# Guinea Pig Heat and Cold Safety: Safe Temperatures by Season A guinea pig's safe temperature range is narrower than most new owners expect. Keep the air around the cage between roughly 65°F and 75°F (18°C to 24°C), keep the animal's core body temperature near 102°F (39°C), and treat anything above 85°F (29°C) or below 60°F (15.5°C) in the cage zone as a problem to solve the same day. Guinea pigs are not hardy outdoor animals in the way rabbits are often described. They evolved as ground-dwelling grazers in mild climates, and their bodies handle heat poorly and cold expensively. This guide covers the guinea pig safe temperature range month by month, how hot is too hot for a guinea pig, how cold is too cold for a guinea pig, the guinea pig heat stroke signs that demand an immediate veterinary call, and the practical work of keeping a guinea pig warm in winter without cooking it. Veterinary husbandry guidance for the species is built on exactly this principle. Care should follow the guinea pig's natural history, which includes specific temperature requirements alongside its social needs and grass or hay-based diet [1]. Temperature is not a background detail. It is a core husbandry variable, in the same category as hay quality and companionship. **This article is educational and is not a substitute for veterinary diagnosis or treatment.** ## At a Glance: The Seasonal Temperature Playbook The table below is the whole article compressed. Everything after it explains the reasoning and the exceptions. | Season | Ambient target in the cage zone | Main threat | Non-negotiable action | |--|--|--|--| | Spring | 65°F to 75°F (18°C to 24°C) | Fast swings between cool nights and warm afternoons, sun on a hutch | Put a min/max thermometer at guinea pig height and check it every morning | | Summer | 65°F to 78°F (18°C to 26°C), with humidity under control | Heat buildup, humidity, direct sun, poor air movement | Have a plan B room, move the cage before the room reaches 85°F (29°C) | | Fall | 65°F to 75°F (18°C to 24°C) | The first cold nights catch owners off guard | Move outdoor animals indoors before nighttime temperatures drop into the 50s | | Winter | 65°F to 72°F (18°C to 22°C) | Drafts, damp bedding, cold floors, overheated dry rooms | Insulate the cage from the floor, block drafts, keep bedding dry and deep | A second table covers the animal itself, not the room. | Core body temperature | What it means | |--|--| | About 102°F (39°C) | The reference point for normal in research protocols [2] | | Below 100.2°F (37.9°C) | Hypothermia by clinical definition, and a serious prognostic warning in sick guinea pigs [3] | | 106.7°F (41.5°C) | The upper core temperature limit researchers set for safe recovery in controlled thermal stress work [4][2] | | 93.2°F (34°C) | The lower core temperature limit in the same protocols [4][2] | Read those last two rows carefully. They are not targets and they are not survival guarantees. They are the boundaries a laboratory team chose because they allowed an anesthetized animal to recover safely. A pet guinea pig with a core temperature heading toward either number is in an emergency. ### The five-minute seasonal checklist 1. Place a digital thermometer at the height of the guinea pig's back, not on a shelf above the cage. 2. Add a hygrometer next to it. Temperature alone does not describe heat load. 3. Record the minimum and maximum each morning so you catch overnight swings. 4. Check that the cage has at least one shaded or covered zone and one open zone. 5. Confirm the bedding is dry at the base, not just on the surface. 6. Confirm the guinea pig has a companion or a solid visual and physical connection to one. ## Why Guinea Pigs Have a Narrow Comfort Zone Small body size cuts both ways. A guinea pig has a large surface area relative to its mass, so it gains and loses heat quickly. That makes it vulnerable at both ends of the thermometer, and it makes the transition zone between comfortable and dangerous short. The cardiovascular system is where heat and cold stress show up first. In guinea pigs exposed to progressive heating and cooling under controlled conditions, measurable cardiovascular changes appear as core temperature moves away from normal, and animals born preterm show altered vascular responses to both heat and cold stress compared with animals born at term [2]. The practical translation for owners is simple. A guinea pig that is working hard to hold its body temperature is using reserves it may not have, especially if it is young, pregnant, elderly, or already ill. Pregnancy is a useful example of how tight the margin is. In a controlled study, pregnant guinea pigs kept in a neutral thermal regime averaging 22.1°C (about 72°F) were compared with pregnant guinea pigs kept in a cool regime averaging 15.1°C (about 59°F). The cool-housed animals had lower baseline cortisol, were less active, and mounted a larger stress response to handling. The cool conditions did not change reproductive output or offspring characteristics [5]. Two lessons come from that study. First, moderate cool is survivable for a healthy adult guinea pig. Second, it is not free. The animal pays for it with reduced