Guinea Pig's not going up ramp

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ChilledMan

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Hello! This will be my second post. I have recently gotten a cage and some guinea pigs. The guinea pigs have steps up to where their hay and water is. But they have been here since around 1 and it is 10 now, They have not gone up the ramp at all and I'm starting to get worried. Here is an image of the steps. Any help trying to get them up their steps is much appreciated! Thanks!
 

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Hi there.

We can't properly see the cage from this picture, but I'm assuming it's a regular pet store cage? I'm asking because those are not appropriate for guinea pigs. They're too small, especially because you're mentioning pigS in plural form. Also, those little steps don't acommodate their feet.

How long have you had them? Have they been eating and drinking, even if you don't see it when it happens? I'd put the hay and water closer to where they are, because if they are too scared to move they would still get the chance to eat and drink.

Also, for now, I'd at least remove the plastic part so they don't chew on it and have more space. They don't really need this 'second floor'. Some other kind of hidey will do the trick.
 
Can we have a better picture of the cage please? It's not very clear what you are describing from the one you have posted. As @tatals has suggested move everything down to the bottom floor. How many piggies do you have? are they boys or girls? What is the size of the cage? The more information you give us the easier it is for us to give advice. Also what country are you in?
 
I agree, from the picture one can't really see the cage properly.

I can tell you from my experience with ramps, we had a lot of trial and error with ours, until we found the perfect combination. Initially my pigs would also not use it and it drove me crazy.

Our whole cage is self-made out of wood and plexiglas, and the ramp is also self-built.
It is 15 cm wide and has an inclination of max 25 degrees. In order to have an inclination of less than 30 degrees (more than this and the pigs will not be able to climb...they are not really climbers) we have also built a platform 15 * 15 cm in the middle, where the pigs can stop before taking on onto the second ramp.
The stairs were the trickiest part. Initially we had them quite high and with ruff edges and every 10 cm. We observed that the pigs were trying to use the ramp but could not really get a grip, so we added some more stairs, polished the edges and cut from their height. Now we have stairs every 3 cm, with a height of 5 mm and half-moon in shape.
Also, it might help to put some sort of roof to the stairs. It makes the piggies feel less exposed. I am using a simple cardboard box for the upper stairs as a roof and it immediately caught to the piggies.
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I have a C&C cage with a ramp up to a small loft area and it took mine a few months to get up the confidence to use the ramp and use it regularly. So in the meantime I would make sure that they also have hay and water on the level they are on.
 
Ok! Thank you. I have 3 males (I know, I didnt realize my mistake until I brought them home, still trying to figure out what to do with them :( ) But I cannot move the stuff down as the base of the cage is not wired so I cannot hook anything onto it, should I just like try taping it? I really do not know what to do to put it on the bottom, thanks!
 
Have you got a picture of the cage or can you tell us what make of cage it it - bit hard to picture at the moment. As far as hay goes, I just have a cat litter tray with hay in it on the ground floor of the cage so I don't need to attach it to anything. If there's nowhere to attach a water bottle to the side of the cage, if I were you I would put a little bowl of water down at the moment (and just mop up any spills) until you can work out a way of using bottles on the lower part of the cage. I think the main priority at the moment is that they have access to hay and water.
 
That ‘ramp’ is too steep. And they have no way of getting a grip as they go up.

The only thing you can do is separate one piggy, get a second cage (140cm+) and get him a friend.

The other boys will also need more space. That cage looks like it may meet minimum requirements but boys need more space.

I would just do piles of hay and remove that bit entirely. And are there no bars lower down? If it’s the cage I’m thinking, there should be bars on all four sides. Or a bowl as was mentioned above. But you’d have to put in 3.
 
I had a similar cage with a similar ramp when i was new to having guinea pigs ywars ago, they cant grip on that plastic its too slippery, mine jumped up and down and used to slip sometimes, i ended up throwing it away. Buy a nice big cage atleast 140cm x 60. These ramps must have been thought up by a toddler, they are useless
 
ChilledMan said:
Ok! Thank you. I have 3 males (I know, I didnt realize my mistake until I brought them home, still trying to figure out what to do with them :( ) But I cannot move the stuff down as the base of the cage is not wired so I cannot hook anything onto it, should I just like try taping it? I really do not know what to do to put it on the bottom, thanks!
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Oh dear, looks like you’ll be needing a whole new cage set up soon! A 2x5 is recommended for two boars.

In the meantime just put the hay on the floor, they’re really not fussy about where the hay is or even who’s butt has been on it :)) Just make sure they have full access to hay and water near where they are, it’s also helpful to cover half the cage (where the food is) with a towel or blanket to make them feel more secure :)
 
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