dazza_88@hotmail.com

Question
Hey there, I was just wondering. I've had this Guinea Pig for almost 7 years and she's lived in this house at my parents the whole time, now im moving out in the next few days to move into another enviroment 25-30mins away. Will my pet guinea pig be okay changing enviroments from one place to another? Will it effect her in anyway, if so please tell me everything i'll need to know cause she's extremely old. Thankyou.

Answer
Wow! I must applaud you for taking care of your guinea pig so well! How a guinea pig will react when being moved from one home to another is tricky. It depends on her personality about how quickly she will adapt. A trip should not kill her. I tell you that now. Has she ever been on a trip before? Do you handle her frequently or does she sit in her cage most of the time? From personal experience, don't make her be on the move constantly. It does cause stress, but not enough to harm her. As long as your moving her once, she should be fine. If you do need to move her more than once for whatever reason, give her several days to at least a week before doing it again. I reccommend if the cage is not too large, to just put it in the back seat of your car NEVER THE TRUNK! Make sure to take off the water bottle or remove your bowl of water from her cage (I've soaked the entire bottom of the cage after just changing the litter). Drive carefully, and try to be gentle while transporting her. Depending on the temperature of where you're at, if it's cold or cool (anything below room temperature is considered cold for a guinea pig) make sure to cover the cage with a towel or blanket. Also, put the heat on in the car, but don't overheat! Guinea pigs can have heat stroke just like humans. If it's hot, (about anything above 77 is  too hot for a guinea pig) make sure to have the air conditioning on at all times! A lot of travelling guinea pig deaths are related to temperature issues(especially on planes). If you feel fine temperature wise, then so does she. If you're hot, so is she. If you're cold, so is she. Nothing should happen to your guinea pig. However, if you have time, maybe you could take her for a short car ride. Try to get her used to a car. Drive her around for a short jaunt and see how she reacts. I advise the first day you and she get to your new place, to leave her alone except to make sure she has food and water. It's just like when you first brought her home. She needs time to adapt. If your guinea pig is really skittish, I suggest you put a towel or blanket over her cage, unless it's 90 degrees outside or something. This will prevent her from seeing everything that's going on, and may cause her less stress. I hope I helped, and if there is anything else you'd like to ask me about, feel free. No matter how small, or if you want me to clarify something, ask away! I wish you and your guinea pig the best of luck with moving. Keep up the good work! I wish more pig owners were as devoted as you! :)