Have to set GP outdoors...

[joaquinmtz]

Hi, I know that there is a Outdoor Environments forum, but I don't know if everyone gets there and I need all the help I can get. If some Admin want to move this thread there is OK with me, I only ask you to leave it here a few days for everyone take a look an give me ideas.

Finally I took my son to the allergy specialist and he ask me to take my GP out of the house. If I want to keep them, they have to live outdoors. Here is really hot rigth now, on the afternoon it gets over 100 degrees, so I am wondering what is best for the piggies.

I don't want to get rid of them, neither my children, before considering this option I want to see if I can get them a comfortable environment so we can keep them and they can be safe and happy.

I have read the outdoor environment forum, but they only talk about taking pigs outside as for floor time, and in a playpen, but not really living outdoors.

I was wondering that if GP are (or used to be) wild animals, why can't they live outdoors on the "natural" weather? I know I have to provide them a good shadow, I don't want them to get any direct sunlight, because it will be life threatening for them.

Let me tell you the actual conditions of my back patio, there is no grass, only cement, it has two large flower boxes without any flower, (where I think I can put some grass on one of them for my GP)

Form all the bedding you know, wich one wold be the fresher on the summer and warmer on the winter?

I bed my pigs on fleece but I was thinking to go back to wood shelving if they go outside, what do you think?

Well, I hope you can help me with this, please forgive me if I misspelled somethig, english is not my born language.

[VoodooJoint]

Originally Posted by joaquinmtz

I don't want to get rid of them, neither my children, before considering this option I want to see if I can get them a comfortable environment so we can keep them and they can be safe and happy.

My suggestion is to try to find a different part of the house. Someplace your kids don't go as often and try to house them there.

Originally Posted by joaquinmtz

I have read the outdoor environment forum, but they only talk about taking pigs outside as for floor time, and in a playpen, but not really living outdoors.

True, We don't condone outdoor houseing. It's unhealthy and dangerous for a GP.

Originally Posted by joaquinmtz

I was wondering that if GP are (or used to be) wild animals, why can't they live outdoors on the "natural" weather?

The GPs we keep as pets are further removed from wild GPs then dogs are removed from wolves. They are a 100% domesticated animal without their natural instincts or hardiness. Also don't forget that wild GPs rarely even make it too 1 year old in the wold due to disease, predation and accicent.

From the sounds of it your parion and general aera is simply too hot for GPs to klive in if housed outside. Already this summer, in more northern climates I have heard of several GPs dying of heatstroke. An all concrete patio would be much too hot for them.

Please look around your house and see if there is someplace else indoors to house them. I know a member or two houses their GPs in their bedroom because other family members are allergic and it works out well.

[Jennicat]

Originally Posted by joaquinmtz

I was wondering that if GP are (or used to be) wild animals, why can't they live outdoors on the "natural" weather? I know I have to provide them a good shadow, I don't want them to get any direct sunlight, because it will be life threatening for them.

Even were they still "wild" animals, the natural habitat of their relatives is a cool, mountainous area. They start having problems with heat at about 75-80 degrees, so being outside in 100 degree weather WILL be a death sentence for them, even "in the shade". It's 100 degrees here, as well, and even in the shade it's only about 5 degrees cooler.

[katiecavyNC]

This is a bit extreme, I suppose, but is it possible for you to have a outdoor storage-type building installed for the piggies? That way you can insulate it and put in a window heat pump unit to keep it cool and warm.

Plus you could use the space for other things too - like an exercise room, or a game room, etc.

I know, a bit extreme, but one idea you may be able to consider...

[C&K]

I really think you should look to rehome your pigs with someone who can keep them inside.

From what I understand, this is a very young child that suffers from very sevear allergies, bringing on asthma attacks, that require hospital care? If the allergist found that your child is indeed, highly allergic to pigs, you need to respect that.

As for a separate room, maybe this would work, provided it does not share a ventalation system with the rest of the house. If you are prepared to invest in a high quality air filter for the room, maybe that would help too.

Has your child shown any symptoms or reactions in the time s/he has been in your home? Still, I really don't like going against a doctors advice, if they have proven a reaction could occur. This child is just too young.

As for housing outside, in your neck of the woods, I just don't see this being possible. True, they are decendants from wild animals, but not ones that evolved in places that have 100 degree + summers. While from South America, their wild decendants are actually found in the Andies, where daytime temps almost never exceed 75 degrees year round. Winters are likewise, not very cold either. Their bodies are built to be compact, as it can get cool at night, and their build allows them to prevent heat loss. This works to their detrament in hot places, as they have no real way of expelling all this extra heat, so they overheat and die rather easily after temps get over 85 / 90 degrees. Some pigs have at temps even less then this.

