[Gpdd] [CARE] Summer heat, going outside, and igloos.

[Janna Hoskin]

Hi everyone!

Guido is drinking his water like a good boy, and eating his veggies (he
still isn't overly fond of peppers, though) and hay and pellets as he ought.

I was at the store buying more bedding today and thought to look around for
alternatives to the plastic igloo that my little piggy-man spends so much of
his time in - something that would let the air move around him more freely -
not enough for a draft, but enough that he'll be able to stay cool. I
originally thought perhaps a timothy hay ball to hide in, but at $45 I can't
justify the expense. Everything else is the logs (those sticks that are
wired together and you can make tunnels and stuff), which I have, or just
more plastic.

So, I had an idea and I thought I would run it by everyone else to see what
you think!

Guido currently lives in a large store-bought rabbit cage. It's the largest
they sell. I have dreams for a piggy palace, but we haven't the space at the
moment (which is also why I haven't gotten him a companion since Isabella
passed). So, we make do until we move to an acreage (hopefully sometime this
year). In the past, I have built C&C cages, so while I haven't got the
coroplast bottoms anymore, I do have lots of the wire grids and some zip
ties (which are easy to come by anyway). I also have a sewing machine.

My thought is to use four of the grids to build a shelter for Guido - three
sides and a roof - and then sew a cover that would come halfway down the
open side so that he would feel safe to go inside. It would be more spacious
than the igloo, obviously, and I think it would let the air circulate more
freely - especially if I use cotton or linen. What do you all think of this
idea? (Another bonus: I could make a couple of covers, and toss them in with
the laundry each week when I clean his cage.)

As for going outside...

I am thinking about buying one of those pens that the pet store sells for
taking small animals outside or giving them exercise on the floor. The one
they have at the shop I go to (it's a Petland) includes a 24"x24" floor mat.
You can also get a solid cover for outside, to keep them safer. Obviously
this is not a permanent structure, which is what I need right now as we are
renting our house. The backyard is quite large and free of pesticides
(though not of cats). Is this even a good idea, or should I just keep Guido
indoors-only until we are on an acreage that we own and I can build a nice
outdoor piggy run that has a wire roof and a built-in shelter and then plant
lots of grass for him (them) to eat that will be safe from animals and
chemicals and whatnot? (Obviously since we live in Canada, this is an
exercise/spend time outdoors on nice days kind of a run, not a live outside
all the time kind of a run.)

-Janna & Guido (as well as Juniper, who is now my husband and kind of puts
up with the guinea pig obsession, and Roy, who is a very mischievous
girl-cat)

"Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be
normal." Albert Camus
"I want to remake the world; anything less is not worth the trouble." Karen
Cushman