Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 2: Keep your guinea pigs warm
• Method 2 of 2: Make a warm hutch outdoors
• Tips
• Warnings

Guinea pigs are sensitive to both heat and cold, so when winter comes it is important to take steps to keep them warm. The best thing you can do is bring your guinea pigs inside to keep them warm. Whether the cage is indoors or out, you can use aids to keep your guinea pigs warm, such as pet-friendly heat pads that can be microwaved. If the hutch is outside, make sure to insulate the bottom and walls to provide extra warmth.

To step

Method 1 of 2: Keep your guinea pigs warm

1. Bring your guinea pigs inside when the outside temperature drops below 16 ° C. Guinea pigs are sensitive to cold weather. It is best to bring them indoors in the fall or winter or provide a warm pen when the outside temperature drops below 16 ° C.
   • Guinea pigs, like humans, can become hypothermic if they are exposed to temperatures they cannot tolerate for too long.
   • If you can't bring your guinea pigs inside, you need to take extra precautions to keep them warm outside.
2. Seal drafts with towels or draft stoppers. If you live in an old or poorly insulated house, the draft can make your house even colder. Therefore, use towels or draft stoppers in the room in which the guinea pigs stay. You can also insulate the windows with towels.
   • You can use draft stoppers to close the cracks under doors to stop drafts.
   • This step is especially important if your heating stops working.
3. Do not place guinea pigs near exterior doors and windows. If possible, place the cage with your guinea pigs in a central place in the house. In older and poorly insulated houses the doors and windows can be drafts. It is also colder near exterior walls and windows than in a more central place in the house.
   • If the cage with the guinea pigs is in a room with an outside door, try not to open and close the door too often.
4. Use blankets and towels. Blankets provide a warm place for your guinea pigs to crawl under so that their body heat is better preserved. It doesn't matter what kind of blanket you use, although a smaller blanket is probably better. A small fleece blanket is a good option.
   • You can also cut up old towels to use.
5. Place a three to eight inch layer of shredded paper or hay on the bottom of the cage. Place a thick layer of bedding or hay in the cage. The guinea pigs can burrow into the material so that their body heat is retained.
   • Hay is a good choice because it absorbs body heat well and responds well to moisture should the guinea pig urinate on it.
   • Do not use wood chips such as pine or cedar chips as they may contain chemicals.
   • Also, do not use soft cotton bedding, as your guinea pigs may eat pieces of it, which could be harmful to them.
6. Place small houses in the cage for your guinea pigs to crawl into. Small plastic houses are great for keeping your guinea pigs warm. You may have seen these plastic igloos at the pet store.
   • You can even use a shoebox and cut one side of it so your guinea pigs have a place to crawl into. Put in some fleece or pieces of old towels and your guinea pigs will love to curl up in this warm corner.
   • Another option is a fleece sleeping bag, or a warm bag made of fleece fabric.
7. Use heat pads that are safe for animals. Warm these pillows in the microwave and then place them in your guinea pig's cage. The heating pads stay warm for up to eight hours and your guinea pigs can lie down on them safely.
   • You can buy these heating pads at pet stores and on the internet.
   • If you don't want to buy heating pads, pour hot water into bottles and then wrap towels around them to make hot water bottles for your guinea pigs. Make sure the water is not boiling hot.

Method 2 of 2: Make a warm hutch outdoors

1. Place the pen in a shed or other building, if possible. Even if you cannot bring the guinea pigs into the house, they will be warmer if you place the hutch in a shed or other building. This way you also protect the guinea pigs against other animals.
   • However, make sure the shed has a window that lets in natural light. Of course you don't want your guinea pigs to be in the dark all the time.
   • If you can't place the house indoors, put it up against the outside wall of your house. This way the loft is partly protected against the wind and rain. Position the cage so that the wind and rain cannot enter through the opening.
2. Make sure the soil is warm by insulating it with a thick layer of newspaper or straw. Use 10-12 sheets of newspaper. You can put shredded paper or straw on top to keep your guinea pigs even warmer. An alternative is to put a layer of meadow hay in the loft.
   • Meadow hay is one of the types of hay that guinea pigs eat. So if you put a layer in the loft, you provide food and heat.
3. Keep the bedding dry. If you have the loft outside, the bedding can become damp or wet from the weather. This can cause your guinea pigs to get cold and develop respiratory diseases and fungal infections. Make sure to check the bedding every day. If the bedding is wet, change the cage and put in new bedding.
4. Cover the hutch with sturdy, water-resistant material. A cover can provide enough protection to keep your guinea pigs dry and protect them from moisture and rain. Such a cover fits tightly around the loft and is water resistant, so that no rain can fall into the loft.
   • You can buy these covers at pet stores and on the internet.
5. Insulate the outside of the loft with old carpeting. If the cover does not cover the sides of the hutch, you can make the hutch warmer by covering the sides with carpeting. Do not wrap pieces of old carpet around the hutch to provide extra warmth for your guinea pigs.
   • Make sure you are left with openings that allow air and light to flow into the hutch.
6. Hang a thermometer in the loft. It is important to monitor the temperature in your guinea pig's hutch. Try to make it easy on yourself by purchasing a smart thermometer that sends updates to your phone. That way you can see if the temperature drops sharply.
   • You can buy these thermometers online.
7. Keep blankets, little houses, and animal-friendly heat pads in the hutch. Just like with a cage that is indoors, you can make a cage that is outside warmer by providing warm places. Put old towels and fleece blankets in the hutch, and set up small plastic houses and other small structures for your guinea pigs to crawl under and in. Put out heating pads that you have heated in the microwave so that your guinea pigs are warm enough at night.
   • Also insulate your guinea pigs' water bottle so that it does not freeze. Check the water bottle at least twice a day to make sure the water is not frozen.

Tips

• Keeping several guinea pigs also makes it easier for the animals to stay warm, because they can lie against each other.

Warnings

• Guinea pigs shouldn't get too hot either, because they can't sweat and can get heat stroke. Do not place the pen with your guinea pigs too close to radiators, a fireplace, heating ducts and the stove, or in direct sunlight.