Hi from birmingham UK

i should add that my garden is enclosed (i am mid-terraced) and there are no animals to be wary of, and certainly no snakes etc

I don't think guinea pigs should be outside pets, they're better off indoors, with the family. Most people put their cages in a room they use frequently, so the guinea pigs get interacted with and don't get forgotton. If you're going to get them I wouldn't leave them outside.

Hi there, welcome!

I live in the UK (Newcastle upon Tyne, so not too far away) and it is far too cold at the moment to have guinea pigs outdoors. They'll survive, undoubtedly, but they will be at very high risk of URI's and you will not be as aware of their illnesses etc- in fact, there's a tonne of reasons why they're better indoors. They're simply not as hardy as rabbits (which, some people would argue, should also be kept indoors)! I transitioned about three weeks ago from an outdoor hutch because it is simply getting too cold, and the change in my two boys has been amazing and well worth the effort. In the summer, you can get away with it just about, but it's still not advisable. Our terrible British weather is too unreliable, and varies too suddenly (in the morning it may be boiling hot; by nightfall we're all wearing jumpers- you know what I mean!) which makes the poor guys even more susceptible to illness.

You'll not experience a "tame" piggy in the same way with them being outdoors, either- they will always be wary of you. I've had a hutch and have moved indoors and the personalities of my two boars has blossomed; I'm more aware of what they like, how they behave, and what's "abnormal" for them.

I hope this helps!

Ok, i have a brick shed outside and was considering putting in a heater to keep the temperature balanced and will insulate it.

the hutch would also be raised 4 foot from the floor on a shelf.

The guinea pigs would be spending the majority of time within the house having free roam and with the children cuddling/caring for them, they would only go in the shed at night time say 10pm-7 am, would this be ok?

failing that i might consider building a large hutch in the childrens bedroom. the problem i have is that night time my one daughter gets easily scared and i am unsure whether to do this or not, if i can keep them warm outside in the shed it would be better, as i said they would still spend the majority of the time inside the house, just sleep outside

A heater doesn't regulate temperature- it just pumps out heat. You would need temperature control of some description, really; otherwise you won't know if they're not getting enough heat / are getting too hot. If you stand outside for twenty minutes now, would you be comfortable? If you're not comfortable, they won't be comfortable; that's the general rule I follow.

I would say bring them indoors over winter; almost every piece of advise I've found points to that. It's far too cold. I know you're saying they would only be in there at night (which is, of course, the coldest time for them!), but realistically would they? My guinea pigs got a fraction of the amount of attention they receive now when they were inside- not because I didn't care about them, but simply because they were outdoors and the process of unlocking the shed / unlocking the hutch / transporting them in a carrier into the house / setting up an area of the house was very draining on a daily basis. They won't be as tame- I know that from experience. You will not know them in the same way unless you bring them in EVERY DAY for the next FOUR-TEN years of your life from 7am to 10pm, and this isn't realistic, I think it's a good intention but not sustainable.

If there's the option of an indoor cage, bring them indoors; I'm sorry I'm not giving you the answer they want, but that's my advice I'm afraid!

ok thank you for the advise

can i ask what sort of cage/hutch you have for them indoors?

A lot of people here build cages, using grids and a solid plastic base, usually coroplast. The directions for building that type of cage is right on the main page of this website. I don't know the availability of grids in the UK however. I have a midwest guinea pig habitat, mostly because when I bought I bought it, it was on sale and I used my amazon credit card reward points so it was much cheaper than a c&c cage.

There are a lot of other ways to build cages as well, check out the cages subforum for ideas.

thanks for the great advice ppls

one other thing, i intend to order the c+c cage and buy the guinea pigs (prolly 2 females) within the next week, can someone tell me everything i need to get started

i know i need vitamin c drops (or food high in vit c)
water dispenser,
hay,
2 igloos

but what else? the last thing i want to do is buy all te stuff and then realise later i needed something else when the shops are closed

Rather than buy, I strongly urge you to adopt. I know there are UK rescues because there are many UK members here who have gotten pigs through the RSPCA and private rescues. Pet store pigs are notorious for illnesses, both in the UK and US (a show your way did an expose a few years back...can't remember the name but it's on YouTube, and I think the store was Pets At Home). Sadly, I speak from experience as my Mufasa was a pet store piggy who came with a fatal URI. Thankfully, the two girls I adopted after his death are healthy.

Also, be very careful that they're probably sexed or you'll end up with more than you bargained for!

