With temperatures fighting to get into the double digits over the next several days (and fighting to stay out of the minus range the next several nights), we thought it would be good to talk about your guinea pigs' needs during (frigidly) cold weather.
Even though your guinea pigs are inside, you still need to be concerned about them staying warm enough on cold days and nights. Cold chills are as dangerous for their health as heat and humidity, and so they need you to watch them closely and give them some extra insulation.
Keep cages far away from windows and doors -- even interior doors leading to breezeways and garages. Drafts from doors and windows can cause colds, respiratory infections, and pneumonia. Cover cages at night with something lightweight but warm (e.g., heavy towels, yardage of fleece from the fabric store, fleece blankets, baby blankets). The typical fleece blanket sold for $10-$15 everywhere from Walgreen's to J.C. Penney is large enough to cover the whole top of a 2x3 C&C cage and hang about one-third of the way down both ends and the back of the cage. (No matter what type of cover you use, medium-sized binder clips are a cheap and easy way to hold the cover in place.) Portable heating devices of any kind (e.g., electric space heaters, kerosene heaters) should not be near cages. Hay and bedding falling (or getting kicked) out of the cage become fire hazards when portable heating devices are nearby. Cages should not be in basements (unless they've been converted into well-heated family living space). Guinea pigs' living environment needs to be 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit. On single-digit days, 68 degrees is probably the best, and healthiest, minimum temperature. If you're worried that the room they're in might not stay warm enough during frigid weather, relocate the cage temporarily to a space that doesn't worry you. Trust your intuition -- when in doubt, move the cage out. Guinea pigs will draw warmth from each other and from cozy cups. On really cold days, consider giving them some extras like fleece saks, pieces of fleece from the fabric store, or old thick hand towels (bath, not kitchen). Our ferret-loving friends tell us that they cut up old sweatshirts and sweatpants. Don't take guinea pigs outside unless it's absolutely necessary (e.g., vet visit, family leaving for temporary quarters due to extended power outage after a storm). If you do have to take them out, put towels and a fleece sak in the carrier, and drape a towel over the carrier before stepping out in the cold. (Cindy sometimes wraps a heat disc in a thin towel and puts that in the carrier.) And don't forget -- cold weather is great for snuggling!
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