Choosing Guinea Pig Hutches
Many owners choose to keep their guinea pigs in hutches rather than cages as the guinea pig is likely to get more room and more privacy. Before you go out to buy your guinea pigs’ new home, you should ideally have a place ready for the hutch. If your guinea pigs are going to live outside in the garden, a spot that is dry and escapes most of the wind is a potential site for the hutch – after all you don’t want a gale to blow through the hutch. Many guinea pig owners have their pet’s hutches in secure outbuildings as this protects against predators. Some people do in fact place the guinea pig’s hutch in their own house designating a room especially for the guinea pig.
There are many different types of hutches: those with a removable floor or roof, those with more than two compartments, those with a built in run or those that are two storey – but how do you know which is best?
Size is an important issue with choosing the right hutch for your guinea pig. Because guinea pigs are social animals, you should get more than one pig as they feel that safety is in numbers and they prefer to have companions to play with (when their owners are out); for this reason you’ll need a hutch that is big enough to house more than one guinea pig.Surprisingly choosing a hutch the right size can be tricky because most of the hutches that are for sale are in fact too small.
Obviously the more guinea pigs are going to be housed in the same hutch, the bigger the hutch should be. For two guinea pigs there should be a minimum of 7.5 square feet of hutch floor area, but it is advisable not to exceed exceed 10.5 square feet due to their poor eye sight. It is ok, to go over this measurement if you have lots of guinea pigs all in the same hutch as you want the guinea pigs to have enough room. However I would suggest that the most you should house in one hutch is three, and if you want more you should get another hutch. Most people keep two guinea pigs per hutch. As a guide hutches that are 2 feet by 4 feet are a good size for two guinea pigs.
Once you have found the right size hutch, look to see how well made it is. The hutch that you buy needs to be well made, strong and sturdy – no cheap plywood walls or floors! The hutch should also be weatherproof with no spaces for draughts to blow through. It is a good idea to see how strong the roof is as well, especially if you want to put another hutch on top of it. Put your hand inside the hutch and push upwards – if you can more the roof then it probably isn’ that strong. Similarly do the same with the roof, but pushing down, and check the floor.
The roof of the hutch should be sloping down towards the back and be covered in roofing felt. This helps make the hutch more waterproof and durable against weather.
You don’t want to buy a hutch that will sit close or on the ground as this can make the hutch damp and lead to rot. Instead try to buy one with legs, or sit the hutch on top of some bricks or a bench (if the hutch is going on top of another you don’t need to raise it up apart from at the back, if the lower hutch has a sloping roof – you want the guinea pig’s floor to be level). Raising the hutch up from the ground about 4 – 8 inches should be enough but I can not guarantee it. If the hutch has very long legs it is likely that there will be a built in ramp to make it easier for the guinea pigs to go into a run – if the hutch is placed inside somewhere the guinea pigs can run around.
It is worth opening the hutch doors to see how easy it would be to clean out the hutch. Some hutches have removable floors that slide or lift out to make cleaning out the hutch easier.
Safety – is your chosen hutch safe for your guinea pig? There are a number of things to look at in terms of safety, here are a few of these points:
1) If the wood the hutch is made out of has been treated for anything, check if the treatment was and still is pet friendly.
2) If the hutch has been painted or varnished, check the paint/varnish is not toxic to guinea pigs – many cavies are likely to chew their hutches at some point.
3) Avoid hutches that have wire floors as guinea pigs can get their feet and legs stuck in the small gaps and break them which can be fatal.
4) Check that the hutch wire is strong and hasn’t been treated with any chemicals that could be harmful to your guinea pigs. Galvanised wire seems to be the recommended wire for use in guinea pig hutches.
5) Have a good look and feel the hutch. Are there any sharp bits the cavy could hurt him or herself on? If so, you shouldn’t buy it.
6) Are the door catches or bolts secure? You don’t want the guinea pigs escaping.
Once you have bought the hutch, some owners advise sticking down some lino to the hutch floor as this apparently makes the hutch last longer. You should always use pet-friendly glue or non toxic glue for this and check the lino hasn’t been treated with harmful chemicals. Wait for the glue to dry before lining the hutch with any bedding. Alternatively you could use thick lots of newspaper under the bedding which you remove and replace when you clean out the hutch.
Exercise is very important for all guinea pigs. Some hutches have a built in exercise run – I prefer to buy a solid looking hutch and then a have a separate run (which I either buy or make) as a hutch that is built into a run is likely to not be that strong. Whichever run you have for your guinea pig should be well made and you should go through some of the same points as you did for choosing the hutch.
August 28, 2010
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Maddia (Admin) · 
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Tags: choosing guinea pig hutches, guinea pig, guinea pig hutches, guinea pigs, roofing felt · Posted in: Guinea Pig Care, Guinea Pig Information
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