where do you keep your piggies?

**Becky cavy mad** · #1 10-21-05, 10:14 am

i keep my guineas in a hutch outside. I havent seen too many of them on this site are they not good enough? when it is cold we have a inside cage for them.

where does your guinea live

**VoodooJoint** · #2 10-21-05, 10:21 am

My pets live inside the house with me and my family. After all they are members of the family and I won't have them living outside in the cold, rain, bugs, etc any more then I would make my human children do that.

My Guinea Pigs, Rabbit, dogs, cats, etc are not livestock. They are my friends. I want them near me and they desire to be with the family. I want to be able to watch over them constantly so that if they get ill or injured they don't have to suffer too long before I take notice.

This site is about providing the pets we love with large indoor housing. It is about treating and caring for them with the respect they deserve and to get rid of the petstore cage and outdoor hutch mentality. Take a look around the site, look at the cages the caring people here have made, read the testimonials from the people who have built their pets C&C cages and you will soon understand.

**daftscotslass** · #3 10-21-05, 10:27 am

I keep mine in a C&C cage in my living room. I had a guinea pig die horribly of a respiratory infection 8 years ago when I kept him outside in a hutch. I will never again.

**Becky cavy mad** · #4 10-21-05, 10:31 am

I love my guineas dearly and know living outside wont harm them we always check the weather to see when it is too cold and when it is we bring them inside.their hutch is very secure and no rain water will get in and i know they like looking out. and i do respect my guinea pigs!

**ScottandDebbie** · #5 10-21-05, 10:33 am

I keep my boys close to me in a C&C cage, in my master bedroom.

They are huge part of our family. I am concerned about even tiny drafts that is in our "house"... I could never keep them outside. I would worry myself sick.

**VoodooJoint** · #6 10-21-05, 10:36 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Becky cavy mad

I love my guineas dearly and know living outside wont harm them

You know? With absolute certainty? Gee I saw you responded to another member who just has 2 of her outdoor kept GPs stolen. Yours could be next.

Lets ask another member who just replied to you....

Daftscotslass - Before your GP died of a respiratory infection did you think that living outside was fine and healthy for you pet? I bet you did, didn't you? Afterward you felt horrible and realized your error but unfortunatly it's not something you can "take back" It was a horrible thing you had to learn from, right? I'm sorry you and your pet had to go through that. Hopefully your story will help others change their ways.

**daftscotslass** · #7 10-21-05, 10:37 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Becky cavy mad

I love my guineas dearly and know living outside wont harm them we always check the weather to see when it is too cold and when it is we bring them inside.their hutch is very secure and no rain water will get in and i know they like looking out. and i do respect my guinea pigs!

That's the reason my vet gave me for my guinea pig dying. The sudden change in temperature, even a few degrees, is too much of a shock to the system. I never knew this and bringing my guinea pig inside to "keep him warm for a few hours" resulted in him developing a chronic URI. After treatment, he died a few days later. The only solution was to bring them inside permenantly, or only handle them outside. But that's just my experience. I hope you never go through the same.

**Myspoiltpiggies** · #8 10-21-05, 10:39 am

I have thirteen in the shed, two in the house. I would love them all to be inside with me but my parents wouldn't allow more than two and with the amount of animals we have in the house - it would smell if we had anymore and we don't have the space.

I keep them cool in the Summer - open windows and doors and put on the fan, also give them ice bottles. In the Winter its always pretty warm in there. I handle them all as much as I can too.

**Becky cavy mad** · #9 10-21-05, 10:40 am

i cant keep my pigs in the house because we havent got enough room i would if we did.one of my pigs baby is 4 and lives outside and she has never been ill. voodoojoint are you saying i do not respect my pigs? and by the way these pigs are not my livestock they are my friends! and i always go and check on them maybe more then 10 times a day!

**VoodooJoint** · #10 10-21-05, 10:47 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Becky cavy mad

i cant keep my pigs in the house because we havent got enough room i would if we did.one of my pigs baby is 4 and lives outside and she has never been ill. voodoojoint are you saying i do not respect my pigs? and by the way these pigs are not my livestock they are my friends! and i always go and check on them maybe more then 10 times a day!

I have no further comments at this time. I have said what I feel and I was clear enough, I think, to have my words taken at face value.

I do need to ask you to please use proper capitalization when you post. Your writing is very hard to read without it and we do have a few rules about posting on this forum. Here is a quote that is at the top of every reply page, maybe you didn't see it.

"Please use proper English: NO CHAT-SPEAK, spell out your words (for example, do NOT use "u" for "you"), use proper punctuation and capitalize the beginning of each sentence. In this international forum, please use slang with restraint. Easy to read and understand posts get faster and better replies."

