Indoor or outdoor?

EAGPR - Indoor or outdoor?

The weather in the UK can be very cold in winter, through to heat waves in the summer. Guinea pigs do not fare well in these extremes of temperature, and every winter and every summer we receive reports of many piggies sadly passing away through hypothermia or heat stroke. 

Traditionally guinea pigs lived in a hutch in the garden, certainly growing up in the 80s that was the norm. There has always been a risk to outdoor piggies from predators such as dogs, foxes, even rats, but climate change and changes in the way we care for animals generally means that 24/7 outdoor living is no longer ideal. 

Our guinea pigs are housed in a secure, insulated, ventilated shed with heating in the winter and air con in the summer, because we simply have too many to keep indoors in our house! We prioritise indoor homes for the simple fact that if you are too hot or too cold, so are the guineas. It is much easier to regulate their temperature in a house. Clearly there are many other benefits too, as guinea pigs get much more interaction and attention indoors and it’s easier to observe changes in behaviour or health if you share a home with them. 

We continue to strive to provide the best for the guinea pigs in our care which is why our standards for adoption are so important. We do not wish to offend or upset anybody who keeps their guinea pigs differently, but we won’t allow our pigs to be adopted to outdoor homes unless suitable provision is made for the very hot and very cold parts of the year. This means if you can’t provide an indoor home, then a hutch within a secure shed or outbuilding with options for heating / cooling, insulated and well ventilated is essential. We are happy to advise on best practice and have lots of experience in this field. We just don’t want our guinea pigs to become a sad statistic during the next cold spell or heat wave.