'Free roaming' guinea pigs

[Fudge.Churro]

Hello, I'm new to guinea pig ownership but recently got two boars born in June , and I am just wondering if my set-up is ok...
I have the piggies essentially constantly 'free roaming' in a (securely) cordoned off area of a room (the area is much bigger than any C&C cages I've seen - about 200cm/150cm), with plans once they get bigger to remove the 'door' to their area and allow them to have the run of the full room whilst I am home. Their area is covered in fleece, with reusable pee pads placed in areas I know they pee more. They have several hides (fleecy and wooden) and also an open hamster heaven cage (100cm/50cm with a 40cm door, was one I had already due to me upgrading my hamsters cage) to use as a sort of oversized litter tray.
I wanted to do things this way as I thought 1. lots of space for the piggies and 2. cheap for me as I only had to buy the wood for the barrier and door
My question is - is this suitable? their enclosure does have a radiator in, but it's never used, I clean it regularly, and I have blocked them from accessing the pipes
If this is not suitable, or if you have anything which could make this more suitable, what would you suggest?

Many Thanks!
Liv (slave to Fudge, Churro and Luna the Hamster)

 

[weepweeps]

Hello and welcome to the forum. Sounds great. Would you like to post a picture? Would love to see it and your piggies too

 

[Piggies&buns]

From your description, this sounds absolutely perfect. They have got a good amount of space which is essential for boars.
If you want to post a picture of it, then you can do so by pressing the ‘attach files’ button below the message box.

 

[Fudge.Churro]

Thanks to you both for your comments - you have put my mind at rest! I will attach a picture when I get home this evening
Just one other question - I know two is the minimum number for a guinea pig herd, but are there any disadvantages of only having two? We only bought two brothers as we already have a hamster and are planning to get a dog soon, so we want to be able to ensure we can always afford veterinary care if any of the animals were to become sick!

 

[Piggies&buns]

Thanks to you both for your comments - you have put my mind at rest! I will attach a picture when I get home this evening
Just one other question - I know two is the minimum number for a guinea pig herd, but are there any disadvantages of only having two? We only bought two brothers as we already have a hamster and are planning to get a dog soon, so we want to be able to ensure we can always afford veterinary care if any of the animals were to become sick!

Herds only work for sows with or without one neutered boar.
As you have two boars, you cannot add any other piggies in with them (of either sex) as fights will occur.
Boars must be kept in pairs only - three or more boars together does not work.
If you were to want more piggies, you would have to have an entirely separate pair of boars in a separate cage.
You should also avoid having any sows even in the same room as boars (simply smelling sow pheromones can cause a boar pair to fight). Putting a sow in the cage with two boars would cause utter chaos - fights, injuries, broken bonds and separated piggies.

 

[Fudge.Churro]

Herds only work for sows with or without one neutered boar. As you have two boars, you cannot add any other piggies in with them (of either sex) as fights will occur. Boars must be kept in pairs only. If you were to want more piggies, You would have to have an entirely separate pair of boars in a separate cage. You should also avoid having any sows even in the same room as boars (simply smelling sow pheromones can cause a boar pair to fight. Putting a sow in the cage with two boars would cause utter chaos - fights, injuries, broken bonds and separated piggies)

Ah ok! Thanks for the knowledge - I had read varying information about this, and I was just a bit worried that the piggies would get a bit lonely if there were only the two of them! Also, when I said 'herd' I was meaning 'more than one guinea pig' and not a herd in the traditional sense, haha.
They seem to be getting on really well at the minute, a bit of grumbling at each other but overall ok - I do have two veggie dishes now, as they seemed to be most territorial over their beloved veggies, but they still end up sharing bowls! Haha

 

[Piggies&buns]

Ah ok! Thanks for the knowledge - I had read varying information about this, and I was just a bit worried that the piggies would get a bit lonely if there were only the two of them! Also, when I said 'herd' I was meaning 'more than one guinea pig' and not a herd in the traditional sense, haha.
They seem to be getting on really well at the minute, a bit of grumbling at each other but overall ok - I do have two veggie dishes now, as they seemed to be most territorial over their beloved veggies, but they still end up sharing bowls! Haha

No, they definitely won't be lonely - they've got each other! As long as they continue to get on well, they will be absolutely fine. I have a 3 year old boar pair myself.
Even if they do fall out as teenagers and have to live in a divided cage, then as they will still have through the bar interaction, even then they wont be lonely.

It can be beneficial to not use bowls at all for either veg or pellets. Simply scatter the veg and pellets around the cage. This will mean one piggy cannot hog food, but it also keeps them entertained and encourages natural foraging behaviour as they have to search for it. Hiding veg and pellets amongst big piles of hay works well!

 

[weepweeps]

I have two of everything! And I scatter feed their veggies. Just to make sure they don’t argue. Also when I clean them out I always keep a bit of dirty hay that smells of them both. Because I noticed they would argue more after a cage clean. They were trying to re-establish their bond.