**homeschoolmama** · #11 10-21-05, 10:49 am

I keep my piggies in a C&C cage in the living room. They live behind the sofa (it's in the middle of the room, not stuck in a corner!) where they can be a part of the family.

Please be very very careful with your outdoor hutch. I have a friend who had rabbits in an outdoor hutch, and a snake got in & bit her precious bunny. She got there just in time to hold her as she died. I know this sounds like a freak accident, but it can happen in the blink of an eye. Snakes can get into places much smaller than their bodies look like they can, and it only takes one quick bite. I would hate to hear that this happened to your piggies!

Overheating & cold are another danger. Piggies have very sensitive systems & have a very tough time regulating their bodies temperature above about 80, and below about 60... that's only 20 degrees of "comfort" for them. I can't think of any places that stay within that comfort zone day & night, all year long.

I don't want to sound like an awful badger, but I would hate to hear that your poor piggies died suddenly of an unknown (and possibly preventable) cause.

**suzilovespiggie** · #12 10-21-05, 10:51 am

I have my piggies inside in my front room . The boys are on one wall next to the computor. The girls, behind the computor on the other wall. I wanted them near me and in the center of activity in the house.
In Arizona, our weather, in the summer, reaches 110 degrees. Plus where I am is many predators. Loose dogs, coyotes, snakes. Cats, puppies, and small dogs are unsafe because of the coyotes. Plus, this past summer was wicked for rain and flooding. I flooded 3 times. One of the floods big. It took my car and my 1/2 acre fence for my dogs. Any small to medium animal in my back area in cages or pens would have died or been in big trouble. I have wanted chickens and goats but have hesitated for this very reason. The thought of loosing an animal because I couldn't keep it safe upsets me.

**daftscotslass** · #13 10-21-05, 10:55 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by voodoojoint

You know? With absolute certainty? Gee I saw you responded to another member who just has 2 of her outdoor kept GPs stolen. Yours could be next.

Lets ask another member who just replied to you....

Daftscotslass - Before your GP died of a respiratory infection did you think that living outside was fine and healthy for you pet? I bet you did, didn't you? Afterward you felt horrible and realized your error but unfortunatly it's not something you can "take back" It was a horrible thing you had to learn from, right? I'm sorry you and your pet had to go through that. Hopefully your story will help others change their ways.

In my heart I knew it wasn't healthy but since "everyone else did it" and the pet shops sold outdoor hutches, I figured it must be OK. I thought having him inside when it was really cold was a good idea, but he went back in his cage outdoors (well, in an unheated extension to the house during the winter, where he might as well have been outside) and I went to my bed.

I had just started university and spent a week handfeeding him and giving him antibiotics from the vet just to have him die anyway. He was nearly 3. I watched him suffer and it broke my heart. Yes, you can keep them outside, but when it goes wrong, it goes wrong horribly.

What can I say - I kept them outside, I had guinea pigs kept alone for years at a time and kept them in a hutch. Suffice to say I've come a long way since then, now I've accepted what I know now is right. Please try and learn from this mistake.

**Katie** · #14 10-21-05, 11:01 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Becky cavy mad

I love my guineas dearly and know living outside wont harm them we always check the weather to see when it is too cold and when it is we bring them inside.their hutch is very secure and no rain water will get in and i know they like looking out. and i do respect my guinea pigs!

So where you live you have no snakes, fox, dogs, cats, wolves, coyotes, raccoons, birds, etc..? Wow, wish I lived there.

We had 2 rabbits outside in a hutch. The hutch was in our fenced in yard. The hutch was "secured" with 2 masterlocks.

At 1:00 am we were awoke to noises that sounded like stomping, thudding, crashing, and our dogs barking. We thought someone was trying to get into our house. We get up, look outside and 3 German Shepherds (yes, someones pets!) had jumped our fence and were standing on top and around our rabbit cage.

Fortunatley, everyone is fine and are now living safely indoors. We were lucky they didn't die from fright.

**pennick** · #15 10-21-05, 11:14 am

My piggies are in my bedroom where I live 24/7. I couldn't immagine them anywhere else, not even in another room.

I must be able to see them at all times, for enjoyment purposes. What's the point of having a guinea pig if you can't watch them at will. To me that's the high point of having piggies. I can just turn my head and watch them eat, play, squabble, whatever. I love it.

**cavy_lover** · #16 10-21-05, 11:21 am

My guinea pigs are in a 2 storey C & C cage in my room. I always love hearing them wheek when my alarm goes off in the morning, then I go over say hello and they wheek out ''feeding time mum!''

I always love saying ''bless you'' to them when they sneeze and if I hear a noise I dont like its always convinient to check on them straight away. It also easy to sit with them on my bed and they keep me company. I love saying goodnight to them right before I go to sleep, its good to know they are right beside me.

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