Playing with next door's or their own dirty laundry during cage clean is great fun and also wonderful stimulation!
Guinea pigs live much more in a world of scent and pheromones than we humans; it is one of their strongest senses. As simple as a romp through laundry is, it is like swapping the latest news, allowing the piggies to scent mark and to burrow...
Guinea pigs live in a big group, which uses the same area to sleep and rest in and move together to graze at down and dusk. Within this large group, piggies form sub-groups that hang out together and that have their own nooks and crannies, whether that is inside a large abandoned set in their territory or a farmyard.
Even though mine have their own pens (and do NOT like to have them invaded although they love to inspect and take over somebody else's pen
), they time-share the roaming ground and still comprehend themselves as one big tribe. Any upset in a sub-group, a panic or a strong season in one pen affects the whole community. All my neutered boars have worked out a hierarchy between themselves by rumblestrutting 'boar hakas' through the bars; they know exactly where they stand with each other! It is adjusted as they mature and age, and new boys join.
Being able to interact through the bars directly, catch up via scent marking and inspecting other groups' health statuses is a big part in creating and maintaining the overarching tribe unity. The carpet bits for zooming (free offcuts from carpet fitting shop that we were allowed to pick up at the end of the day, so they can be exchanged easily whenever they get grotty) are a wonderful scent carrier.
Please don't try this with bonded boar pairs, especially not with teenage boars!
Here are a couple of videos from Gareth, Tegwen/Teggy, Miaren and Meleri having some fun with Bedos' widows' bedding while I was cleaning their cage.
When the cage clean takes too long (Meleri)
@Tim @Janey @pig in the city @furryfriends (TEAS)
Guinea pigs live much more in a world of scent and pheromones than we humans; it is one of their strongest senses. As simple as a romp through laundry is, it is like swapping the latest news, allowing the piggies to scent mark and to burrow...
Guinea pigs live in a big group, which uses the same area to sleep and rest in and move together to graze at down and dusk. Within this large group, piggies form sub-groups that hang out together and that have their own nooks and crannies, whether that is inside a large abandoned set in their territory or a farmyard.
Even though mine have their own pens (and do NOT like to have them invaded although they love to inspect and take over somebody else's pen
), they time-share the roaming ground and still comprehend themselves as one big tribe. Any upset in a sub-group, a panic or a strong season in one pen affects the whole community. All my neutered boars have worked out a hierarchy between themselves by rumblestrutting 'boar hakas' through the bars; they know exactly where they stand with each other! It is adjusted as they mature and age, and new boys join.Being able to interact through the bars directly, catch up via scent marking and inspecting other groups' health statuses is a big part in creating and maintaining the overarching tribe unity. The carpet bits for zooming (free offcuts from carpet fitting shop that we were allowed to pick up at the end of the day, so they can be exchanged easily whenever they get grotty) are a wonderful scent carrier.
Please don't try this with bonded boar pairs, especially not with teenage boars!
Here are a couple of videos from Gareth, Tegwen/Teggy, Miaren and Meleri having some fun with Bedos' widows' bedding while I was cleaning their cage.
When the cage clean takes too long (Meleri)
@Tim @Janey @pig in the city @furryfriends (TEAS)