Guinea pigs free run

!! No !!

Louis said:

I dont know what it is with this site but they dont like you leaving your guinea pig out side running around by its self well that is what mine does but it has a fence and a couple of tunnels incase a cat comes but he has never been hurt and he is two years old and i have a picuture attached if you want to see him and i live in western australia.

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Of course you don't want to leave your pig outside without someone there! If your arn't watching him/her how do you know he/she is Ok?!?! Even if a cat comes, a tunnel wont stop it. The pig can dig out, get heat strokes, hurt in something anything! You wouldn't leave a baby unattended, so why a small defenseless animal!? A pig cannot defend itself is something were to happen. It's called common sense. You should rethink about leaving your pig alone. Just because something hasen't happend to him yet, doesn't mean it wont.

Shame on you

Louis said:

belive me he is fine geee you people worry to much

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Sorry if we "worry" to much. But It doesn't make sense to me to leave a prey animal outside where they can easily be hurt. All it takes is one snake, bird of prey, cat, dog etc to get him and he's dead. Go ahead, take your chance. Is it worth it? I'm not saying he can't be outside, please, let him go outside so he can run! JUST WATCH HIM LIKE A RESPONSIBLE OWNER.

Louis said:

but the real worrie in winter (which is now) that he might drown in the tunnels which are underground he can swimm..... so dont tell me who doesent care here

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Ok, so you admit that you know your pig can drown in freezing water? Doesn't matter if he can swim or not, if he is trapped in an underground, freezing, water filled tunnel, he will most likely drown! Even IF he survives that, the freezing temperatures from the water will kill him! I don't care if you check him "every hour." A responsible owner should be with them when they are outside and more prone to being hurt. Are you so busy that you can't be with your pig for an hour? Or is it just lazy? I'm glad you pay for vet bills, but that isn't going to make up for when your pig dies of heat stroke, an animal attack, drowning, freezing temps, getting stuck etc! Remeber, a guinea pig CANNOT defend itself. The first thing they do is hide, and the stress/fear of being trapped can kill them too! If you are going to put them outside, WATCH THEM! I'm sure he'll be very happy once he's in heavan.

guinea pig

BaysideBandGeek said:

Ok, so you admit that you know your pig can drown in freezing water? Doesn't matter if he can swim or not, if he is trapped in an underground, freezing, water filled tunnel, he will most likely drown! Even IF he survives that, the freezing temperatures from the water will kill him! I don't care if you check him "every hour." A responsible owner should be with them when they are outside and more prone to being hurt. Are you so busy that you can't be with your pig for an hour? Or is it just lazy? I'm glad you pay for vet bills, but that isn't going to make up for when your pig dies of heat stroke, an animal attack, drowning, freezing temps, getting stuck etc! Remeber, a guinea pig CANNOT defend itself. The first thing they do is hide, and the stress/fear of being trapped can kill them too! If you are going to put them outside, WATCH THEM! I'm sure he'll be very happy once he's in heavan.

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I can agree , that pigs should not be in a garden with no supervision for endless hours on its own, even if its surrounded by a fence and Guinea Pigs should not be out in winter time when its cold even with a shelter! If you like leaving your guinea pig out for so long why dont you buy a run or make one?
I would feel awful just leaving my pigs out without any one there incase of cats and stuff.

Becky

BaysideBandGeek said:

Of course you don't want to leave your pig outside without someone there! If your arn't watching him/her how do you know he/she is Ok?!?! Even if a cat comes, a tunnel wont stop it. The pig can dig out, get heat strokes, hurt in something anything! You wouldn't leave a baby unattended, so why a small defenseless animal!? A pig cannot defend itself is something were to happen. It's called common sense. You should rethink about leaving your pig alone. Just because something hasen't happend to him yet, doesn't mean it wont.

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sorry but a GP doesn't dig , rabbits dig . A well built free run can take care of each of those problems , just go see my thread

Louis, don't come crying to us if your unwatched pig gets chewed up by a dog or cat, or gets taken away by a bird of prey, like a hawk. Not to mention heat stroke.

I'll be blunt. Leaving your pig outside in an unsupervised run is STUPID. It's dangerous for your pet.

Supervising or otherwise keeping a good eye on your running pig is another story entirely.

Yeesh give the kid a break. At least he is trying. My five pigs live in a run outside when it is not to hot and not too cold. I live in Southern California so it is alredy over a hundred degrees. My pigs come inside if it gets over eighty five degrees. They have their own fan to help the air circulate and they have a tarp piled with old towels and sheets to keep the sun and birds of prey out. They love it so much. They get itchy and grumpy when they are inside because I only have store bought cages that are too small for them.

Outdoor runs can prove just as hazerdous to pigs as "safe" homes. My friend had a pig who died three days ago in a really big heateave. He lives in her apartment. There is no sun and she had a fan going on him. He was fine in the morning but when her mom got home from work 2 he was dead. One of her two parakeets died too.

He took the time to dig tunnles for Gods sake. If you read other threads then you know that he does take care of Bozo. I dont even pay my own vet bills and Im 15. I dont even have $600 to my name. I thinkyou should domore reasarch on his setup before you critisize. By the way you dont get cornered in a tunnel very easily.

BaysideBandGeek said:

Of course you don't want to leave your pig outside without someone there! If your arn't watching him/her how do you know he/she is Ok?!?! Even if a cat comes, a tunnel wont stop it. The pig can dig out, get heat strokes, hurt in something anything! You wouldn't leave a baby unattended, so why a small defenseless animal!? A pig cannot defend itself is something were to happen. It's called common sense. You should rethink about leaving your pig alone. Just because something hasen't happend to him yet, doesn't mean it wont.