activity and a sharpened stress response, which matters a great deal in a species that hides illness and deteriorates quietly. Second, 72°F is a reasonable anchor for a "neutral" room. That is where the practical 65°F to 75°F band comes from. Guinea pigs are also prey animals that mask problems. Welfare assessment in this species depends on combining multiple indicators rather than trusting a single measurement or a single behavior [6]. Temperature safety works the same way. A normal-looking guinea pig in a hot room is not proof that the room is safe. ## How to Read the Two Thermometers Owners confuse two different numbers. Sorting them out prevents most mistakes. ### The room thermometer This measures the environment. Place a digital unit at guinea pig height inside the cage or enclosure, ideally one with a min/max memory so you can see what happened overnight while you were asleep. Add a hygrometer. In guinea pig research, temperature and humidity are recorded together and combined into a temperature-humidity index, because humid air changes how much heat an animal can shed [7]. A dry 82°F room and a humid 82°F room are not the same problem. Heat rises, cages sit near floors, and floors sit against concrete. A thermometer at eye level can easily read 5°F to 10°F different from the air the guinea pig is actually breathing. Measure where the animal lives. ### The body thermometer Core temperature is the number that matters medically. Rectal temperature is the standard clinical measurement, and it carries real prognostic weight. In a study of 201 client-owned guinea pigs presenting to a veterinary teaching hospital, animals with a rectal temperature below 37.9°C (100.2°F) had almost three times the risk of dying within seven days compared with animals that were not hypothermic, with a relative risk of 2.88 [3]. For every 0.55°C (1°F) drop in rectal temperature, the odds of death rose by a factor of about 1.6 [3]. That finding cuts in two directions. It confirms that cold is genuinely dangerous for a guinea pig that is already unwell. It also means an owner should not treat a low body temperature as a minor inconvenience to fix with a blanket. Rectal temperature should be taken by a veterinarian or a veterinary nurse. Improper technique risks injury, and the reading is only useful if it is accurate. Ear-canal temperature measurement has been studied in guinea pigs as a lower-stress alternative, and body temperature in that work shifted up or down depending on how the animals were handled, rising during excessive interactive sessions and falling over time during calmer ones [8]. That is a useful reminder that handling itself moves the number. ## How Hot Is Too Hot for a Guinea Pig? There is no single magic number, and any source that offers one without qualification is oversimplifying. Heat load depends on air temperature, humidity, air movement, direct sun, bedding depth, cage material, crowding, body condition, coat, age, and how much the animal can move to a cooler spot. Use these working thresholds instead. - **Up to 78°F (26°C):** Manageable for most healthy guinea pigs in a shaded, ventilated, uncrowded enclosure with water available. - **78°F to 84°F (26°C to 29°C):** Caution zone. Increase air movement, remove bedding depth, offer a cool tile or slab to lie on, and check the animal every few hours. - **85°F (29°C) and above:** Danger zone. Move the guinea pig to a cooler room. Do not wait to see whether it copes. - **Any temperature at which the guinea pig is open-mouth breathing, limp, or unresponsive:** Emergency regardless of the thermometer reading. The reason for the caution is that the distance between a hot afternoon and a dangerous core temperature is small. Research protocols that deliberately heat guinea pigs cap core temperature at 41.5°C (106.7°F) specifically to allow safe recovery [4][2]. That is roughly 4.5°F above normal. A guinea pig cannot dump heat the way a dog pants or a human sweats, so the gap between "uncomfortable" and "critical" closes fast. ### Humidity changes the math A muggy room is more dangerous than a dry room at the same temperature. Investigators studying heat stress in guinea pigs record temperature and humidity and calculate a temperature-humidity index precisely because the two act together [7]. In that work, guinea pigs exposed to a photoperiod with direct sunlight under thermal stress showed lower sperm concentration and poorer motility parameters than animals kept under controlled light [7]. That is a male fertility finding, and it is a useful warning for breeders. For pet owners it is a broader signal. Heat plus sun plus still air is a compounding problem, not an additive one. A hutch in direct summer sun can sit 15°F above the surrounding air. ### Guinea pig heat stroke signs Heat stroke is a time-critical emergency. Survival depends on how quickly the animal is cooled and seen by a veterinarian. Watch for this progression. **Early signs** - Restlessness, pacing, or repeated head turning - Stretching out flat against the cage floor - Fast, shallow breathing - Warm ears and warm feet - Reduced appetite and reduced drinking - Hiding in a hut and refusing to come out Behavior