Size Do Guinea Pigs Benefit The Larger The Cage?

[roomtoplay]

Hi, I know this might be a bit of a stupid question but before we decide to get some Guinea Pigs for the children, I really want to understand what environment we should be creating for them and whether they would benefit more if we were to provide a bigger expanse for them to roam in. I've never believed in caging animals particularly but if you give a pet good quality living and they lead a happy life then I guess its ok. As long as you aren't confining them by using a disproportionate sized cage that is. I would like to build something big enough for them to have plenty of room to play and was considering getting some kind of shed for the garden where we can build a custom cage. Would this be better for them than being stuck in a smaller cage in the house or are they happy enough in a smaller cage? I'm not sure how active these animals are or what kind of attention they need in terms of getting them out to play etc. I was thinking that we could create a run outside that's connected to the shed so that they can run outside on the grass when we open the hatch. Would this be a good idea? I had rabbits when we were young so I guess I'm thinking of a kind of rabbit run where the guinea pigs can run around in.

 

[Comely Guineas]

Bigger space is definitely always better. Guinea pigs love to run, and exercise is so important for their health. That shed idea sounds fantastic, they will love it so much. It's also a great thing to do in your spare time with your family.

 

[peachyteen]

Guinea pigs shouldn't be housed outside. They do need a large area though, and you can see the minimum requirements on one of the links at the top of the page. Guinea pigs also do better when they aren't alone.

Also, please make sure to adopt or rescue, instead of buying from a pet store.

Sent from my SM-G386T using Tapatalk

 

[HollyLeaf]

Although your idea sounds lovely, I have to agree with peAchyteen. Guinea pigs should NEVER be housed outside. Most users here find a hand built C&C does the job pretty well for their pigs. Some people let them have free run of the house, but that can be messy, and they can get underfoot. Just take a look at the min cage requirements, pick yourself up some materials, and build a C&C. You can make it as big as your heart desires. With the proper sized C&C, guinea pigs get plenty of exercise and room to play. I have three girls in an almost 2x7 cage, and they are as happy and healthy as can be, with plenty of space to get away from eachother if they choose.

Not to mention if you house them outside, you're not going to be seeing them as much and you won't notice small symptoms that can lead to big Illness in your pigs. If they are inside, in a busy room, you will see them much more often, and are more apt to notice if something's wrong. The pigs also are getting more socialization with you and your family this way.

 

[CavyMama]

It's great that you are looking right off the bat to give them as large of an enclosure as possible but I echo the others in not housing outdoors. It's not a good idea - for a lot of reasons. Predators (incl. dogs, cats, birds of prey, humans) can get to them easily. So many sad stories about people who went outside to find the cages destroyed and their pigs either stolen or dead. Not to mention spiders, flying insects, ants, etc).Also, the weather. It's unpredictable - a cold snap or a heat spike can cause illness or even death. Also, you can't enjoy them as much if they are outside. They thrive from being in the middle of the action. You walk by the cage on your way to the kitchen, you can reach in and give them a pet. This won't happen if they are outside. You would have to make a conscious decision to go outside just to spend time with them.

This is the great thing about C&C cages. They are very versatile so you can make the cage as big as you have room for. Take a look at our cages gallery for ideas of how people designed their cages. Also, guinea pigs need time and room to run but on their own schedule, not just when humans are able to provide it. A C&C cage allows them to run laps and get the exercise they need when they need it. It's easy to clean, it creates less of an odor than a small petstore cage. And the pigs are much happier because of it.

 

[bpatters]

See the Main tab at the top of this page for recommended cage sizes, and remember that bigger is always better, especially with boars. The measurements are in grids, which are 14x14 inches, not in feet.

