Cage would it be cruel

[newbie1]

Would it be cruel to have the guinea pigs inside at night in a small cage?

 

[MochaAndMoo]

I wouldn't consider it cruel if it is just for sleeping purposes, but your pigs should be housed inside 24/7 for many reasons.

 

[gigiroxstar]

Where are your guinea pigs being housed at the moment? It sounds like they are outside. It is suggested to house them indoors due to weather, predators and just the fact that you get to spend more time with the little cuties! Have you looked into making a C and C cage? They are fantastic and very cheap to make!

 

[gigiroxstar]

Check out these links-
Cage Location
Cubes & Coroplast

 

[newbie1]

Where are your guinea pigs being housed at the moment? It sounds like they are outside. It is suggested to house them indoors due to weather, predators and just the fact that you get to spend more time with the little cuties! Have you looked into making a C and C cage? They are fantastic and very cheap to make!

I live in Australia.
They are outside but I had them indoors during winter last year but they were babies and have outgrown the cage.
I''l look into the C&C thanks!

 

[newbie1]

Check out these links-
Cage Location
Cubes & Coroplast

and i see youre an aussie too!
lol
I worry about them being indoors all day as I have children who may fall on the hutch.

 

[gigiroxstar]

What a coincidence! Seeing you are an Aussie, Cubes are VERY hard to get in Australia, but I managed to snag a few off Gumtree. I have younger brothers (both 9 years) living in my household and I have the cage up on a stand that my dad made for me. It works well and I just wheel it to a safer spot when they have energetic, over enthusiastic friends over. I also have an outdoor run, that I put them in on days with good weather, and it's so relaxing sitting outside watching the girls graze on the grass.

Welcome to the forum too! We would love to see pigtures!

 

[HannibalLecter]

Welcome!

Guinea pigs are extremely fragile & are not able to cope with living outside as they are so far from their wild ancestors. The main issue is that you can't ensure that the temperature is stable between 18-23C all day, every day & night, draft free & not too humid. There's been so many cases of heat stroke this past Australian summer it's both heartbreaking & frustrating, where they either leave their home for a short while when the weather is acceptable, to come home to dying & dead pigs, or left them for too long outside not knowing how hot it suddenly got.

You can't make the hutch completely safe from snakes, poisonous insects & other determined predators, including humans & they are sitting prey for anyone who want to get to them. And as you interact less with them you may miss the small signs you'd have to sneak up on them to detect, and illnesses may progress too far beyond help & the risk of illnesses is much higher when they are housed outside.

You can make a C&C cage with a lid to secure it from young children, as well as putting it on a table or make a matching stand of the same grids. You can look at the gallery or the store for awesome examples, and there are many Australian members who can recommend local sources for the materials. There are also alternative cages if you can't get cubes, see the front page for size recommendations.

 

[MochaAndMoo]

I live in Australia.
They are outside but I had them indoors during winter last year but they were babies and have outgrown the cage.
I''l look into the C&C thanks!

I'm from Australia as well, in summer, we have an outrageous amount of guinea pigs passing away from heat stroke. We usually have very drastic changes in weather which is why it isn't suitable for pigs to be housed outside.
It's fantastic you are looking into a C&C cage ! If you ever need any help finding out locations of stores that sell grids, feel free to pm me.

 

[AussiePiggies]

Yay, more Aussies! Welcome!
I have recently moved my piggies indoors in Oz too and have a "can I hold my piggie" 3 year old and rambunctious 5 year old in my tribe so went with a c&c raised off the floor 1 grid and have found it to be a great height with the kids.
Ordered my grids from Sunrise Imports in QLD 1Set X 3 Black Stacking Wire Cube Storage Rack [dis-w233] - $30.00 : Sunrise Imports Where Everybody pays the wholesale price but the Reject shop had white ones a couple of weeks ago at only $10 a pack if you have one near you to check out!

 

[newbie1]

Welcome!

Guinea pigs are extremely fragile & are not able to cope with living outside as they are so far from their wild ancestors. The main issue is that you can't ensure that the temperature is stable between 18-23C all day, every day & night, draft free & not too humid. There's been so many cases of heat stroke this past Australian summer it's both heartbreaking & frustrating, where they either leave their home for a short while when the weather is acceptable, to come home to dying & dead pigs, or left them for too long outside not knowing how hot it suddenly got.

You can't make the hutch completely safe from snakes, poisonous insects & other determined predators, including humans & they are sitting prey for anyone who want to get to them. And as you interact less with them you may miss the small signs you'd have to sneak up on them to detect, and illnesses may progress too far beyond help & the risk of illnesses is much higher when they are housed outside.