If you absolutely must move them outside before you can rehome them, set them up with a fan to help keep up air circulation, and frozen bottles to provide a cooler micro climate around them. But these are not long term solutions, only a temporary fix, and may not be enough.

I know you love these animals desperately, the only thing I can think of that may work, is talk to a professional who installs air filtration systems, maybe you can work something out to keep them indoors, but your childs health really needs to be your primary concern.

[Coopdog]

Are you possitive it is the pigs he's allergic to, and not something else, like the hay? I am allergic to Timothy hay and any pine that is not kiln dried. So I make sure to get kiln dried pine, and I now use Orchard Grass hay.

If it is indeed the guinea pigs (which it sounds like it is, given the severity of the reaction), then it would probably be better for all concerned to find them a good home. I know that is heart breaking, but there is no way they can live in 100 degree heat, and even keeping them in a seperate room, if you child is deathly allergic, is not going to be enough.

I have a good friend who is allergic to pigs and he has trouble just walking into my house. I had another friend of my daughter's who was so allergic to rabbits, that she got an asthma attack just by borrowing my daughter's sweater at a picnic since it had been in her room where the rabbit was.

I really feel for you, and I hope you can come up with a solution that works for you. Good luck.

[amptondooz]

I suggest buying a small, cheap shed. One of my friends keeps six rabbits in hers!

[Percy's Mom]

Unless you're willing to also air condition the shed, put in lighting and spend a good deal of time out there with the pigs, a shed really isn't a good idea either. Without climate control, a shed in 100 degree heat would act like an oven.

[JarBax]

I wonder if an idea would be to possibly keep the guinea pigs temporarily elsewhere - kind relatives/friends house - so that you can see if it is them who activate your son's allergy?

[C&K]

For CoopDog and Jarbax, allergy testing was being done to confirm that indeed, it was the pigs, and for the hay from the sounds of these two posts.

http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/...ergy-test.html

http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/...-alergies.html

I agree, a shed unless it is built to be climate controlled, will just act as an oven, and make the problem worse.

[rabbitsncavyluv]

That isn't a suitable environment for rabbits or guinea pigs.

Originally Posted by amptondooz

I suggest buying a small, cheap shed. One of my friends keeps six rabbits in hers!

[daftscotslass]

Originally Posted by Percy's Mom

Unless you're willing to also air condition the shed, put in lighting and spend a good deal of time out there with the pigs, a shed really isn't a good idea either. Without climate control, a shed in 100 degree heat would act like an oven.

I agree with this. A shed would need to be insulated (for warm and cold) and have electricity, as well as all the things PM mentioned. Someone I know on another forum went one step further and built them their own house - bricks, mortar, electricity, running water, climate control, the lot. She now spends more time in there than in the house, much to her husband's consternation.

[joaquinmtz]

OK, as far as I can see it's impossible to keep my pigs, because I can't afford cooling the outdoor cage.

I will have to start looking for rehoming them.

I don't have a lot of time, because I won't take them outside, I don't want them to suffer the heat, so I have to rehome them as soon as possible.

I will post a thread with photos on the adoptables forum, lets see if someone nearby is interested.

Thanks for all your comments.

[evilnumberlady]

I'm sorry.

[Myspoiltpiggies]

Oh no.. I'm so sorry! Have you got a shed? I can't fit all my piggies in the house so I have some in the shed. I leave the windows and doors open in the Summer, aswell as keep a fan on. There is a huge willow tree shading the shed. It is always cooler in the shed than outside. In the Winter we have heating. I know a lot of people disagree with the guineas being in sheds but to be honest, that's where I spend most of my time. I am with them more than with the piggies in my room! It would be best if you had it really close to the house though so that they are more a part of the family.

[joaquinmtz]

I have good news, I had a little chat with my wife (who is suppoused to don't like my pigs) and she gave me a great idea, one of my sisters in law have a cooler that she doesn't use anymore, so we are asking her it borrowed so we can have my pigs outside with a cool environment, and I have a heater for the winter, I only have to design the new "house" for them and I think I will build it as soon as possible so I can take my pigs out of the house.

Now I need ideas, how does the new house must be set? do they need a closed area or an open area? How big does it have to be? my cage is 4x2, Do I have to make it cat proof? If it can be open (not cat proof) I can build a bigger cage, it depends on the cat proof issue, because I will use a lot of grids to close it.