 

[roomtoplay]

OK thanks, well it sounds then like we should really be keeping them indoors rather than outdoors so i'll look at some cages. I presumed they would handle the cold similar to rabbits and rodents but it seems as though they are not as adaptive to the colder temperatures. We may go ahead and get a wendy house/play house for the garden that can double as somewhere for the children to play and where we can keep some rabbits and mice say. From what I can gather, as long as these pets are sheltered from the winds and rain, they are safe from predators in a secure shed, they should be able to manage perfectly fine. In Ireland we get chilly weather in the winter and we get a lot of rain throughout the year but the weather isn't as extreme as in other countries. Insects and spiders aren't a problem here. We are keen to create a small kind of zoo in the garden, if you like, so that the kids can get use to caring for pets. I think its a good way to learn responsibility and to appreciate nature. They would be spending time with them daily and they'd get plenty of attention. We can always then bring them in the house during the colder months if the weathers particularly bad and they aren't getting the attention. We'll see anyway, will have a think and a chat with my other half.

 

[roomtoplay]

OK thanks, well it sounds then like we should really be keeping them indoors rather than outdoors so i'll look at some cages. I presumed they would handle the cold similar to rabbits and rodents but it seems as though they are not as adaptive to the colder temperatures. We may go ahead and try to find a wendy house/playhouse that can go in the garden, doubling as somewhere for the children to play and where we can keep some rabbits and mice say. Found some playhouses for sale here: https://www.for-sale.ie/pink-outdoor-playhouse . From what I can gather, as long as these pets are sheltered from the winds and rain, they are safe from predators in a secure shed, they should be able to manage perfectly fine. In Ireland we get chilly weather in the winter and we get a lot of rain throughout the year but the weather isn't as extreme as in other countries. Insects and spiders aren't a problem here. We are keen to create a small kind of zoo in the garden, if you like, so that the kids can get use to caring for pets. I think its a good way to learn responsibility and to appreciate nature. They would be spending time with them daily and they'd get plenty of attention. We can always then bring them in the house during the colder months if the weathers particularly bad and they aren't getting the attention. We'll see anyway, will have a think and a chat with my other half.

I quite like the look of something like this. There would be plenty of space for the kids to use it as a play area and there is also plenty of space for some small animals. We could then build a rabbit run off the side of it. Guessing this one will probably be quite pricey though so might have to re-think that one.

 

[pigger123]

Guinea pigs can handle cold pretty well (not extreme cold of course), heat is more of a problem of it gets over 80°F (27°C) in the summer.

A shed is definitely the best option if you are going to house them outside. Even with some of the dangers eliminated though, I believe that pets belong in the home as part of the family.

 

[Saylavi]

It will also be much less expensive to keep them inside, and chances are your kids will spend more time with them if they are inside.
Depending on your kids ages it could be fun to build the cage with them.

 

[Fay]

Welcome to the forums and thank you for doing research!

I agree with everyone else that you will want to keep them indoors. Guinea pigs are really good at hiding illnesses and it's very likely you might not pick up on it if something is wrong in time to get them to a vet, plus all the other dangers people have already listed. Also, one of the main reasons guinea pigs are enjoyable pets to have is because they are so much fun to watch. This is another reason to keep them indoors, preferably your living room or somewhere with a lot of traffic like a study so you can watch and enjoy them. Guinea pigs are not generally as cuddly as other pets like cats and dogs and so while you'd take them out for lap time now and then the majority of the time you'd enjoy them is when you're watching them interact and play in their cage. It's also another reason they need a same sex friend and a large enough space to run and play. Guinea pigs get surprisingly big as they get older and they can run really fast so a large enough cage is very important for their health and emotional well being. You can read all the testimonials on the main menu at the top of the page to see what a difference it makes.

That said, that doesn't mean you can't occasionally take them outside for an hour or two of play time. Just make sure they're supervised, not exposed to extreme temperatures/weather, a pen to keep them from running away, and no pesticides or other products on the grass. You'll also want to check whether there are any potentially poisonous plants in the penned up area. You also mentioned that you have or plan to have rabbits and/or mice. Just in case you were thinking of letting them play together, you should not put any of these animals together. Rabbits can seriously injure mice and guinea pigs, they can also give guinea pigs Pasteurella which is often fatal, and their food requirements are also different. So you will want to make sure to always keep the three species separate (although it's fine if they are in the same room in separate pens where they can't interact).

