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Are you still letting your guinea pigs out ?


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Old 02-02-2012, 13:00
c4rv
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Its pretty nippy outside, but my guinea pigs still want to go out during the day. They live in a converted playhouse which has their hutch inside but have access to the garden when they want it and they seem quite happy pottering around the garden during the day. I know natively they come from a climate that drops to below zero overnight, but would ones breed over here be used to it ?
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Old 02-02-2012, 19:08
xdow
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if they're housed outdoors all the time i would say yes, but i don't let mine out on the ground/grass as they can't get back into their hutch when they want to (hutches are stacks with a pair in each level)

for the grasses sake i wouldn't let them on there anyway to graze, as it won't recover and start to grow again until the temperature is above 5 degrees (or maybe it's 7...)
also if the grass is very cool in temperature it might cause a stomach upset or lower the body temperature

if they can get into their hutch and get into an area they can warm up whenever they want i would say it would be fine, based on the assumption that they wouldn't tend go out when it was too cold for them anyway, and they'd go back in if they got too chilly
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Old 02-02-2012, 22:35
rottweiler
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Any tips for keeping the little chaps warm this time of year ?
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Old 03-02-2012, 03:54
cezzy
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Whilst not trying to scare anyone this is a cautionary tale. This time of year there are more foxes about. We lost our much loved bunny just over a year ago to a fox. It was 3:30pm and my daughter went out to shut Yimyim (yes I know daft name), in his house and saw a fox running off. Sadly my husband found the body of our lovely rabbit shortly after.

We always allowed our rabbits free reign of the garden and they loved to run in the snow and never cared about cold weather! A friend has G-pigs and keeps hers outside without any ill effects. We insulated our bunny-house with bubble wrap layered around it, plus it had a cover with clear plastic over the windows; so if they so chose, our rabbits could go in their house for a snooze.

Guinea pigs come from a cold climate and can naturally withstand very cold temperatures. I shouldn't worry about them but watch out for foxes!
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Old 03-02-2012, 10:10
c4rv
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Any tips for keeping the little chaps warm this time of year ?
Usual tips of giving them plenty of hay in the sleeping quarters, cover hutch with couple of old heavy blankets / quilts and get a rain cover or tarpaulin for really wet days.
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Old 03-02-2012, 12:02
burton07
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I worry about my piggy because his pal died in the summer, so this is the first winter he's been on his own. He seems OK though and I make sure he has fresh thawed water and plenty of food.
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Old 03-02-2012, 13:05
c4rv
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I worry about my piggy because his pal died in the summer, so this is the first winter he's been on his own. He seems OK though and I make sure he has fresh thawed water and plenty of food.
thats sad, how old is he ?
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Old 03-02-2012, 20:42
burton07
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thats sad, how old is he ?
He's only about 3 but his pal was older.
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Old 03-02-2012, 20:45
xdow
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plenty of hay and make sure they are kept dry and as draught free as possible are the main points

you can give them more insulation in their sleeping quarters with an old duvet just padded against the hutch walls and roof, but it can be hard to keep clean, so packing the outside may be easier. (impossible for me though due to hutch designs and placement)
the dome style cat beds are good for this and easily washable, but accumulate poo rather rapidly
they can be filled with hay though for extra warmth, it's just not very kind to the washing machine... with the one i had i tended to put it in the bath and walk on it to get it rinsed out

the smaller cat-bed style things will help to keep single pigs warmer too, i think they are around £12 in pets at home, the single boar i had last year loved it
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Old 04-02-2012, 22:11
phillwin
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sould my rabbit be ok he got a waterpoof table cloth a big thick blanket a small snowman blanket and a fleace we got from the rspca shop
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Old 04-02-2012, 22:16
phillwin
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my rabbit got a cat bed he use sleeping part as a toilet and his bed is in his run and litter tray in his run
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Old 05-02-2012, 22:34
c4rv
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Well they were all itching to get out this morning but I'm not letting them out in the snow so there are having a run around indoors instead.
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