Not sure if this would be a safe outdoor environment or not...

[sophistacavy]

Pictures coming soon.

I basically have this big square area under our deck (which is raised, so I can easily get under it fyi), which is in total shade even on a very sunny day. The only sun that gets under there is slats of sunlight that come through the slats in the deck.

Is it ok for the piggies if they don't get any sunlight in their outdoor area? I figured it would be ideal because then they wouldn't overheat by sitting in the sun too long, or not being able to find shade.

The other thing is that this area is barren of any vegetation. There are a few weeds, but I can easily pull those out. There are some rocks, but it is mostly classic North Carolina clay dirt. I'm not sure if direct contact with any kind of dirt would be safe for them or not, because I've had ringworm myself (which both my vet and human-doctor agreed probably came from me messing around in my garden), and two of my guinea pigs have had seperate incidents of ringworm.

I can't put them on our grass, because it gets treated with weed n' feed. I forbid the landcaper from touching this area, and it hasn't been treated with anything for a little over a season now. Nothing grows under there anymore anyways, so it doesn't need any treatment.

The other possible issue I thought of is that about 6 years ago, I buried one of my deceased hamsters there (in a box), and then maybe about 5-5.5 years ago I buried another deceased hamster there (also in a box) next to hamster # 1. Would this pose a problem for letting my piggies have this area for outdoor time?


Also, I tried asking my mom if I could plant some grass under there for them, and she's already said that she doesn't want grass under there.

Thanks in advance!!