is a legitimate monitoring tool here. In guinea pigs used for interactive zoo activities, excessive handling produced significant increases in head turning and locomotion, and freezing behavior appeared only during the excessive sessions, alongside rising body temperature and rising salivary cortisol [8]. Head turning and freezing are not just signs of annoyance. They track physiological strain. **Emergency signs** - Open-mouth breathing or obvious gasping - Drooling or frothy saliva - Weakness, wobbling, or inability to stand - Tremors or twitching - Pale or muddy gums - Collapse, unresponsiveness, or a seizure - Rectal temperature climbing toward 106°F (41°C) If you see any emergency sign, this is a now problem. Call a veterinarian or an emergency practice while you begin cooling. ### Step by step: cooling an overheated guinea pig 1. **Move the animal, not the cage first.** Carry the guinea pig to the coolest room in the house, ideally one with air conditioning or a fan moving air across the room (not directly at the animal). 2. **Remove anything that traps heat.** Take out deep bedding, close contact with other guinea pigs in a small space, and any covered hide that is holding warmth. 3. **Wet the ears, feet, and groin with room-temperature water.** Use a cloth, not a plunge bath. Water at room temperature, not ice water. 4. **Increase air movement across the room.** A fan pointed at a wall or across the room moves air without blasting the animal. 5. **Offer water in a shallow dish and a syringe-free option.** Do not force fluids into the mouth of a weak animal. 6. **Call the veterinarian and follow their instructions on transport.** Do not delay the call while you finish cooling. 7. **Keep cooling en route.** A carrier lined with a cool, damp towel helps. Never seal the carrier closed with a wet animal inside. Stop active cooling once the animal's breathing slows and it begins to respond. Overcooling a small mammal is its own emergency. ## How Cold Is Too Cold for a Guinea Pig? Cold is slower than heat but no less serious for a compromised animal. The practical band runs like this. - **65°F to 75°F (18°C to 24°C):** Comfortable for healthy adults. - **60°F to 65°F (15.5°C to 18°C):** Cool. Healthy adults manage, but they will eat more, move less, and seek warmth. Sick, very young, elderly, and pregnant guinea pigs should not be kept here. - **Below 60°F (15.5°C):** Meaningful cold stress. The controlled cool regime that produced measurable physiological change in pregnant guinea pigs averaged 15.1°C (about 59°F) [5]. That is the number to remember. - **Below 50°F (10°C):** Unacceptable for a pet guinea pig in any circumstances. Two things push a guinea pig out of that safe band even when the room thermometer looks fine. The first is a cold floor. The second is damp bedding. Guinea pigs sit and sleep with their bellies in contact with whatever is underneath them, and a cold, damp base pulls heat continuously. It also predisposes to skin problems and respiratory disease. Husbandry-related problems in guinea pigs are a recognized clinical category, and bedding and environment sit squarely inside it [9]. ### What cool air actually does to a guinea pig The study comparing 72°F and 59°F housing is the clearest picture available. Cool-housed pregnant guinea pigs were less active and had lower baseline cortisol, but a much more dramatic cortisol spike when handled [5]. Translate that into owner terms: - A cold guinea pig sleeps more and moves less, which owners often read as "calm." - A cold guinea pig is more easily overwhelmed by normal handling such as cage cleaning or a nail trim. - A cold guinea pig is spending energy on heat production that should be going into growth, pregnancy, healing, or immune function. For a healthy adult in a 62°F room for a night, this is a recoverable inconvenience. For a guinea pig recovering from illness, a pregnant sow, a pup, or an older animal with arthritis, it is a genuine risk. ### Keeping a guinea pig warm in winter This is where owners make the expensive mistakes, usually by overcorrecting. The goal is a stable, evenly warm, dry environment with a gradient the guinea pig can choose. It is not a hot spot. **What works** - **Move the cage off the floor and away from exterior walls.** Cold radiates from concrete and from poorly insulated walls. - **Block drafts, not air.** Seal the gap under the door, move the cage away from a window that whistles, and keep the cage out of the path of a door that opens to the outside. Do not wrap the cage in plastic or a blanket that stops ventilation. - **Use deep, dry bedding and check it daily.** Bedding is the norm for pet guinea pigs, with the vast majority of surveyed owners providing it [10]. Deep bedding gives the animal something to burrow into. Wet bedding is worse than no bedding. - **Provide a covered sleeping box with an entrance the guinea pig can leave freely.** A hide that traps warmth is useful only if the animal can get out and cool down. - **Insulate underneath the cage.** A folded blanket or a foam mat under the cage base stops the floor from draining heat. - **Keep a companion in the same enclosure.