I totally agree Jay about being from Sth America. The thing is these little furry fellas have evolved and now live world wide in a myriad of conditions and climates.
I always made my decisions based on a western lifestyle and our weather conditions. Because ours always lived indoors, I would never have exposed them to winter temps outside. The same went for summer. When it was extremely hot, it would be curtains closed in the house, ice packs/cubes and a fan.
They are amazing little animals and we have had a few over the years and each and every one of them has had their own unique personality