So, today I lost four of the piggies from the growout pens. Two males, and two females. The last two nights have been brutally cold, 23 F and 32 F respectively. I was watching them run around quite happily, all of them. I was carefully looking for any major changes in behaviour.
I had a temperature gauge that measures highs and lows, and the high in their igloo. And the one igloo had the low temp was 52 F. That should be fine.
But, what I screwed up was giving them water 730 am… I removed their water last night so the bottles wouldn’t freeze. If they were super cold, and the water was cold, that may have been enough to kill them? It was already into the 40s by a little after 9, and hit the 50s. I also didn’t feed them any extra veggies this week, so they may be low in Vitamin C?
DirtArtful 
I wish I had some sage advice to offer, but still being in the learning curve myself, I don’t. I am sorry you lost some of them though and hope you get it figured out.
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Thanks! I mean, it is really frustrating, but it is the reality of the situation sometimes. Today is supposed to be in the sixties for a majority of the day, and I am setting up an indoor facility for the smallest, as well as the heavily pregnant for Tuesday night, which is supposed to be record lows.none of the guinea pigs are eating very much right now, so it isn’t like I lost a ton of money, and they still provide valuable pet food. That is just sad
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Personally, I always thought Guinea pigs were indoor animals, but that’s probably because they’re marketed that way in pet stores. I really don’t know a whole lot about them as pets, much less breeding them, so if that sounds like a silly statement to you, that’s probably why. I hope the steps you’re taking solves the problem. I’m glad you still have a use for them, but I know it’s always sad to loose something you’ve put time and effort into.
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Don’t worry about it. It isn’t a silly statement at all. I am doing something that isn’t traditional in the United States. They are traditionally a food source in the high Andes, Peru, Ecuador, etc. And the range of temperatures in the Andean highlands is pretty comparable to the climate in NC. Some very cold nights, mostly between 40-50, some higher. I think it is the drastic swinging temps that are the huge issues. Wednesday it was in the 60s at night, Thursday was 49, and Friday was 23…Nothing can adjust well to that… but bringing them indoors to the 65 degree temps would shock them to death.
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