** Guinea pigs are social, the presence of a conspecific reduces stress, and rabbits are not a substitute because they behave differently and can injure guinea pigs [11]. Compatible animals should be housed together unless there is a medical or scientific reason not to [12]. Even unfamiliar adult males can form stable, prosocial pairs after an acclimation period when given adequate space [12]. - **Maintain the room, not the cage.** Heating the room evenly to 65°F to 72°F is far safer than spot-heating one corner. **What backfires** - Heat lamps and heat pads that create a hot zone the guinea pig cannot escape. A guinea pig that is already too warm will not always move away in time. - Sealing a cage with towels to keep warmth in, which traps humidity and ammonia. - Placing the cage directly against a radiator or a heating vent. - Assuming that a guinea pig in a pile of bedding is warm when the bedding is damp. If you cannot keep the room at 65°F or above during a cold snap, move the cage to an interior room. A bathroom, an interior hallway, or a basement room that stays above 60°F is workable for a short period. A garage or a shed is not. ### Step by step: warming a chilled guinea pig 1. **Bring the animal into a warm room, around 70°F to 75°F.** 2. **Wrap it in a towel, leaving the head free.** Hold it against your body for gentle, gradual warmth. 3. **Do not use hot water bottles, hair dryers, or direct heat.** A small animal cannot regulate against a hot surface. 4. **Offer warm water and food.** A chilled guinea pig that is willing to eat is a better sign than one that is not. 5. **Call the veterinarian.** A rectal temperature below 100.2°F (37.9°C) carries a markedly increased risk of death in the following week and deserves professional assessment, not home warming alone [3]. ## Safe Temperatures by Season ### Spring Spring is the swing season. A sunny March afternoon can push a hutch to 90°F while the same night drops to 45°F. Guinea pigs do not tolerate that oscillation well. Use a min/max thermometer and check it every morning. If your guinea pig lives outdoors, this is the season to bring it in. Housing surveys show that hutches and cages with attached runs are a common way pet guinea pigs are kept, and a substantial minority are housed in their own area inside the house [13]. Outdoor housing is common and it is also the setting where seasonal swings cause the most damage. Watch for sun angle as well as air temperature. A hutch that is shaded in April can be in full sun by June. ### Summer Summer is the season that kills guinea pigs. The core temperature ceiling used in thermal stress protocols is only about 4.5°F above normal [4][2], and a closed hutch in July sun can raise the interior well past that margin. Rules for the hot months: - Never leave a guinea pig in a car, a sunroom, a garage, or a hutch in direct sun, even briefly. - Run air conditioning or a fan moving air across the room. - Freeze water bottles and place them wrapped in a towel against one side of the enclosure as an optional cool zone, never as the only surface the animal can reach. - Offer a ceramic tile or a stone slab that stays cool. - Refresh water twice daily and use a bottle plus a dish so a guinea pig that is weak from heat can still drink. - Check the animal at midday and again in late afternoon, which are the two danger windows. ### Fall Fall is the reverse of spring, and it is the season when outdoor guinea pigs are most often left out too long. Once nighttime temperatures fall into the 50s, the cool regime that produced measurable stress responses in pregnant guinea pigs is in play [5]. Move outdoor animals inside before the first frost forecast, not after it. Clean and store summer cooling equipment. Inspect the cage for drafts before the heating season starts. ### Winter Winter is about stability. Indoor heating creates dry air and hot ceilings, so the cage zone can be several degrees cooler or warmer than the thermostat claims. Recheck the thermometer at guinea pig height after you turn the heat on for the season. Winter priorities: - Keep the room between 65°F and 72°F (18°C and 22°C). - Insulate the cage from the floor. - Keep bedding deep and dry. - Do not place the cage near a radiator, a space heater, or a heating vent. - Keep a companion animal in the enclosure. - Watch water bottles for freezing if any part of the room drops below 60°F. ## Housing, Bedding, and Equipment Selection ### What to buy and how to judge it **Digital thermometer with min/max memory.** The min/max function is the point. A thermometer that only shows the current reading will not tell you that the room hit 52°F at 3 a.m. **Hygrometer.** Look for one that reads relative humidity across a normal household range and can sit next to the thermometer. Humidity matters to heat load [7]. **A second thermometer, or move the first one.** Verify that the reading at guinea pig height matches the reading at human height. If it does not, trust the lower one. **Cage cover.** Choose something breathable that blocks light and drafts without sealing air. A cover that prevents air exchange traps humidity and ammonia. **Hide or sleeping box.