should guinea pigs be kept inside or outside

Should Guinea Pigs Be Kept Inside or Outside?

When guinea pigs are kept by an owner in the UK and other western countries, they are left outside in their hutches.

This is because often people don’t like them inside the home or just don’t have room for them. But is this right?

image flickr johan larsson

Well the answer to the question is it depends what the temperature is outside.

What temperatures do guinea pigs enjoy the most?

If the temperature goes below 15 degrees Celsius it’s time to bring them inside. If it goes below 10 degrees Celsius, then they should definitely be inside. Similarly, if the temperature goes above 25 degrees Celsius then it’s time time to think about bringing them inside. However they can deal with the hot better than the cold in my experience and will always seek out cool, and shaded areas.

Guinea pigs are creatures who like dry environments with a cool temperature.

They are very hardy creatures who can handle what comes there way as they have very good survival instincts.

They can survive most environments, but do like extreme colds or hot weather. With this in mind a A stable temperature is much better for guinea pigs that a nice cool temperature is much more preferable to them.

Depending on where you live this can mean that you have the right temperature that enables them to live outside most of the time, or in fact you may have to have them permanently inside as it would just be cruel to keep them outside shivering their little paws off.

So do consider whether the home you have for them is in the right place for them before you set up  a place for them there.

It certainly took us a while to get this right.

An ideal guinea pig home set up

So the ideal situation is to have a place inside a home or an outhouse that is large enough for a pen/cage that they will enjoy living in.

But also if you have the facilities to do this, when the temperature is right that they can live outside as well in a pen/cage that protects them when it gets wet.

They do love to explore so giving them the variety is great for them

Keep guinea pigs out of the rain

Guinea pigs should never live in damp or wet conditions as they can be exposed to fungal conditions and the damp is bad for their insides. If they are exposed to damp and wet conditions, guinea pigs can develop fungai on their feet which can be very painful for them. So if you are having a lot of rain it is also not good for them to be outside as well

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