The Cavy(Guinea Pig) Lovers Club

[Lonin]

c: It's not so much being outside that causes them to die early (depending on the climate of where you live). But when they're outside illnesses can be harder to spot because you're not around them all the time. If/when you realise there's a problem it can be too late. :c
Guinea pigs can tolerate lower or higher temperatures as long as they're consistent. It's only when temperatures go from hot to cold rapidly that they don't do as well.
Lonin had a guinea pig live to 8 outdoors full time, and several others 5-6. c: A few died younger from unrelated things.

But having guinea pigs outdoors full time. Dash lives inside now as will any future piggies.

[Colonel Sarcasm]

I am considering getting two coronet or silkie guinea pigs. We are thinking about building a hutch outside and keeping a cage inside so they can come in during bad weather. Does anyone have suggestions for keeping cavies outside?

[Lonin]

If you have an inside cage (absolute minimum of 7.5sq ft for 2, ideally 10.5+ and a hutch would need to be the same size, or have a run attached) they'd be better off just living in that and having some outside time for a few hours when it's warm and such. c: Lonin had outside guinea pigs for like 9 years and it's not that great. :c Depending on what you mean by bad weather they'd be better off either always outside or always inside. It's fluctuations in temperature that do more harm than always warm or always cool. Lonin's guinea pigs used to run around in the snow. :B Silly things.
Otherwise insulate it really really well and keep it very clean and dry. Keep them in the shade when it's warm and if it gets really hot add frozen things to cool them down and keep them warm when it's cold. Add things like hot water bottles (wrapped up) or heat pads if it gets cold and lots and lots of hay.
How doable it is depends on the climate where you live. Ideally guinea pigs need to be kept at about 17-23°C (65-75) getting up to 30°C+ can cause heatstroke

[Puddles.]

=/ When we move we're building an enclosure for our cavies and turtle outside. They're going to turn wild. XD What should I have in their hutch though?

[Colonel Sarcasm]

Just the simple neccessities: Water, Food, something to chew on, nesting box (for breeding). I would reccomend putting up a enclosed roof so hawks and such don't get them. And also, make the fencing go about a foot underground and curved outward, this will discourage any digging animals.

If you have an inside cage (absolute minimum of 7.5sq ft for 2, ideally 10.5+ and a hutch would need to be the same size, or have a run attached) they'd be better off just living in that and having some outside time for a few hours when it's warm and such. c: Lonin had outside guinea pigs for like 9 years and it's not that great. :c Depending on what you mean by bad weather they'd be better off either always outside or always inside. It's fluctuations in temperature that do more harm than always warm or always cool. Lonin's guinea pigs used to run around in the snow. :B Silly things.
Otherwise insulate it really really well and keep it very clean and dry. Keep them in the shade when it's warm and if it gets really hot add frozen things to cool them down and keep them warm when it's cold. Add things like hot water bottles (wrapped up) or heat pads if it gets cold and lots and lots of hay.
How doable it is depends on the climate where you live. Ideally guinea pigs need to be kept at about 17-23°C (65-75) getting up to 30°C+ can cause heatstroke

Thanks! By bad weather I mean like rain, snow, etc. and not hurricanes and tornadoes

[~Indian pony~]

so I am planning to expand my cage (it's only 2x3 cubes) but I don't know if it is better to make it wider or longer?

[Lonin]

Just the simple neccessities: Water, Food, something to chew on, nesting box (for breeding). I would reccomend putting up a enclosed roof so hawks and such don't get them. And also, make the fencing go about a foot underground and curved outward, this will discourage any digging animals.

Thanks! By bad weather I mean like rain, snow, etc. and not hurricanes and tornadoes

You (general you) shouldn't be breeding guinea pigs, ideally. It's really dangerous for the mother. Especially not outside.

You'll need to keep them really warm and dry if it snows where you live. No hurricanes or tornados here but it can still get windy. Got so windy once that it blew two hutches right across the garden and ripped the roof off a different one (seperate times, all guinea pigs were fine :B).

so I am planning to expand my cage (it's only 2x3 cubes) but I don't know if it is better to make it wider or longer?

Probably longer~? So they have more space to run in a straight line. It does't matter too much how it's shaped. Lonin's cage is an L for now XD

XD Oooh cleaning out piggies is so much easier with fleece. Could use a correx/coroplast base though instead of shower curtains. XD And maybe a few more towels or whatever. But there's only one pig so it's fine for now. c:
Very easy with an itty bitty handheld vacuum.

[~Indian pony~]

cool thanks! and thanks again for mentioning the fleece,I'm trying to convince my mom that we should switch to fleece

[Puddles.]

3= I'm not breeding them. I never wanted to in the first place. I saw her in some crummy pet store surrounded by a bunch of male guinea pigs. -_- So I went home, set up my extra cage, went back and bought her. I was really expecting something to go wrong. 0_o Nothing happened though. Little blood, all went smoothly. None dead. ^^ I'm so glad. What's weird though is that the male baby came out a teddy. XD While his siblings and mom are both american short haired. Must be their dad. Huh.... Either way, the males WILL be separated. I'm not too keen on having more than six cavies. Enough is enough. *Face palm* I already have 12 pets! 6 cavies, two pigeons, a dog, frog, turtle, and lizard... Wow. Nope. No more pets for me!
I honestly know buying cavies from the pet store is a really,really,really bad choice at times...but I knew if some inexperienced idiot got her and then dropped her while she was pregnant....Yikes. So, I live in FL so they will need plenty of shade and water. The winter isn't a problem here. XD Oh! And BTW, here are some pics of two of the babies. Their names are; Midnight,Fudge, and Brownie. They're two days old and already tasting their solid food. Fortunately, Fiona is a good mother.



This is Fudge. He is a male and is the first born. ^^ The biggest one too!



This is Brownie. She is a female cavie and the second one born.


This is Fiona. This is a pic taken before her babies' birth. ^^



I do not have a pic of Midnight. But I can give you some info on her. She is a female cavie, completely black with the exception of one of her back paws having a splash of caramel brown. She is the last one born, and is the runt. But she is perfectly healthy. ^^

[Kickin' up dirt]

I have a male and female, Mrs.Piggy and Casey :3