I also wanted to point out that guinea pigs are quite a lot of work and can be quite expensive. Depending on the age of your kids you will always have to supervise them when they handle the guinea pigs or if they're older to still check on the pigs regularly anyway and take over any slack in their care if the kids are bored or don't care for them properly. Guinea pigs are very fragile and can get injured very easily, guinea pigs should not be pets 'purely' for the kids only to care for. Vet bills can also get very high because guinea pigs need special exotic vets which cost more. Normal small animal cat & dog vets are generally not trained to treat guinea pigs appropriately, even some exotic vets have questionably outdated training so be very thorough about finding a good vet BEFORE you actually need to see one because guinea pigs can go down hill within hours. Worst case scenario you can expect to pay up to $1.5-2k for more serious surgeries and tests so I recommend setting up some savings for the worst case scenario unless you have enough reliable liquid cash to be able to soak up that kind of blow.

Both rabbits and guinea pigs need a lot of vegetables, good quality pellets, and unlimited hay. All this can also add up in costs. For 1 guinea pig you will want to feed 1/8th cup of timothy based pellets per day (unless they're under 6 months old in which case alfafa based), we recommend KMS Hayloft or Oxbow because 99.9% of other brands are junk food or even dangerous. 1 cup of veggies a day, red and green leaf lettuce and green bell peppers should be staples. Plus unlimited quality timothy hay and unlimited water so you will need all this food times two.

Anyway I'm getting carried away so I would highly recommend reading the following guides thoroughly and fully, these are one of the most well respected and accurate care information guides on the internet that we recommend on these forums regularly and where you can verify the things people are saying:

https://www.guinealynx.info/healthycavy.html
https://www.guinealynx.info/medical_guide.html

And here is a handy veggie chart that tells you how much to feed of what, how often etc. you can also print it out for easy reference. Just make sure to also scroll down to the second post beneath the chart as it has more information and a list of poisonous plants:

https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...vy-Nutrition-Charts-amp-Poisonous-Plants-List

Some other helpful links and stuff I mentioned above:

https://www.cavyspirit.com/kidsandguineapigs.htm
https://www.guineapigcages.com/rabbits.htm
https://guinea-pigs.livejournal.com/2982433.html
https://www.cavyspirit.com/sexing.htm
(broken link removed)

Then finally, I'd also recommend just reading all the stickies in the different forum categories.

I hope all this helps and if you have any questions at all feel free to ask anything we're happy to help!

 

[roomtoplay]

Welcome to the forums and thank you for doing research!

I agree with everyone else that you will want to keep them indoors. Guinea pigs are really good at hiding illnesses and it's very likely you might not pick up on it if something is wrong in time to get them to a vet, plus all the other dangers people have already listed. Also, one of the main reasons guinea pigs are enjoyable pets to have is because they are so much fun to watch. This is another reason to keep them indoors, preferably your living room or somewhere with a lot of traffic like a study so you can watch and enjoy them. Guinea pigs are not generally as cuddly as other pets like cats and dogs and so while you'd take them out for lap time now and then the majority of the time you'd enjoy them is when you're watching them interact and play in their cage. It's also another reason they need a same sex friend and a large enough space to run and play. Guinea pigs get surprisingly big as they get older and they can run really fast so a large enough cage is very important for their health and emotional well being. You can read all the testimonials on the main menu at the top of the page to see what a difference it makes.

That said, that doesn't mean you can't occasionally take them outside for an hour or two of play time. Just make sure they're supervised, not exposed to extreme temperatures/weather, a pen to keep them from running away, and no pesticides or other products on the grass. You'll also want to check whether there are any potentially poisonous plants in the penned up area. You also mentioned that you have or plan to have rabbits and/or mice. Just in case you were thinking of letting them play together, you should not put any of these animals together. Rabbits can seriously injure mice and guinea pigs, they can also give guinea pigs Pasteurella which is often fatal, and their food requirements are also different. So you will want to make sure to always keep the three species separate (although it's fine if they are in the same room in separate pens where they can't interact).