As for vitamin C, the water drops are useless because the vitamin loses its potency very quickly. Choose a good quality food and daily veggies. Guinea pigs need vegetables every day, as well as a long strand hay like timothy.

cool, i will see where i can adopt from then.

as for the stuff is there anything i have missed out that i will need?

Toys! Piggies need things to play with/chew on. I usually get apple wood sticks and other wood chews. My boys also have balls with bells inside that they love to nose around.

@snout71 , in the UK specifically, for a C&C cage you have two options:

1. Make your own by buying the grids and the correx yourself. This is the cheapest option. Here's a link- https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/89445-Cubes-in-the-UK which will show you where you can order grids. Correx is the stuff they use to make estate agent signs, so you can either ask an estate agent for leftovers, or ask them where their supplier is and order direct.

2. Get a premade, ready to put together CC cage. https://www.candcguineapigcages.co.uk/ and Ebay sell premade cages, where they give you the correct amount of grids and connectors and pre-scored correx, and you just have to put it together! A little more pricey but far less time consuming.

For two female guinea pigs you're looking at a 2 x 4 (that's two grids wide by four grids long) CC cage minimum.

If you want to adopt, there's a link on the end of this thread to a list of rescues in the UK: https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...and-why-they-are-just-as-bad-as-US-pet-stores!

You need to provide a daily supply fresh hay, water, a guinea pig pellet with vitamin C in it (Oxbow / Burgess Excel are good, easy to obtain suppliers- you can order through Amazon), and daily veggies. If you're worried about giving them vit c you can buy 100mg vitamin C tablets, quarter them, and give a quarter to each pig per day, but if you're giving them around a cup of veggies per day that isn't necessary. You also need stuff for them to chew - empty toilet roll holders /kitchen roll holders cut in half are good, so are wooden hiding houses. On that last note, hiding houses are a must - they like to hide away when they're frightened!

If indoors, the best option for bedding is probably fleece, since it's washable and less of a hassle (in my opinion) to clean! You need towels for an absorbant underlayer, and then the fleece goes on top; the urine wicks away to the towels and leaves the top layer dry. The only extra hassle is that you have to pick up the poops daily as they don't get buried beneath the fleece like they would in loose bedding materials. Normal bedding works perfectly well too, though.

I hope we haven't overwhelmed you, and if you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask! I hope I can help but if I can't there are undoubtedly people who can.

Edit: Here are a few of the guinea pigs available in your county: (broken link removed)

i have a dog at home, a staff. She is soft and would never hurt another animal, but we would keep her away from the guinea pigs when out anyway

but would this affect the decision of the RSPCA to allow us to adopt 2 guineas?

Nope, if you make an enclosed CC cage with a lid so the dog can't get into it, of course it won't affect their decision. A lot of GP owners have other pets. I'm sure you could always ring them for clarification, but I highly doubt they have a "no other pets" policy, because then it would dramatically reduce their rehoming ability.

thinking of buying this

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product...art_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1A6ZEVIWO6RS3

from what i roughly calculate the upper house is about 60cmx70cm, the bottom part being 140cmx70cm is this big enough for 2 guinea pigs?
so the uper area is approx 5 square foot and the lower area is approx 10 square foot

i will also buy the c+c kit so i can create a large run area, the hutch will be contained within the larger run area, so the hutch is like for bed time and the run area for daytime

the extra run area will probably be around 30 square foot

what do you think?

According to your dimensions it's a little longer and a little narrower than the bare minimum for two piggies (see here for actual dimensions: https://www.guineapigcages.com/), so if you do decide to go with it I would recommend getting girls, who are less likely to fight (Cookie and Crumble have your name all over them, ha ha! ). If you give them open access to their run area it should be fine. However, it's worth noting that you can get a bigger cage for cheaper with C&C, and it'll be way easier to clean than that thing, as well as a lot more accessible (I can imagine pulling hand-shy piggies from that hutch will be super awkward!).

It's whatever works for you without being too cruel on the piggies; I think the hutch is a little narrow, but if you give them permanent access to a "run" like area in the house that will be fine. Personally, for ease of use, cleaning, and cost efficiency, I would still point you towards the C & C cages however. Just to show you the price difference:

Correx from under £7.14 here: https://www.the-aluminium-shop.co.uk/correx-sheet
Morte than enough grids and connectors for a 2 x 4 here for under £30.00: (broken link removed)

i saw the link for cookie and crumble earlier and now i cant find it, can someone please provide the link

(broken link removed)

If there's an issue or it hasn't been updated recently you can go to: https://www.rspca.org.uk/allaboutan...p_p_col_pos=3&p_p_col_count=6#onSubmitSetHere and have a look at their guinea pigs.