** Choose one with an entrance wide enough to walk through and a second exit if possible. A hide that becomes a heat trap is a hazard in summer. **Cooling surface.** A ceramic tile, a stone slab, or a chilled wrapped bottle. Choose something the animal can walk away from. **Bedding.** Deep, dry, and absorbent. Bedding is standard in pet guinea pig housing, used by the overwhelming majority of owners in one survey [10]. Dryness matters more than material. **Scale.** A kitchen scale is a heat and cold tool as much as a weight tool. A guinea pig that is eating less because it is too hot or too cold loses weight before it looks sick. ## Monitoring Routine Build a short daily routine around the two thermometers. **Every morning** - Read the min/max room temperature and the humidity. - Check water supply. - Check the bedding base for damp. - Watch the guinea pig eat for one minute. Appetite is a sensitive early indicator. **Twice daily in summer, once daily otherwise** - Watch breathing rate at rest. - Check ear and foot temperature by touch. Warm is normal. Hot is a warning. - Check that the animal is using both the open and covered zones of the enclosure. **Weekly** - Weigh the guinea pig. - Confirm the thermometer is still at guinea pig height and not buried in bedding. **Monthly** - Replace thermometer batteries. - Reassess the cage position relative to windows, doors, vents, and exterior walls. Behavioral observation belongs in that routine. Welfare assessment in guinea pigs relies on combining animal-based indicators with resource-based ones, and no single sign is sufficient [6]. A guinea pig that stops popping around, stops coming to the front of the cage, and starts freezing when you approach is telling you something before the thermometer does. ## Common Mistakes and Troubleshooting **The cage is warm but the guinea pig is cold.** Check the floor and the bedding base. Cold, damp bedding under a warm room is the classic winter setup for a chilled guinea pig. **The room is cool but the guinea pig is panting.** Check for a nearby heat source, direct sun through a window, a heat mat left on, or crowding in a small hide. Also check humidity, which can make a modest temperature feel much hotter [7]. **Water bottles are freezing.** Move the cage away from the exterior wall and insulate the base. A guinea pig that cannot drink deteriorates fast. **The guinea pig is fine in the day and unwell in the morning.** This is an overnight temperature swing pattern. Use the min/max function and check the room at the coldest hour. **You moved the cage to a cooler room and it got worse.** A sudden move is stressful. Move the cage with familiar bedding, a familiar hide, and a companion, and keep the new room in the 65°F to 75°F band. **You covered the cage to keep it warm and now it smells.** Ventilation has been compromised. Uncover and use insulation from below instead. **One guinea pig in a pair is always in the hide and the other is always out.** Watch for a social problem rather than a temperature problem. Guinea pigs are social animals that should be housed together, and pairs need adequate space and separate resources to stay compatible [12][11]. ## Welfare and Safety Points - **Temperature is a welfare need, not a comfort preference.** Guinea pig husbandry should be grounded in the species' natural history, including its temperature requirements [1]. - **Owners need practical education, not just warnings.** Veterinary nurses and clinicians have a role in teaching guinea pig husbandry, and owner understanding is a recognized gap [14]. - **Housing quality shapes behavior and health.** Larger enclosures and companionship are associated with more positive behaviors, while housing and husbandry practices are linked to reported health problems [15]. - **Companionship is a temperature tool and a welfare tool.** A conspecific reduces stress [11]. Single housing is a welfare concern in its own right [15]. - **Multiple indicators beat one measurement.** Use behavior, appetite, weight, and temperature together [6]. - **Do not treat a low body temperature at home.** Hypothermia in a guinea pig is a prognostic warning sign, not a cosmetic problem [3]. ## Limitations and When to Contact a Veterinarian This guidance covers typical pet guinea pigs in typical home environments. Individual animals differ. A guinea pig with heart disease, respiratory disease, dental disease, obesity, or a recent illness has far less tolerance for temperature stress than a healthy adult, and the thresholds that apply to it may be much tighter. A veterinarian who has examined your animal can give you specific limits. Contact a veterinarian urgently if you see any of the following. - Open-mouth breathing, gasping, or a breathing rate that stays visibly elevated at rest - Collapse, weakness, tremors, or unresponsiveness - Drooling or inability to swallow - A rectal temperature below 100.2°F (37.9°C) or a temperature that is rising toward 106°F (41.5°C) - Refusal to eat or drink for more than a few hours - Weight loss over two consecutive weekly weigh-ins - Freezing behavior, head turning, or a sudden change in how the animal responds to handling that persists after the environment has been corrected [8] - Any guinea pig that is not improving within an hour of you fixing the room temperature Bring the ambient temperature and humidity readings with you if you can. They are useful clinical information. