Hello from Spain + outdoor / gallery question

[mpab123]

Hi all:

I've just joined because we have bought 2 young female short-haired guinea pigs for my 9-year-old son. We live in an appartment with a 100m2 (1000 sq.foot) terrace, and I would like to make an outdoor cage and run for them. Since the nights in winter are cold here (down to -4ºC or 25ºF) I'm thinking of installing a concrete block-built sleeping quarters with built-in small pet heater.

I saw an interesting post from user EricJohn, the link to which is https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru.../40612-guinee-pigs-temperature-tolerance.html

where he describes an ideal outdoor cage for extreme temperature environments. He says in that post that photos are posted on his gallery. However I can't find out how to view his gallery. Can anyone help?

Thanks and regards

Mike
Vitoria-Gasteiz (Spain)

 

[bpatters]

Welcome to the forum!

Looks like EricJohn's pictures aren't there, but I can't tell whether he deleted them or they were removed by one of the mods for some reason.

But I have to ask, is there some reason why they can't live inside? They get much more human intereaction when they live with the family, and there are many ways to manage any possible odors, particularly with females. You could build an outdoor run for the terrace to be used when the weather is good, but they'd be safer and more socialized indoors.

 

[mpab123]

is there some reason why they can't live inside? They get much more human intereaction when they live with the family, and there are many ways to manage any possible odors, particularly with females. You could build an outdoor run for the terrace to be used when the weather is good, but they'd be safer and more socialized indoors.

Well, we haven't got enough room in the appartment for the recommended sizes on your site. Having been assured by the Spanish pet shop that an 80cm-long cage was quite big enough, we took the decision to buy them. We leave for work and school early in the morning and then what with sports & homework in the evenings, I honestly think that in the weektime they're not going to get a lot of human interaction apart from weekends. So I wanted to give them loads of room, sights, smells, toys, etc which I can offer them on the terrace.

 

[CavyMama]

Pet stores say a lot of things without knowing much about what they say. They sell cages that are way too small, they promote treats that are unhealthy for guinea pigs, they frequently mis-sex their animals and often times, animals are sick at the pet store.

Outdoor environments are not recommended for guinea pigs. Is your apartment on the ground floor? There is no guarantee that the weather will cooperate outdoors whereas, inside the climate is controlled. You mentioned that there wouldn't be much human interaction with the guinea pigs. How will you be able to keep an eye on them and notice if they start losing weight or if one exhibits other signs of illness?

I really do appreciate that you want to create a nice environment for your guinea pigs but with the heat during the day and cold at night, the lack of human interaction during the week, it's possible that guinea pigs might not be the right pets for you.

 

[SweetiePig]

Welcome! Im curious how your outdoor run/cage will turn out, sounds pretty cool

 

[suzilovespiggie]

Hello mpab123 and welcome to the forum! On the home page it is all about the sizes and how to build a c&c cage for your girls. There are alot of threads and a whole section on outdoor cages. It really is recommended on keeping them indoors for many reasons. It really is safer and better for your pigs.
Many members live in apts and still find room to have a c&c cage inside. Check out the threads and see what you think.

You also don't say if you are new to GP's. If you are new, check out all the great info on all the care and having great GP's. And we love pictures. Welcome.