they like, what they dislike, what they can have what they can't have etc. I have 2 piggies that need weighing every day and their weights noted they also need Metacam every day and one of them now will need eyedrops 6 times per day. She loves my piggies and I know they will be well looked after. Can you write a list of instructions for a friend to follow? If I go away for the weekend, my lovely neighbours look after my piggies.
 
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