You can make a C&C cage with a lid to secure it from young children, as well as putting it on a table or make a matching stand of the same grids. You can look at the gallery or the store for awesome examples, and there are many Australian members who can recommend local sources for the materials. There are also alternative cages if you can't get cubes, see the front page for size recommendations.

lol i'm pretty sure there is no human who would want to get to them. The hutch is snake proof.
During the summer they came inside (loose) when it was very hot. On hotish days I also put big frozen ice blocks in their hutch which they loved.
I'm sorry, I can see that you feel passionately about this but I wont keep them inside all the time. I love them, they are a family pet but I don't want animals inside at all times. My home is small and my children are very loud

 

[newbie1]

thanks, I will definitely look into that, it looks like a great idea.

 

[HannibalLecter]

lol i'm pretty sure there is no human who would want to get to them. The hutch is snake proof.
During the summer they came inside (loose) when it was very hot. On hotish days I also put big frozen ice blocks in their hutch which they loved.
I'm sorry, I can see that you feel passionately about this but I wont keep them inside all the time. I love them, they are a family pet but I don't want animals inside at all times. My home is small and my children are very loud

Guinea pigs are stolen every year, last year there was a wave of rabbit theft in my country where over 50 rabbits disappeared from their outside enclosures or hutches, never to be found again.

When a predator wants to get to an animal, they can break through pretty much any hutch that owners thought was safe. Many rescuers here have had pigs brought in where it's cagemate was killed, and the pigs are usually permanently traumatized. It's not worth the risk, and an iceblock is not enough to protect against heat stroke. They need to be in a temperature controlled environment at all times, and you cant ensure that the temperature remains safe 24/7, especially when you're not home & cant bring them inside when it suddenly changes. It's a life & death matter in many cases, over something that can be completely avoided in the first place if they had their pigs in a proper environment inside.

 

[newbie1]

Guinea pigs are stolen every year, last year there was a wave of rabbit theft in my country where over 50 rabbits disappeared from their outside enclosures or hutches, never to be found again.

When a predator wants to get to an animal, they can break through pretty much any hutch that owners thought was safe. Many rescuers here have had pigs brought in where it's cagemate was killed, and the pigs are usually permanently traumatized. It's not worth the risk, and an iceblock is not enough to protect against heat stroke. They need to be in a temperature controlled environment at all times, and you cant ensure that the temperature remains safe 24/7, especially when you're not home & cant bring them inside when it suddenly changes. It's a life & death matter in many cases, over something that can be completely avoided in the first place if they had their pigs in a proper environment inside.

The chance of someone getting into my backyard and randomly stealing my guinea pig is zero. It is not going to happen. I would not leave them outside on a 40 degree day.
What predator? A cat? How the hell does a cat undo a latch that my children cant on a steel cage?

 

[Aleks]

The chance of someone getting into my backyard and randomly stealing my guinea pig is zero. It is not going to happen. I would not leave them outside on a 40 degree day.
What predator? A cat? How the hell does a cat undo a latch that my children cant on a steel cage?

I think [MENTION=16791]HannibalLecter[/MENTION] was referring more to large birds, coyotes, and other such large predators.

 

[HannibalLecter]

The chance of someone getting into my backyard and randomly stealing my guinea pig is zero. It is not going to happen. I would not leave them outside on a 40 degree day.
What predator? A cat? How the hell does a cat undo a latch that my children cant on a steel cage?

They need a stable temperature of 18-23.5 degrees celcius, anything above 25-28C can kill them as well as drafts causing deadly respiratory infections.
We have reports of killed pigs every year, you'd be surprised over what animals can get through. And yes, people steal animals from backyards. It's the most common method & some people & children are sick.

 

[MochaAndMoo]

lol i'm pretty sure there is no human who would want to get to them. The hutch is snake proof.
During the summer they came inside (loose) when it was very hot. On hotish days I also put big frozen ice blocks in their hutch which they loved.
I'm sorry, I can see that you feel passionately about this but I wont keep them inside all the time. I love them, they are a family pet but I don't want animals inside at all times. My home is small and my children are very loud

Back a long, long time ago when I was very young, I had a rabbit that lived in a hutch. We were 100% sure that this cage was snake proof.
Well it turned out that it definitely wasn't, luckily, the rabbit was not harmed, but she was traumatized and never turned back to normal. Snakes can squeeze through extremely small gaps.

I have a friend, she use to have several guinea pigs who lived outside in a hutch. Her house was broken into and her pigs were never seen again, it sounds crazy, but it happens.

I also knew a girl who use to breed pigs, she left her pigs outside in a pen for only half and hour, she left ice in the cage, she came back to find her pig laying on it's side breathing rapidly, it later on died from heatstroke.

We may seem like we are attacking you or being rude, but we are really trying to give your pigs the best life possible. These devastating and tragic things happen all the time.,

 

[RodentCuddles]

Australian Cavy Sanctuary - Might be good to read ....

 

[newbie1]

thanks
im not keeping them inside though. sorry

 

[newbie1]

dude theyre not coming inside all the time