Floor time question.

S

Skullblits

Teenage Guinea Pig
Joined
Oct 21, 2018
Messages
617
Reaction score
481
Points
475
Just curious is floor time nesscery for piggies. We tried them with it before but they never ran around much.

Just wondering what your thoughts are
 
Yes it’s necessary as it is their exercise and time out of their cage. Offer it as much as you can.

It will take them time to become comfortable with a new area, they will be fearful at first but over time (and it may take a lot of time) they will realise they are safe. Plenty of hides houses and tunnels on the floor as they will be nervous of open spaces but keep offering floor time regularly and then they will learn to enjoy it
 
Yes I agree, even with a large cage piggies enjoy a change of scenery and some new things to do! Mine get 3 hours floor time twice a week in a "bunny business" playpen (extended with cable tied C&C grids for the main herd to make a 24 sqft space) and I usually arrange 4 or 5 hidey places that I keep just for playtime around the edge, sometimes I add a hay cube or a cardboard box filled with hay, then I chuck a heap of hay in the middle and hide little chunks of veg everywhere :)
Takes a while to set up for them to make it exciting which is why they dont get it everyday, but when they do, they love it- lots of happy foraging!
 
Thanks I'll make more of a effort to do it.
Unfortunately just don't have aload of space
 
Skullblits said:
Think they are nearly 2 and half years old
Click to expand...
Sometimes babies are more timid and don't run around so much in the open space. It's scary for them! And they are prey animals.

I have a run that I put in my garage when the weather is bad and they can't go on the grass. One pair is fine with it, the other pair, when it's their turn, are like frozen guinea pigs. They. Just. Hardly. Move. Yet outside in the same run they are fine 😂😂. Pigs just need to feel at ease in their environment, get used to it.

What size cage are your piggies in?
 
Piggylove82 said:
Sometimes babies are more timid and don't run around so much. It's scary for them! And they are prey animals. What size cage are your piggies in?
Click to expand...
They are in a 2x5 C&C they do have a run around in that especially after a cage clean.
But they didn't seem to run around much when we had them down for floor time. We done that it a few times
 
My piggies get floor time most days for 2-3 hours. We have three runs in our living room for them taking up most of the floor. They don't get a huge amount of space more than in their cages but the three groups do get to interact with each other through the fence which they seem to really enjoy. The boys like to rumble strut at each other and the girls will lick each others faces, there is of course hay theft through the panels as of course some other piggies hay is always better than your own.

Currently they go out in runs in the garden is the weather is warm and one or both of us sits out there with them

It is also nice for us to interact with them as they are normally in the piggy room upstairs.
 
Skullblits said:
They are in a 2x5 C&C they do have a run around in that especially after a cage clean.
But they didn't seem to run around much when we had them down for floor time. We done that it a few times
Click to expand...
Then they are probably just wary, that's all. In time they will come to realise it's fine. There will be no stopping them then! 😮
 
I'd love to put them outside. But we are in a upstairs flat and the garden has two sheds and little stones. And high activity of cats :(
 
Skullblits said:
I'd love to put them outside. But we are in a upstairs flat and the garden has two sheds and little stones. And high activity of cats :(
Click to expand...
Of course! It's different for all of us. Floor time would be good for your piggies, even if it takes them a few times to get used to it. How about putting a few pieces of cucumber around for them to sniff out? Might tempt them to explore a little.
 
I'm gunna order a bunch of grids and make it as big as I can. I've some carborad boxes I will use for thier hay and just leave them at it on thier own for the day
 
Piggylove82 said:
That sounds great! Let us know how it goes
Click to expand...
It would be easier if I didn't build a table for them I could just put a extension onto the cage while it was on the floor. But table saves my back so oh well lol
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top