Temperature change from inside to outside

[piggynanna]

The grandparents bought my daughter her first Guinea Pigs last month. We are completely in love with them and I've learnt SO much in caring for them. They live outside in a large hutch (which they're very happy in and zoom and popcorn Everytime I clean it) with an incredible waterproof cover and have a snuggle safe for evenings and I check the temperature to ensure it's not too cold (or hot).

We bring them in the house daily for a run around and to enjoy lots of enrichment toys and hay and hides. On days that I'm home, I'd love to have them in for longer periods since I'm here anyway and they'd have more time with a larger space but they'd have to go back out. (Backstory. I have a 3 year old with Cerebral Palsy, lots of large equipment, a lift, in a very small house so we can't bring them inside to live permanently due to space for a cage and I'm not here every day for various appointments).

My concern is that I've read a lot about changes in temperature not being good for them. I worry about whether the change in temperature/scenery could upset them if it's for longer than we have been doing so far. If I brought them in for say 5 hours instead of the 1 that we have been, would putting them back outside be a problem? Is it just drastic temperatures that are bad for them or would this even be too much for them to acclimatize safely?
Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Welcome to the forum

Outdoor piggies should not be brought inside during winter at all - and certainly not during the depths of winter when the temperature changes are larger.
You don’t want to expose them to a sudden temp change upwards (ie when you bring them in) or sudden downwards (ie when you take them back out) of more than 5 degrees.
Sudden temp fluctuations can make them ill.

Depending on the temperature outside vs the temperature inside, bringing them in for 5 hours and then putting them back out would be far too much.
If you absolutely must bring them in when it’s cold out, keep it as short as possible (I’d do 30 minutes) and make sure the room you are taking them into is also as cold and as close to outside temperature as possible.

Now it is getting warmer outside, it is becoming less of a concern as the temp change isn’t as great.

 

[piggynanna]

Welcome to the forum

Outdoor piggies should not be brought inside during winter at all - and certainly not during the depths of winter when the temperature changes are larger.
You don’t want to expose them to a sudden temp change upwards (ie when you bring them in) or sudden downwards (ie when you take them back out) of more than 5 degrees.
Sudden temp fluctuations can make them ill.

Depending on the temperature outside vs the temperature inside, bringing them in for 5 hours and then putting them back out would be far too much.
If you absolutely must bring them in when it’s cold out, keep it as short as possible (I’d do 30 minutes) and make sure the room you are taking them into is also as cold and as close to outside temperature as possible.

Now it is getting warmer outside, it is becoming less of a concern as the temp change isn’t as great.

Thank you so much for your reply. This is really helpful!

 

[weepweeps]

Hello and welcome to the forum