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ApopFrauks In reply to Diaris [2017-03-04 18:10:45 +0000 UTC]

Ohh, das hast du lieb geschrieben, danke. <3 
Das mit den Wellis kann ich gerne mal machen. Dann müssen wir nur irgendwie eine schöne Kulisse basteln, die nach Natur aussieht.  

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ApopFrauks In reply to MoonlitCrescent [2017-01-23 07:45:35 +0000 UTC]

They actually live in a little hut outside. When it's not too cold they can go outside if they want, but they can also stay inside. They can decide. Some like walking in the snow, others don't. The snow started to melt when I put her outside for the picture AND she was sitting on a hot-water bottle. The temperatures in the hut don't fall fast, but therefore it also takes very long for it to warm up again when it gets warmer outside. There were 5 °C outside when I took this one. In the hut were only 2 °C. So it was even warmer outside than in the hut where they live. 

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MoonlitCrescent In reply to ApopFrauks [2017-01-23 19:43:17 +0000 UTC]

How many do you currently have?

Is there any extra warm provided in the hut for them?

I appreciate the explanation. It's just, the vast majority of people I've spoken to about guinea pigs is that they don't tolerate the cold as much as people might think, and that they should be brought inside when it's cold, typically under 10.C (or over 30.C). I hope you are taking top care of them, that's what I'm concerned about.

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ApopFrauks In reply to MoonlitCrescent [2017-01-23 21:40:53 +0000 UTC]

Yes, there is an infra red light in every piggy room and I use a convetor for keeping the temperature between 2 °C and 5 °C. So it absolutely never freezes in there. I have twenty guinea pigs at the moment (I run a guinea pig rescue and I breed Swiss Teddies).

You need to pay attention to a veeery lot of things when you want to have them outside. Unfortnately a lot of people do not pay attention to every advice that is neccessary and then they are surprised when something happens to their piggies... I know a lot of such people. Therefor most breeders and guinea pig rescues in my country are so advanced in keeping guinea pigs outside that we already have a lot of good books about keeping guinea pigs outside in the right way.  
The most important thing is not only to have a dry, save hut for them. What is also important is to know enough about the guinea pig's diet for winter. They need a lot of extra energy which can't be taken from usual piggy-veggies like cucumbers or sweet peppers. They p. e. need different types of turnips, beets and cabbages instead (starting with small amounts of cabbage first of course). Without the right food they will not have enough energy for the cold temperatures. I still put some cucumber pieces in the piggy-rooms, but somehow they seem to know they don't need it. They really don't like to eat it in winter.  

I know from a breeder friend that she keeps her guinea pigs in a hut without a heating system. She only has infra red lights. Last week she had -15 °C in there, but her piggies are totally fine with that. I personally would be too scared of keeping them in such a cold place, but she does it this way since she started breeding in 1996. And she never had problems with that. The only thing she takes care of is the right food in winter. 
I recently saw a documentation about the wild guinea pigs in Peru. They live in the Andes Mountains where the temperatures in winter can go down to -25 °C and deeper. So the "genetics" for being outside in winter are somewhere in our guinea pigs, but keeping them there is just not as easy as a lot of people seem to think.  

Personally I'm more afraid of the heat than of the cold temperatures. My guinea pigs never had problems in winter, but when it's too hot I can see my guinea pigs don't feel too well with it. I try so many things to cool the rooms down. But usually it is hotter in our own house than in the piggies' hut, so taking them inside would not really help... 

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ApopFrauks In reply to LaniceraCaprifolium [2017-01-20 08:23:57 +0000 UTC]

Thank you! I just checked your account, beautiful drawings! <3 

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ApopFrauks In reply to LewiARTs [2017-01-08 21:22:07 +0000 UTC]

Danke! Nee, meine Meerschweinchen leben das ganze Jahr über draußen, die kennen das im Moment nicht anders.  

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LewiARTs In reply to ApopFrauks [2017-01-09 05:59:29 +0000 UTC]

Gerne, habe ich so noch nicht erlebt, echt erstaunlich.

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