Have I Got The Right Hutch?

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NBP

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I've just collected 2 12 week old female Guinea pigs and now I'm wondering if I've made a mistake in the hutch I've bought. I thought I'd got one plenty big enough but the hutch is the type with a room upstairs and a run below and I'm concerned the 'room' area is too small. Also I'm using straw as bedding which I've put a thick layer of in the upstairs room as well as stuffing a plastic shelter for them to burrow into which is inside the room. Now I'm wondering if I should be using hay as bedding? I've provided hay as food but inside the balls that clip onto the cage.....
Should I be doing it all differently?

LARGE RABBIT HUTCH / GUINEA PIG RUN / DELUXE PET HUTCHES / FERRET CAGE PETS
 
NBP said:
I've just collected 2 12 week old female Guinea pigs and now I'm wondering if I've made a mistake in the hutch I've bought. I thought I'd got one plenty big enough but the hutch is the type with a room upstairs and a run below and I'm concerned the 'room' area is too small. Also I'm using straw as bedding which I've put a thick layer of in the upstairs room as well as stuffing a plastic shelter for them to burrow into which is inside the room. Now I'm wondering if I should be using hay as bedding? I've provided hay as food but inside the balls that clip onto the cage.....
Should I be doing it all differently?

LARGE RABBIT HUTCH / GUINEA PIG RUN / DELUXE PET HUTCHES / FERRET CAGE PETS
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It's a nice hutch but a lot of piggies won't use ramps and so they might be stuck in one of the compartments.Also it's best to use hay for bedding with guinea pigs x
 
Gem789 said:
It's a nice hutch but a lot of piggies won't use ramps and so they might be stuck in one of the compartments.Also it's best to use hay for bedding with guinea pigs x
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Thanks - I wondered about straw vs hay but that's easily changed. I guess I'll have to see if they use the ramp - the bottom is open currently and has no enclosed area (apart from the tunnels etc I've put there) so I'll have to try and tempt them to use the ramp as staying upstairs would be too small and staying downstairs would be too cold.
 
My guinea pigs use the ramp in their hutch. But make sure you put something under the ramp, like a house or something, because the ramp is too steep. You can see how I did with it in my piggies hutch.

20141129_211954.webp
 
Ok thanks - I'll do that - do they then just jump up/down to the top of the house then up the ramp?
 
NBP said:
Ok thanks - I'll do that - do they then just jump up/down to the top of the house then up the ramp?
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Yes, they do just that. Also, since your piggies are just babies, you might want to put/glued some blockage on the sides of the ramp. I used cardboard on mine. My piggies run up & down the ramp when they learned how to and it's quite scary when they almost fell. Make the ramp as safe as possible.
 
anyar.dris said:
Yes, they do just that. Also, since your piggies are just babies, you might want to put/glued some blockage on the sides of the ramp. I used cardboard on mine. My piggies run up & down the ramp when they learned how to and it's quite scary when they almost fell. Make the ramp as safe as possible.
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Ok thanks - I'll secure some cardboard sides on today.
 
Update...!
I have put cardboard sides on the ramp and one of the piggies is now running up and down very happily and is very playful and content. The other piggie is very nervous still - doesn't seem to be moving very much at all - hides in the back corner and I'm not sure if she is eating much (hard to tell as piggie 1 is constantly eating so the hay, pellets and veg are disappearing). She can use the ramp as I've seen her use it once but just seems very nervy. She didn't move at all when I put them in a separate run earlier (in order for me to get to and add sides to the ramp) for over an hour. They've only been here 3 days now so hopefully she will get more confident. How long do I leave it before being worried?
 
Usually there's one piggies more adventurous than the other so wouldn't worry too much she will soon follow her friend. I had the food problem with my pigs and my adventurous one (popeye) would come right up to the bowl in plain sight his pal Captain not so much but whenever popeye would run back to the hide your captain would just steal the food off him lol. Now they both come to the bowls in plain sight..Popeye is downright greedy he'll climb onto me now from his cage to get his veggies. Captain rarely eats from my hand or when on my lap.. I've had my pigs 3 months I think.. I'm starting to feel now like they're genuinely settled. I've taken it really slow with them both and lap time still only lasts 10 minutes maximum just so I can groom them and check them over daily. The best way to tell about food is obviously to weigh them. I usher them into a little cardboard box one at a time. Weigh the box with pig in on my scales then transfer him to the run..then do the next pig. After I weigh the box or can do this before and deduct from the overall weight . Good luck x
 
They seem to be starting to settle Thankyou - both will eat in front of us now but the shy one is still a bit more reluctant!
I will try to weigh them this weekend - trying not to startle them too much ATM!
Thanks for replying!
 
Tiamolly123 said:
Hi just wondered if your hay rack is fixed or the one that could collapse
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The one on the floor is collapsible, but we don't use it now. The piggies seem to be able to eat more hay from the one hanging on the rails. We just buy from ebay/amazon the racks that you can hang to the rails.
 
anyar.dris said:
My guinea pigs use the ramp in their hutch. But make sure you put something under the ramp, like a house or something, because the ramp is too steep. You can see how I did with it in my piggies hutch.

View attachment 52648
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Hi.
Thanks for the picture of your fabulous hutch. Mine also has a ramp going to the run at the bottom, even though there is plenty of interest from the pigs, they have yet to use the ramp. Now I have seen your picture, I will also be putting something underneath to raise the ramp up and putting something on the sides to make it more secure. Hopefully they will then feel a bit more confident about using it.
 
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