Guinea pigs can also be kept in the home if their habitat is appropriately designed. The space available must be large, which is why a conventional indoor cage is ruled out as a dwelling.
Guinea pigs do very well without an enclosure. If you can afford it spatially, you should make an entire room available to your animals. When it comes to housing, the appropriate design of the living space is of the utmost importance. The guinea pig will not use an open area and will therefore spend most of its time in its hut. The space must be designed so that it is broken up by sufficiently protective shelters. With a little manual skill, a second level can be set up. This has many advantages: the animals can hide under it, have a viewing platform at the top and move around more thanks to this climbing opportunity. The more opportunities the animals have to act out their natural behavior, the better; it will make you happy.
When designing the room, it is essential to avoid all dangers for the guinea pigs. This includes, for example, power cables, incompatible indoor plants, open doors, other animals, furniture with an incompatible glaze, pointed and sharp-edged objects, unknowing visitors and much more. If you want to be absolutely sure, secure the external run-out area with a boundary (fence). This allows the animal to move safely outside of its enclosure.
However, if you are looking for absolutely safe housing for your guinea pigs, you should opt for a vivarium. For two to three animals, there must be a floor area of at least 2m² – as with pure housing -, for each additional guinea pig the area is correspondingly larger (1 m² per animal). An open vivarium (in the form of a tub) made of plexiglass has many advantages compared to a wire enclosure: it allows people better visual contact with the animals and the guinea pigs a nicer view.
It can be furnished very practically, is more hygienic to care for and more beautiful to look at in the living area. It should be elevated so that the human appears less threatening to the guinea pigs. If other animals live in the household (e.g. cats), the vivarium must be secured from above.
Correct location
Even if the guinea pigs stay indoors regardless of the weather, the location of the vivarium or enclosure must be well chosen. During the summer months or during hot weather, the vivarium/enclosure must not be in a location where it is in the sun most of the day (glass veranda/conservatory). Positioning next to strong heat sources such as stoves, fireplaces, and radiators is also off-limits, as guinea pigs are prone to heat stroke. It is better to choose a bright, well-ventilated and sufficiently warm place. A central room where the family spends a lot of time would be ideal, guinea pigs like human company. However, they have sensitive hearing and are prone to stress (they startle easily), so the noise level in the location should be moderate and the animals must be protected from uncontrolled access by inexperienced bipeds.