Housing for your Guinea Pig

Housing for your Guinea Pig

Guinea pigs are surprisingly hardy and will live without supplementary heat in the coldest of winters, providing they have draft and waterproof quarters, dry bedding and a balanced diet.

Keeping hutches in outhouses has both advantages and disadvantages. If several hutches are to be kept, it may be wise to keep them in a well-lit shed or garage to reduce the exposure to drafts and rain, especially during the winter months. Hutches kept under cover need not be as ornamental or as substantial as those constructed for outdoor use and so will be cheaper to construct.

The disadvantages of keeping the hutches in outbuildings are few, but airborne infections are more likely to spread amongst the stock in stuffy unventilated quarters, especially if large numbers of animals are kept.

Guinea pigs kept in outdoor hutches which are well constructed and protected from the worst of the weather will develop thick, sleek coats and are less likely to become infected with airborne germs. The choice of location for your pets, therefore, is an individual one and will be influenced to a certain extent by the prevailing climate.  

Guest Book: Comments page 1 of 1 Click here to add a comment Your Name: Image verification: Message:   Kat Posted 302 days ago Housing guinea pigs outdoors or in a shed is not the best idea. Guinea pigs do not adjust well to constantly fluctuating temperatures or very cold or very hot climates. Guinea pigs have died living in hutches outdoors in cold winters or hot American/Australian summers. Even if you think the temperature stays the same for long periods of time, it is always cooler/cold in the night. Then there's the risks of predators... Why would you want to keep guinea pigs outdoors anyway? They wouldn't get half the attention they should and would get indoors. Build an indoor C&C cage and let your piggies have the best life possible! Jackie Posted 371 days ago Hello! I must say, keeping gp's indoors have many benefits. <1>