I also wanted to point out that guinea pigs are quite a lot of work and can be quite expensive. Depending on the age of your kids you will always have to supervise them when they handle the guinea pigs or if they're older to still check on the pigs regularly anyway and take over any slack in their care if the kids are bored or don't care for them properly. Guinea pigs are very fragile and can get injured very easily, guinea pigs should not be pets 'purely' for the kids only to care for. Vet bills can also get very high because guinea pigs need special exotic vets which cost more. Normal small animal cat & dog vets are generally not trained to treat guinea pigs appropriately, even some exotic vets have questionably outdated training so be very thorough about finding a good vet BEFORE you actually need to see one because guinea pigs can go down hill within hours. Worst case scenario you can expect to pay up to $1.5-2k for more serious surgeries and tests so I recommend setting up some savings for the worst case scenario unless you have enough reliable liquid cash to be able to soak up that kind of blow.

Both rabbits and guinea pigs need a lot of vegetables, good quality pellets, and unlimited hay. All this can also add up in costs. For 1 guinea pig you will want to feed 1/8th cup of timothy based pellets per day (unless they're under 6 months old in which case alfafa based), we recommend KMS Hayloft or Oxbow because 99.9% of other brands are junk food or even dangerous. 1 cup of veggies a day, red and green leaf lettuce and green bell peppers should be staples. Plus unlimited quality timothy hay and unlimited water so you will need all this food times two.

Anyway I'm getting carried away so I would highly recommend reading the following guides thoroughly and fully, these are one of the most well respected and accurate care information guides on the internet that we recommend on these forums regularly and where you can verify the things people are saying:

https://www.guinealynx.info/healthycavy.html
https://www.guinealynx.info/medical_guide.html

And here is a handy veggie chart that tells you how much to feed of what, how often etc. you can also print it out for easy reference. Just make sure to also scroll down to the second post beneath the chart as it has more information and a list of poisonous plants:

https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...vy-Nutrition-Charts-amp-Poisonous-Plants-List

Some other helpful links and stuff I mentioned above:

https://www.cavyspirit.com/kidsandguineapigs.htm
https://www.guineapigcages.com/rabbits.htm
https://guinea-pigs.livejournal.com/2982433.html
https://www.cavyspirit.com/sexing.htm
(broken link removed)

Then finally, I'd also recommend just reading all the stickies in the different forum categories.

I hope all this helps and if you have any questions at all feel free to ask anything we're happy to help!

Thankyou for all the advice. We will definitely be housing the guinea pigs inside, we just have to decide on what other animals we are going to get and whether they will be ok housed outside. We'll obviously be vigilant through out the colder months here and if it is too cold outside then any animal we did keep outside, would have a place inside. Thanks again.

 

[Fay]

Thankyou for all the advice. We will definitely be housing the guinea pigs inside, we just have to decide on what other animals we are going to get and whether they will be ok housed outside. We'll obviously be vigilant through out the colder months here and if it is too cold outside then any animal we did keep outside, would have a place inside. Thanks again.

Is there a particular reason you want an animal that's housed outside in specific? I think it's easier to look after and enjoy your pet when they're with you in your house as part of the family. Generally you want to keep any rodents and rabbits indoors. Have you considered getting a couple of chickens instead? They're smaller outdoors animals, who are very smart, can be somewhat tamed and taught tricks. If you get a species that lays eggs you also get the benefit of having eggs. Only downside is that they will dig holes in your garden unless you pen them up. There's also other animals like maybe birds and keep them in an aviary. Although I'm not sure whether they should be kept outside or not since I haven't researched them but it's worth a look perhaps?