Floortime

[RainbowPuppo117]

Heyya everyone!

Back again with some questions concerning my lovely piggies, Tilly and Void. We have had them for about three days now and wanted to check that from my knowledge, they are doing well.
Shy and right into hiding at first, i knew this was normal. by the first night, they were exploring and making cute wheeking all the time. toys, houses, tunnels and food have been explored, carrots have been introduced and while a couple pieces were eaten, they seen to otherwise be ignored. pellets are still on my buy list but a good amount of hay is filling their tummies for sure.
We bought them on Thursday and i will be doing my first proper clean on Sunday morning, bright and early.

I was thinking of floor time and periods to explore for them. this coming Thursday, we will be getting a willow bridge and a dog pen for them to have the floor time in. along with transferring the items from their cage to the floor pen so familiarity follows them, and can possibly ease any nerves.

They seem to be, funnily, taking more of an interest in the water bottle that is 1: harder to reach and 2: the one that came with the cage. as apposed to the easily accessible and higher quality one. funny that, eh?

one thing i needed to ask though, is how long i should wait until floor time, as i know handling them when so early isn't a good idea, but giving them floor time is super important. so I'm stuck at a crossroads as the trust process between them and I is still very much in it's early stages.
How should i transport them, and when should i do it? that sort of advice would be really, really appreciated. thanks!

 

[Piggies&buns]

Giving them a while to settle is a good idea. Perhaps give them another few days before trying floor time, but take it at their pace. The problem comes if you end up chasing them round their cage to get them, that is what you would want to avoid. If they are in a position that you can get them, then I’d play the situation by ear as to whether you try to move them. Each piggy is going to be different and one person may have to wait a couple of weeks but for another it’ll be quicker. I’ve had my boys (they’re 18 months old) for over a year, one of them sees their pet carrier, gets excited and knows it’s playtime and happily runs into the carrier. The other one, still after a year, runs the opposite direction and doesn’t really want to have much to do with me! Getting them taking food from your hand is a good place to start though.

When moving them, always ensure they are in something secure. I use a pet carrier to move my boys, some people (I’ve seen in recent days) use plastic trugs and others use snuggle sacks.

 

[Merab]

I always give a new piggy a week to settle in.
Some settle quickly, others take longer.
I find that using a snuggle pouch is a good way of catching a piggy too.

It does take time and patience to settle new piggies- this is because they’re prey animals and naturally nervous.

It’s great that you are asking the questions- your piggies are very lucky to have you.

 

[RainbowPuppo117]

i really wanna make sure they are getting the best. yesterday was carrots tryout. a couple pieces were eaten, but the rest were ignored. trying out cucumber and tomato tomorrow. and I'm aware i should be very minimal with tomato. hoping they love cucumber as we can all bond over a shared love of water stick!

 

[Siikibam]

I’d keep the carrot to a minimum as well. Have a read through the feeding guide linked below for ideas. There are three or four veg that can be fed daily.
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets