What do you think the best thing is for old Pip?

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sunnyme

Hi there,
I have a very old guinea pig called Pip (she was called Pip Squeak originally when she was the youngest of the group, she is now six and a half years old!) She lives with two other guineas outside, but I am worried about her with the colder weather coming up. They are in a sheltered area of the garden, walls on three sides, and normally I make them snug with old carpet and clear plastic covers. But now, Pip has hardly any fur round her middle. She is not ill, definitely does not have mites, and the vet has basically put her fur loss down to old age and has said he can't do anything for her.
Now, I could bring her inside to live, as I have an indoor cage going spare, but it's not big enough for the three of them. Do I bring her inside so she is warm but on her own with me, or leave her outside with her friends and risk her being cold? It's such a horrible dilemma!
 
It's a toughie but I'm leaning towards leaving her with her pals and just keeping he warm enough with hay etc. Guineas have been known to go into a deep depression when seperated from their pals so I would leave her in the familiar setting she is accustomed too and see how she goes from there.

Thats a great age, well done for getting her to 73 years old in Guinea years! :))
 
Perhaps get her a snugglesafe to keep her warm.:) If it was me I would probably bring her in and give her lots of attention but I suppose it depends on the individual piggy and how close she is to her friends.:)
 
SunshineAndTwinkle said:
It's a toughie but I'm leaning towards leaving her with her pals and just keeping he warm enough with hay etc. Guineas have been known to go into a deep depression when seperated from their pals so I would leave her in the familiar setting she is accustomed too and see how she goes from there.

Thats a great age, well done for getting her to 73 years old in Guinea years! :))
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i tend to agree with louise. could you house them in a shed at all? best of both worlds then!
 
pip

I would make sure there were plenty of comfy, weather proof, snuggly places as possible, provide masses of hay, and keep her with her friends. I would only consider bringing her in without them if she really was showing signs of not being able to cope with the conditions. Well done for helping her to such a good age, that's fantastic to hear!:(|)
 
If Pip is bonded as a group of three, I would probably leave her with the other two. They will be able to keep each other warm. If you parted her from them and then changed your mind because she seemed lonely, you might find that the other two won't accept her back.

A change of housing and circumstances can be very distressing to guinea pigs, especially one of her age ... bless her!

Well done for thinking ahead and caring for Pip so much.
 
I tend to agree with the others, leave her where she is but invest in a snuggle safe heatpad to put in every night and extra bedding and hay!
She sounds a lovely OAP!
 
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