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Old 05-02-08, 10:33 am
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Re: Help My Guinea Pigs Are Being Attacked!!!!! Help!!!

Quote:
I have talked to vets and they say it is perfectly okay for them to be outside
Those vets are idiots about guinea pigs. Most vets are. Sure I can go ask my local vet who does cats, dogs, and livestock about guinea pigs but I'm gonna get answers based on what works for cats, dogs, and livestock. He has killed some of my guinea pigs in the past before I knew better. Now I use a guinea pig knowledgeable vet with a c&c cage.


Your pigs will get eaten eventually outside. Maybe they will be fine for a year or 2 but even that is too soon to lose an animal that could live 6-8years. This is farming territory. Everything here lives outside. So of course we thought pigs belonged outside too. We tried every type of cage/pen possible and I'm sorry to say we lost 5 pigs to animal attacks while I was growing up and many babies to theft. We now know pigs do not belong outside. I also nearly lost some to heat stroke about 6years ago while I was letting them eat grass outside. Pigs are too sensitive to temperatures to even be put out for a few hours on most days. If it's too cold for your dog it's too cold for the pigs. Even small thin coated dog breeds are ok to about 40F. Pigs can start to get stressed and sick at 60F. This summer they will be at extreme risk for heatstroke. It was only around 80-85F the day I nearly lost mine. If I'd checked on them 5mins later at least one would have been dead. Then there is the possibility of snakes, spiders, birds of prey (common predators if your pen doesn't have a top), and other things that could poison or otherwise injure your pig even if they aren't big enough to eat them. The odds are against you. They will die many years sooner if you leave them outside.

There are many ways to deal with allergies. Yes you can be allergic to the urine but it's the proteins in the urine not the smell. You need to keep as much of the proteins in the cage and out of the air as possible. That means a low dust bedding, fleece is a great option if you have allergies, and wear a dust mask and gloves while cleaning. The cleaning so frequently is probably making your symptoms worse. Cleaning the cage is the worst for people with allergies. Sometimes you have to get someone else to clean the cage for you. It takes about 2 days for my allergy symptoms to go away after cage cleaning day. If I was cleaning everyday anything but fleece I wouldn't be able to have pigs. Go search the forum there are endless suggestions on how to deal with allergies and many of us have allergies and live with ours pigs at least close to symptom free. I also have degus and gerbils and I very rarely have even a slight stuffy nose other than cage cleaning day.

If you can't figure out a way to deal with it I would suggest you look for a new home for the pigs with someone who can keep them inside and will care for them properly. They will live a longer, happier, less stressful, and healthier life safely indoors.
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