How can i make my hutch really warm for my 2 new guinea pigs?
Guinea pigs are from Peru and the nights can get very cold there. Both mine have a 2 storey hutch outside i ensure they have a little igloo type house in the top and bottom part of the hutch and 2 separate feed bowls in case one is more dominant this ensures both get access to food and shelter. The bottom igloo which is more exposed, as such, I put a micro pad which you can heat up in yr micro wave and it should last 12 hours enough to get thru the night – i also have a special cover that goes over the hutch to stop draughts etc. its also raised off the ground. I think what you have described is more than adequate.
I’m really sorry but i didn’t read much of that since it was so long but i’m going to go buy your title of the question and guess they are outside. First of all guinea pigs do much better inside a warm but not HOT or FREEZING environment. They become more sociable and handled more because they are constantly near people and hear people rather than if they were in a garden for instance. I strongly recommended that you bring them indoors and buy an indoor rabbit cage for them that guinea pigs can use but if you want to keep them in there hutch whilst indoors you can. Inside there hutch you should have newspaper down to absorb the pee and then you want to pook woodshavings, NO CEDAR make sure its kiln-dried and its safe for small animals because some are bad and can cause respiratory problems and damage guinea pigs lungs. So after the woodshavings you can put down some fresh hay and a nice bedding area, with some carefresh. Good luck.
I am keeping three guinea pigs outdoors in a large hutch. I use lots of hay and straw. I have put a cardboard box on its side in the sleeping area and then packed between the box and the walls of the hutch with lots of straw. Inside the box is some more straw and hay together with a fleece cuddle bed (see Cavy Couture) and a Snugglesafe heat pad (see numerous pet shopping sites). In the living quarters is another cardboard box with a wooden house inside. I have packed some straw between the house and the box. Another Snugglesafe goes in this house. I also have a small fleece house in a third small cardbaord box (again with straw packed between the house and the box plus an igloo filled with hay. Tonight I have heated two bricks in the oven which I will wrap in fleece and put inside the hutch. (Since heating the bricks, I have read this evening that bricks can explode in the oven and so am investigating other options for tomorrow/beyond). The hutch is covered on the outside (top and sid
Firstly, congratulations on getting some guinea pigs! They were wonderful pets and you will be rewarded every time you pop to the allotment to give them their dinner! I started with 2 guineas, then moved to 4, then got another one. Unfortunately, in the last year we have lost 3 (for reasons beyond our control). Mine live indoors as I originally lived on a main road and didn’t trust people to not break in but I also had lots of foxes visiting the garden. They seemed very thankful for it on the chillier days but I understand that this is not possible for all g-pig owners. In relation to your questions to keep them warm, you will HAVE to stop them from going ‘downstairs’ in the winter. It is unlikely that they will want to but this will have to be prevented. G-pigs can catch colds and it is really important that they get as much vitamin C in their diets as possible as they cannot produce their own. One way to do this is to buy a guinea pig water supplement (it’s like red bull for guineas!
