Cardboard?

[The Alcotroll]

Not sure if this belongs in the food section tbh, but here it is anyway: I read elsewhere that cardboard boxes make great hidey-holes for Guinea Pigs during floor-time, so as well as using some old Ikea boxes to barricade the off-limit parts of my flat, I've also put out two more (one with hay and one with material inside) for my two Pigs to shelter in when they feel threatened during roam-time (pretty much every time I stand up).

Today, Cleopatra has spent much of her time trying to eat them; she's made quite a dent in them.

I've been using cardboard boxes as floor-time hidey-holes pretty much since I got the girls, and this is the first time I've seen more than an experimental nibble, nor any damage to the boxes themselves.

The girls have a near-limitless supply of hay, plus carrots and other fresh veg (which Cleopatra has an impressive appetite for), so I'm hoping that there isn't a problem with their teeth.

Should I be feeding them something else to help keep their teeth in order, and should I not be using cardboard boxes for hide-aways- in which case, can anybody suggest a viable alternative?

 

[SpinningNickel]

They will chew them. My youngest pig loves toilet paper tubes (slit lengthwise so he can't get stuck, of course) to chew and throw around. If I put one in the cage for a couple of days, it will be half gone when I take it out. Cardboard boxes get nice little nibble marks around the openings. He's spent the morning destroying a paper bag, tearing great long strips off it.

His cage mate, on the other hand, isn't nearly as bothered. He'll sometimes join in, but he doesn't seem nearly as obsessed as Yoshi!

Some pigs just love chewing the cardboard. It's a natural part of their playtime and shouldn't cause them too much trouble. If you have a pig who likes to chew, cardboard is probably safer for them than plastic.

 

[The Alcotroll]

Thanks- that puts my mind somewhat at rest. However, as I type this, the cage is strewn with discarded vegetables and abandoned hay, and the two of them are trying to eat the cardboard sheet blocking the door to my kitchen, and the towel I put down in the corner of the floor for them to wee on.

Strange creatures.