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BaySide , its time someone pushed your nose into the facts : you may think your GP is happy because hes inside and he sqeaks at you when you pass by to get a rub but he ISNT . Guineapigs are wild animals and they want some room to play , discover and run around , we don't raise our Gp's like two fluffy balls in a cage , we put them outside when the weather is good and give them homes and other exercise courts in a 2 square meter area in our garden and you should better do that to . There is little chance of your Gp dieing outside by a cat or illness if you defend his area with spikes , unclimbable walls and nets and there is allso little chance your Gp will get ill if you go on 2 researches a year and watch your gp closely every day to see if its okay . It can't starve to death if you give it a rich , diverting meal with calcium . When running outside gp's will be less dependent on you , they will learn to run from danger , they will have exercise and-they-will-be-more-happy . period.
make sure your guinea has lived before it dies , do it for your GP
tashargul : you cdoun't be more right . lay one back with me mate

How many pigs do you have? I have five silkies. Two males who are father and son and are both nuetered band three females the mother and Samsons two sisters.

Not the Point

That's not the point. If you have a cage built that can keep out wild animals and your pigs are in decent weather, that's fine. He just leaves them outside, with not even close enough protection, and KNOWS that his pigs can drown from his underground pipes filling up with freezing water! He doesn't have a "safer" cage like you do CuteFluffyThing. At least he hasn't mentioned it yet.

It's rarely below 80 degrees here in Florida, so I can't leave my pigs out side thank you. I rather not risking them die of heat stroke.

And to let you know, the breeder I bought my pigs from, let her pigs to graze outside a bit (in an enclosed area), she went inside for a few minutes, and a bird had took off with the Twin if my pig. Even though she went inside for a minute to take care of something, a Bird manage to get her pig and kill it within those few moments. This happend just a few days ago too.

Call that living? The pig was only 1 1/2 months old.

tashagurl:
I did read about how he pays his bills. If you were to actually read my other posts, you would of noticed I mentioned that.

I see nothing wrong with keeping your guinea pig outside I feel that mine are happier outside. We built them their own little barn type thing 12ftx8ft with windows a fan and it is carpeted. They seem to be perfectly fine if it gets to hot I bring them in side or if its too cold. In the winter they have bed warmers placed under their cage and 3 heaters blowing hot air and 2 heat lamps. My run which is outside of their barn type thing, Is 2 ft high and 7 feet long and the width is 3ft, wire is all around the the run so no animals can snatch them. They are meant to live outside in the wild so whats wrong with having them live outside when they are your pet? I think that if you have the right accomodations it all works out ok. I always make sure to spend a ton of time with them outside. right now they are living inside because we are repainting their barn and changing the carpet.

Not the Point Once Again.

That is not the point! If your ginuea pig is in a perfectly safe environment, It's allright, let them be outside! Louis here doesn't have a safe environment and therefor is endangering his pig! And yes Louis, you did say those things.

"...but the real worrie in winter (which is now) that he might drown in the tunnels which are underground..."

When It's winter, It usually is COLD. I know the seasons are different in Australia, but I KNOW it gets cold there at one point. I live in Florida and it gets about 20 degrees here at lowest during winter, it may not be considered "Freezing" but it's cold enough to kill your pig. So make up your mind. Are your tunnels underground or not? And if you know there are cats in the area and have tried to get your pigs, why are you still allowing this??? Cat's can run pretty darn fast, and guinea pigs are not the smartest animal I'm afraid. My cat likes to bat at my pigs, I don't think he would hurt them, but I always have their cage covered to be safe now. Just because your pig got away once, doesn't mean he always will...

Like I said in previous posts, the person I got my 2 pigs from, one of hers was killed by a hawk when she went inside for a moment to take care of an issue. She was only gone a few minutes, but it took the hawk even less time to grab the pig and kill it... Is it worth it to you? Either take them inside or build them a safer enviroment.

Louis I may not agree about keeping your piggy outside with no cage. but I think it is quite amazing that your piggie has adapted to living outside the way yours does and how he runs in tunnels. I am sure your piggy loves you very much! mine would be thrilled If i let them run around the yard with no cage. But the only thing bad about how your piggy lives is that in the end his live may be shortened. But if your piggy has survived for 2 years ?? outside then he definantly has adjusted quite well! May be you should have a cage for him in the winter. Does it get hot in the summer in australia?

Guineapigs are wild animals

Wrong. The guinea pigs we all have are domesticated pets, and cannot survive for long periods of time in the wild.

Even with cats, domesticated cats live 15 years. I domesticated cat turned loose lives only 18 months.

Louis, cats are hunters and much more cunning than you think.

Yeesh give the kid a break. At least he is trying.

No. I tell it like it is. He's not trying very hard if he subjects his pigs to winter weather conditions. He is ignoring any advice that others are giving him. I do not condone ignorance.

cinn&sprin, you're telling me the pigs are happier in a lonely barn than in the house with the family? You've got to be kidding, right?

Sorry, but people who keep their piggies outside unsupervised just need to rethink the whole situation. I'm sorry if you think your guinea pig is safe, but I can say I won't be sorry for you when your piggy gets carried off by a hawk or eaten. I can't believe people can be so nearsighted as to say, okay, the piggy has to live outside now--but I can't give him a covered pen or anything. He'll never get caught--yeah right. I really think it's sad... It's perfectly fine to have a cage/pen outside, just not a free run in an unsafe, unpredictable environment. At least build a safe, secure, totally enclosed run for them. The best thing would be to find space in your home to house the piggy in, at least for the winter months. Feel free to pm me or continue to discuss on email.