To Take In Camper Van Or Not!

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Happydays

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi, I have two guinea girls aged 8 months, they are indoor guineas and live in a large pen in our playroom. My question is we often go away for weekends in our camper van, we usually leave the girls at home and get a friend in to feed them once a day. I like the idea of taking them away with us in the van but was wondering if they would find this stressful? They are fairly chilled girls but they haven't been travelling before! Obviously they would also have to be in a smaller cage whilst away (100x50cm). Any tips? Thanks.x
 
Ok where do I start - well I am in the process of writing a book about taking cavies away on holiday. We have been taking 4 cavies on holiday, about 40 nights a year in our touring caravan for about 8-9 years now.

If you goto our blog at Welcome to the Caravanning Cavies you will find lots of useful information about taking them away with you as well as lots of pics and experiences.

When we lose one of the crew we always try to find a new member from rescue who is young so they can get used to the lifestyle easier than an older piggy. Yours are an ideal age to start touring. Please feel free to message me if you need any more info.
 
I don't know the size of your campervan and whether you use an awning and if you are using sites or stop overs but I have to say I find weekends a bit of a faff when I'm not permanently set up anywhere.
However, the cage I've previously used is probably too big for weekending and I also take my cats!
From a stress perspective, none of my piggies have ever seemed bothered by travelling around :D
 
Hi Bertisking, thanks for replying, I am only thinking weekend breaks at the moment but in the summer probably a week or two! We have a big 5 berth bessacar van with an awning, although we don't put it up at weekends. We have room for the cage and could let them out to roam the sofas but probably not floor due to our small dog! I think I will try it next time we go away and just see how they ( and we!) go!x
 
Happydays said:
Hi Bertisking, thanks for replying, I am only thinking weekend breaks at the moment but in the summer probably a week or two! We have a big 5 berth bessacar van with an awning, although we don't put it up at weekends. We have room for the cage and could let them out to roam the sofas but probably not floor due to our small dog! I think I will try it next time we go away and just see how they ( and we!) go!x
Click to expand...

Can I recommend one of these, we use them when away. It has a zippable net on top as protection from birds and a removable floor for grass access. It can be pegged down for security.

 
Happydays said:
Hi Bertisking, thanks for replying, I am only thinking weekend breaks at the moment but in the summer probably a week or two! We have a big 5 berth bessacar van with an awning, although we don't put it up at weekends. We have room for the cage and could let them out to roam the sofas but probably not floor due to our small dog! I think I will try it next time we go away and just see how they ( and we!) go!x
Click to expand...

A bit bigger than my little ducato van conversion! Luckily there's only me!
I also have trouble in the warmer months keeping them cool when I'm not on EHU, but again that's because of the cats meaning I can't leave the windows open. My Fred and George potter around my van quite happily when they do make the short trips.
For the longer holidays I use the same enclosure that @karonus recommends
 
Wow, Karonus, that looks great. Will definitely get one of those, thank you. Can't wait for our next trip away now, hopefully the girls will love it. Bertiskning, I also wonder if we will be able to keep van cool enough in the summer! x
 
Happydays said:
Wow, Karonus, that looks great. Will definitely get one of those, thank you. Can't wait for our next trip away now, hopefully the girls will love it. Bertiskning, I also wonder if we will be able to keep van cool enough in the summer! x
Click to expand...

Re keeping this cool in the summer. A 500ml pop bottle two thirds filled with water fits in a caravan freezer box in the fridge. This helps cool the cage. Also have two drinking bottles and chill one in fridge first thing in morning.
 
karonus said:
Can I recommend one of these, we use them when away. It has a zippable net on top as protection from birds and a removable floor for grass access. It can be pegged down for security.

Click to expand...
Just wondering @karonus is it safe to leave the piggies overnight in this playpen? I'm just thinking if there can be an easier option for my piggies if we leave them with my in-laws whenever we go on holiday overseas for a couple of weeks. We usually bring all our C&C and set up for them. But I think it's the cleaning and setting it up again that gives my in-laws a bit of work (since they're not that young anymore).
 
anyar.dris said:
Just wondering @karonus is it safe to leave the piggies overnight in this playpen? I'm just thinking if there can be an easier option for my piggies if we leave them with my in-laws whenever we go on holiday overseas for a couple of weeks. We usually bring all our C&C and set up for them. But I think it's the cleaning and setting it up again that gives my in-laws a bit of work (since they're not that young anymore).
Click to expand...

We never leave our piggies in our runs unattended. One of us us always about. At night they have a 110 cage. They also stay in the cage in the caravan when we are out. They cope ok and there are 4 of them.

But if you are using this inside a house then the answer is yes. The vinyl floor which is velcro attached makes cleaning easy. We do this at events like the potteries xmas fair. Paper placed over the vinyl and then fleeces. Works well and fleeces can be rolled up for cleaning.
 
Thanks @karonus . My piggies are indoors so we never leave them outside unattended. I might consider buying this so my in-laws won't have too much of a hard time when the piggies are at their house.
 
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