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is the ideal room temperature for a guinea pig? Most healthy pet guinea pigs do best with the room held between 65°F and 75°F (18°C to 24°C). A controlled study used a neutral thermal regime of about 72°F as its baseline for pregnant guinea pigs [5]. Keep the reading taken at guinea pig height, not at human height. ### How hot is too hot for a guinea pig? Treat 85°F (29°C) and above as dangerous and move the animal to a cooler room. Between 78°F and 84°F is a caution zone where you should increase air movement and check the guinea pig frequently. Humidity, direct sun, and still air make any temperature more dangerous [7]. ### How cold is too cold for a guinea pig? Below 60°F (15.5°C) is meaningful cold stress, and below 50°F is unacceptable for a pet. For context, a controlled cool regime averaging about 59°F produced measurable behavioral and hormonal changes in pregnant guinea pigs [5]. ### What is a normal guinea pig body temperature? Research protocols use about 102°F (39°C) as the normal reference [2]. A rectal temperature below 100.2°F (37.9°C) is defined as hypothermia and is linked to a much higher risk of death within seven days [3]. ### What are the first signs of heat stroke in a guinea pig? Early signs include restlessness, stretching out flat on the cage floor, fast shallow breathing, warm ears, and reduced appetite. Head turning and freezing behavior can signal physiological strain during handling [8]. Open-mouth breathing, drooling, weakness, or collapse means an emergency call now. ### How do I keep a guinea pig warm in winter without a heat lamp? Heat the room evenly to 65°F to 72°F, insulate the cage from the floor, block drafts without sealing ventilation, use deep dry bedding, and house the guinea pig with a companion. Spot heat sources such as lamps and mats create hot zones the animal cannot reliably escape. ### Can guinea pigs live outdoors year round? It is a poor fit for most climates. Hutches and cages with attached runs are a common housing type [13], but outdoor housing exposes guinea pigs to the temperature swings that cause the most damage, especially in spring and fall. If your guinea pig lives outdoors, plan to bring it inside before nighttime temperatures reach the 50s. ### Does humidity matter as much as temperature? Yes. Guinea pig thermal stress research records temperature and humidity together and combines them into a temperature-humidity index because humid air changes heat load [7]. A humid 80°F room is a bigger problem than a dry 80°F room. ## Sources 1. [Veterinary care of guinea pigs. Part 1: husbandry, stabilisation and diagnostics](https://doi.org/10.12968/COAN.2018.23.11.649) 2. [Cardiovascular responses to heat and cold exposure are altered by preterm birth in guinea pigs.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39435736/) 3. [Rectal temperature is a prognostic indicator in client-owned guinea pigs.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34155652/) 4. [A novel whole-body thermal stress test for monitoring cardiovascular responses in guinea pigs.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37055107/) 5. [Ambient temperature and pregnancy influence cortisol levels in female guinea pigs and entail long-term effects on the stress response of their offspring.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21334340/) 6. [Review of Rat (Rattus norvegicus), Mouse (Mus musculus), Guinea pig (Cavia porcellus), and Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) Indicators for Welfare Assessment.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37443965/) 7. [Effect of Photoperiod with Sunlight at Thermal Stress and Sperm Parameters in Guinea Pigs.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34989206/) 8. [Relationship between Ear Temperature, Behaviour and Stress Hormones in Guinea Pigs (Cavia porcellus) during Different Interactive Activities in Zoos.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38612351/) 9. [Management of husbandry-related problems in guinea pigs](https://doi.org/10.1136/inp.d1812) 10. [Cross-sectional survey of husbandry for pet guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) in New Zealand](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36165091/) 11. [Impact of husbandry on the welfare of pet guinea pigs in the UK](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32139628/) 12. [Establishing New Isosexual Pairs in Adult Male Guinea Pigs (Cavia porcellus) to Facilitate Social Housing.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38262624/) 13. [Cross-sectional survey of housing for pet guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) in New Zealand.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35249463/) 14. [Improving the welfare and husbandry of guinea pigs in the UK](https://doi.org/10.56496/mesf9329) 15. [Current welfare state of pet guinea pigs in the UK](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32054719/)