Should Guinea Pigs Be Housed Outdoors?

In the comments section of one of our older posts, Katherine Buchanan asked about housing guinea pigs outdoors here in the U.S. She wrote:

I am curious: as a child in England, our piggies lived outside year round, in their hutch under a covered porch in summer, in their hutch in an unheated shed in winter. They had sawdust on the floor and a big box of hay to sleep in in their sleeping box. They grazed outside in an ark with a sleeping box from April until October.

Are they a different breed of piggy? I have never heard of anyone keeping a guinea pig indoors in England (maybe a garage but never in the house). And if you waited for it to be 65 they would only go outside about two weeks a year!

Ours (brothers) lived happily until 8 years old and were never sick.

We are keeping them inside because that is what we were advised (although we did take them out on the grass on a warm day this week and they loved it, especially clover). I am just curious why they are treated so differently. We live near San Jose so it is pretty warm 9 months of the year, although cold at nights.

There are many reasons for the difference in housing practices over here.

• Veterinary knowledge has evolved over the years, and vets have learned more about how sensitive guinea pigs are to drafts, breezes, extreme temperatures at either end of the thermometer, and climate control (or the lack thereof). Warm temperatures, humidity, and sunny weather lead to heat exhaustion, heatstroke, and sunstroke. Cold temperatures and drafty or damp weather can lead to colds, pneumonia, and upper respiratory infections.
• In many areas of the U.S., it's not uncommon for there to be as much as a 30- or 40-degree difference between daytime and nighttime temperatures. This is very hard on guinea pigs, even in well-insulated cages.
• Guinea pigs become acclimated to climate-controlled environments. Keeping them inside for half the year, then putting them outside -- even in warmer weather -- can be a shock to their system if the transition is not managed carefully.
• Guinea pigs housed outdoors are in danger from feral cats and stray/wild dogs, raccoons, foxes, and snakes. In the U.S., we have predators that England doesn't (or, at least, I don't think it does) -- bears, wolves, coyotes, mountain lions, cougars, and more. (Here in Connecticut, there's been a problem with coyotes going after cats and dogs.) They're all coming into populated areas with increasing frequency (the price we've paid for over-developing the land), and they're all looking for a meal...any kind of meal.

While there may be very small pockets in the U.S. where the temperatures are moderate enough year-round to accommodate outdoor housing for guinea pigs, most areas are not suitable. And the threat from wild animals is cause enough for concern. For all the above reasons, you will not find many folks in rescue on "this side of The Pond" who support outdoor housing.

Comments

[Whitney]

Hi Tanisha:

Thanks for visiting us, and thanks for sharing your experience.

I'm guessing here, since I don't know just how sheltered the porch is at your house, but it's possible that your guinea pig feels a bit safer in the garage, and the climate/temperature in there suits him. With an increased sense of safety and comfort, his activity level would increase.

Hope to see you here again.

[Tanisha]

we were taking care of our neighbor's rabbit who was being housed in our garage when i decided to get a guinea pig. since there was no more room for the guinea pig in our garage we kept it in a sheltered porch. now it's living in the garage and seems more active.

[Ellen]

Another possible cause of a sneezing guinea pig: cedar bedding, which is absolutely unacceptable for guinea pigs. Guinea pigs' sense of smell is about 100 times stronger than ours. Imagine if you were surrounded with cedar shavings and they smelled 100 times stronger than they do. It would be overwhelming.