Housing

Housing

Whether your guinea pigs live indoors or outside, a hutch is the perfect place for them. But it's important to choose the right size, put it in the right place and put the right things in it.

SIZE - the hutch should be at least five times your guinea pig's length and at least a foot wide - you'll need to get a bigger hutch if you have more than one guinea pig. As a general rule: the more space, the better.

LINING - use soft wood chippings or shredded paper along with some fresh straw bedding to keep your pets comfortable and warm. An upside-down cardboard box makes good extra shelter and can easily be moved around.

LOCATION - guinea pigs live happily inside or outside, but the location of an outside hutch needs special care. Temperatures shouldn't reach lower than 18?C or higher than 26?C - extremes of temperature, but especially overheating, will cause stress and discomfort. That means moving the hutch indoors during the colder winter months and keeping a careful eye on the temperature during hot summers - never place a hutch in direct sunlight.

An outside hutch should stand on bricks or legs to stop it getting wet in poor weather. Make sure the roof is waterproofed and sloped to let the rain drain off.

All guinea pigs need safe, daily access to an outside run where they can eat grass and exercise.

And finally, always, always keep the door locked - firstly to stop your guinea pigs escaping, and secondly to avoid predators like dogs, cats and foxes.

CLEANING - clean the hutch out two or three times a week - especially in warmer weather, to keep flies away. In extremely hot weather, bedding may need to be changed even more often to stop it becoming mouldy and damp.