piggl
Forum Donator 2024/25
What else can I do for daily enrichment?
My boys live in a hutch, in my garage. I have a run which is about 2x4-5 in C&C sizes which is attached from their hutch from morning to evening, depends on what time I wake up really. They get a different layout in there each day, with things to run through, sleep on and a couple different places with hay.
As it is quite quiet in a garage, compared to the hustle and bustle of a house, and the fact I have quite a busy life so don't have loads of time to just sit with them, I often worry that they are bored/sad with their living situation. My life has gotten much quieter recently and I have more time to sit with them if I wanted to, but being honest with my Mental Illness and everything else going on I find it hard to spend ages just sitting on the cold concrete floor {they are raised off it), which is certainly more of a personal issue and I hope that doesn't make me a bad person but I do try my best.
So a couple times a day I will go out and check on them, maybe give them a little treat or sit with them for a bit and talk about my day, but that's really all I do. When I get up in the morning (before the run is attached) I will speak to them and clean out their cage a bit, and sometimes bring them in for a cuddle/weigh in/snack. And then the same in the evening, remove run and clean all that down, fresh hay and a talk and sometimes a cuddle/sit on my lap and eat their dinner. It all depends on the day/what I have planned and how I think they seem in themselves.
I would not say they live a bad life, but no matter how hard I try I always feel like it is never enough. My boys popcorn each morning when their run goes out and they are never shy to run about in their hutch, but I cant help but feel it must be a bit stagnant in a quite garage for 24 hours a day, even with the run I imagine once the excitement of the new layout wears off, it is a bit dull. They love willow items so they always have a tunnel to chew on.
I also handle my pigs at least once a day, whether that's to sit on my lap for dinner or grooming or just cuddles, which I was quite okay with but I have learned that a lot of longstanding members of the forum don't, and that's made me a bit embarrassed/uncomfortable with my routine. Please see my post in this thread for more details - Is it wrong to not handle your Guinea pigs?
So I am thinking I may have to stop handling them as much, because I do "look up" to many of the members here and if they do not do such then I feel a bit cruel in doing so, even if I know I am doing it safely and with my piggies interests at heart always.
So yes, what I am wondering is if there is anything more I could be doing. Thanks.
My boys live in a hutch, in my garage. I have a run which is about 2x4-5 in C&C sizes which is attached from their hutch from morning to evening, depends on what time I wake up really. They get a different layout in there each day, with things to run through, sleep on and a couple different places with hay.
As it is quite quiet in a garage, compared to the hustle and bustle of a house, and the fact I have quite a busy life so don't have loads of time to just sit with them, I often worry that they are bored/sad with their living situation. My life has gotten much quieter recently and I have more time to sit with them if I wanted to, but being honest with my Mental Illness and everything else going on I find it hard to spend ages just sitting on the cold concrete floor {they are raised off it), which is certainly more of a personal issue and I hope that doesn't make me a bad person but I do try my best.
So a couple times a day I will go out and check on them, maybe give them a little treat or sit with them for a bit and talk about my day, but that's really all I do. When I get up in the morning (before the run is attached) I will speak to them and clean out their cage a bit, and sometimes bring them in for a cuddle/weigh in/snack. And then the same in the evening, remove run and clean all that down, fresh hay and a talk and sometimes a cuddle/sit on my lap and eat their dinner. It all depends on the day/what I have planned and how I think they seem in themselves.
I would not say they live a bad life, but no matter how hard I try I always feel like it is never enough. My boys popcorn each morning when their run goes out and they are never shy to run about in their hutch, but I cant help but feel it must be a bit stagnant in a quite garage for 24 hours a day, even with the run I imagine once the excitement of the new layout wears off, it is a bit dull. They love willow items so they always have a tunnel to chew on.
I also handle my pigs at least once a day, whether that's to sit on my lap for dinner or grooming or just cuddles, which I was quite okay with but I have learned that a lot of longstanding members of the forum don't, and that's made me a bit embarrassed/uncomfortable with my routine. Please see my post in this thread for more details - Is it wrong to not handle your Guinea pigs?
So I am thinking I may have to stop handling them as much, because I do "look up" to many of the members here and if they do not do such then I feel a bit cruel in doing so, even if I know I am doing it safely and with my piggies interests at heart always.
So yes, what I am wondering is if there is anything more I could be doing. Thanks.