Is floortime needed

P

PippaXY123

New Born Pup
Joined
Aug 22, 2022
Messages
24
Reaction score
15
Points
90
Location
United Kingdom
Hi, so I have two 1 year old female Guinea Pigs who I adore. At the moment I give them floortime 3-4 times per week. But due to a new job opportunity I may be moving to Australia. Unfortunately importing guinea pigs is illegal to Australia, not to mention I do not want to put them through that sort lf journey (I’m from UK). I also can’t bear to rehome them, so I was thinking of asking my regular guinea pig boarding hotel to look after them while I’m away. It would be 9-10 months of the year. I have used this place several times and they are brilliant and take amazing care of my girls. However they usually only do short term care so they don’t have floor time or outdoor time like I would do for them. Their cages however are massive, I think 150cm x 200cm at least. So plenty of room. So I wondered if they would be happy in that kind of space without floor time. They are also very reasonable with rates and only charge £5 per day all inclusive.

Alternatively I know this may be a long shot but would anyone have recommendations for boarding places, for about £5 per day, that offer full care including floor time? Unfortunately I am on a budget, but also can’t bare to rehome my girls.
 
Fist of all, :wel: to the forum!
I don't know for sure, but if the piggies have a nice, spacious cage they may not need floor time. However, personally I wouldn't want to leave them for such a long time as I would imagine it to be stressful for the piggies not to see their owner for months on end.
 
£5 is a bargain for daily cost. With cages that big they can get away with no floor time. Floor time is more of a change of scenery but I wouldn’t worry if their cages are that big.

That will be a very long time to have them in boarding. But if they are comfortable and you trust the boarder then they should be fine. Being away from their owner for extended periods shouldn’t be stressful. Otherwise none of us would ever have holidays or time away.

Who did you check with to find out that it’s illegal to import guinea pigs? Have you contacted someone at the Australian embassy to find out their policy on bringing pets? I would double check with them and also with pet transfer companies. @Hannah_xx moved to Australia and had her horse sent over. She may also be able to help you out.

Have the boarders agreed to keep them for that long? What would happen if they needed to go to the vet etc? Because I assume you would have to cover those costs.

I hope you find a solution that works for everyone.
 
Siikibam said:
£5 is a bargain for daily cost. With cages that big they can get away with no floor time. Floor time is more of a change of scenery but I wouldn’t worry if their cages are that big.

That will be a very long time to have them in boarding. But if they are comfortable and you trust the boarder then they should be fine. Being away from their owner for extended periods shouldn’t be stressful. Otherwise none of us would ever have holidays or time away.

Who did you check with to find out that it’s illegal to import guinea pigs? Have you contacted someone at the Australian embassy to find out their policy on bringing pets? I would double check with them and also with pet transfer companies. @Hannah_xx moved to Australia and had her horse sent over. She may also be able to help you out.

Have the boarders agreed to keep them for that long? What would happen if they needed to go to the vet etc? Because I assume you would have to cover those costs.

I hope you find a solution that works for everyone.
Click to expand...
Thank you, I just had a look online. I know horses/ dogs/ cats etc are usually fine to import but guinea pigs sadly not 😞
Yes the boarders have agreed and said they can do that. I would still be responsible for all bills and any other extras
 
They will be fine in cages that size without floor time. It is good that you already know and trust the boarding hotel and that the piggies have been there before so it will be familiar to them.
 
The goblins never get floor time, with a big enough cage to run around in I've not seen any reason for it (also the landlord would probably have apoplexy). Since the boarders have agreed to it I think you're sorted on that front, really.
 
Mine don't normally get floor time as it stresses them out so I make sure to provide a nice large cage so they can do all their popcorns and zoomies where they feel most comfortable and safe.
 
Mine can have as much 'floor time' as they like but they much prefer hanging out in their cages or on the mat between the cages where there's food and hideys.
Its George's grass.webp
It surprised me when we first went full time free-range that they weren't all over the place but they had a look around and if there wasn't food or a nice snuggle tunnel to sit in they aren't bothered. This has been the pattern with previous pigs too - not just the current trio. They lurk round the fridge if they think their luck's in but they don't usually bother coming past it!
chattering teeth.webp
 
Free Ranger said:
Mine can have as much 'floor time' as they like but they much prefer hanging out in their cages or on the mat between the cages where there's food and hideys.
View attachment 209727
It surprised me when we first went full time free-range that they weren't all over the place but they had a look around and if there wasn't food or a nice snuggle tunnel to sit in they aren't bothered. This has been the pattern with previous pigs too - not just the current trio. They lurk round the fridge if they think their luck's in but they don't usually bother coming past it!
View attachment 209724
Click to expand...
I see they know where the food is kept
 
I was a chinchilla owner first before I got my pigs and theyve always needed a lot of floor time compared to guineas. I thought it was hard to manage a herd and 2 separate chinchillas coming out regularly at alternating times. my herd gets floor time twice a week. my chins get 45-1hour daily, each. so i do have the pigs in a spacious enough cage though. its a 2x10 c & c cage. They zoomie, and popcorn a lot during the day, and much of the evening. There are 4 sows. in my experience they are very happy together in their 2x10 with little floor time.
 
Engel said:
I see they know where the food is kept
Click to expand...

Oh they know. This fridge/freezer has the freezer at the bottom but we used to have a low-level fridge that you had to kneel down to get things out of. One of my cheekier little girls used to suddenly appear next to me and climb up with her front feet on my knees to look inside for the veggies! 🤣
 
You think they're coming up to you because they love you, but they're really looking for food. 🤣
When I give my piggy some lap time, he always gets treats too. And sometimes during floor time, he jumps up on my lap expecting food. 😂
 
Thanks everyone, I do also notice that a large majority of the time when they get floor time or outdoor time they just hide away in the little huts. Also when I give them floor time I just open my cage door and set up fencing so they can go in and out of their cage as they wish. They quite often just go back in after 5 mins of zooming around. Their current cage is only 60x160 so I try to give them floor time. I just can’t help but worry because I want them to be happy as possible. But sounds like they will be ok in the massive rooms that this boarding place has
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top