Keeping Pigs Active.

[npanne]

i didn't really know whether to post this here, under health or under behaviour - if an admin feels it belongs on another board then please move / delete as necessary.

I'm hoping to get some pointers with regards to how to encourage more activity in guinea pigs.

I have three sows, and whilst they seem generally quite content, they do seem to be less active than others that I know. One in particular, the dominant sow, is beginning to look positively overweight too, which is a concern.

To put that in context a little, that pig has always been big - in fact the rescue place that I got them from kept her for longer than usual to be sure that she wasn't pregnant (she's definitely not), but she's now 1800g, and gaining steadily.

Their diet is as per recommendations, and they all have plenty of opportunity for exercise, but they never seem too keen to actually DO anything. In the summer they have a lawn run that they spend the day in, but they tend to explore it then sit under their shelter for the rest of the day - same with their indoor run in the winter.

They have a tunnel in their cage, and I've been trying to tempt them with toys and brown paper / paper bags, but there's little interest - any ideas?

 

[npanne]

Apologies for "bumping" my own thread - I was just wondering whether anyone has any thoughts on lethargic piggies?

All three of mine are very inactive, whether in their cage, their indoor run or their lawn run. The vet has checked them over, and clinically they are all fine - they are eating, drinking and pooing normally, and they have no problems with teeth etc.

They have a long tube in their cage, and a few other toys that I hoped might stimulate them - but they seem to just laze about all day. When I put them in their run they head straight for the shelter and stay there, and even if I put them in a run without shelter they don't seem to move around much. The only time they show any real enthusiasm or excitement is when I feed them, and they run around and squeak as you'd expect, but compared to other piggies that I know they are nowhere near as lively.

Any ideas?

 

[Nick c]

I'm afraid I can't help, but hopefully someone can! I feel the same about our 15 month old boys. They're healthy, eat well, popcorn quite a bit, but spend most of their time lying around. Floortime makes them inquisitive sometimes, bored at other times. They do run really fast back to their cage when they're ready to go back though! I'm sure they're fine, but like you feel that they should be a little more active.

 

[VickiA]

I'm tagging @Wiebke for you as a weight of 1800g is a heavy weight for a sow. When did you get your piggies from the rescue? And are you sure you have 3 sows and that all 3 have been kept separate from an intact male?

 

[npanne]

Def all sows - as well as the rescue place (and the woman there was very knowledgable), the vet has also checked. The weight of that particular pig has come down a bit since we changed their diet, she's closer to 1650g now. We've had them a year now, and no contact with any others, so there's no chance of baby piglets :-)

 

[Wiebke]

Here are some tips for what you can do to entice her to move around a bit more: The Importance Of Weighing - Ideal Weight / Overweight / Underweight

Glad that the weight is starting to come down!

Sorry for not answering straight away; I was looking after a sow dying from a series strokes round the clock during that week.

 

[npanne]

Thanks for the link - lots of interesting stuff there - and def no problem with the speed of reply - sounds like a tough time :-(

I do wonder whether the larger of our piggies is bordering on overweight, but the other two are def not, and they are just as lethargic - I'm hoping that moving back outdoors to their hutch will raise their interest levels a bit.

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks for the link - lots of interesting stuff there - and def no problem with the speed of reply - sounds like a tough time :-(

I do wonder whether the larger of our piggies is bordering on overweight, but the other two are def not, and they are just as lethargic - I'm hoping that moving back outdoors to their hutch will raise their interest levels a bit.

Older piggies are often quite lethargic; they only interest is food and sleeping...

 

[npanne]

How do you define "older"? Mine are between 14-18 months old.

 

[Drezella]

I make a lot of 'free' toys for my boys which help to keep them active. A lot of the toys involve hiding food so that the boys either have to forage for it or work to get it. Here are a few things that I've come up with which you are welcome to try.

A veg washing line, literally as it sounds, a piece of string or twine tied from one side of the cage to the other, with veg pegged onto it. This encourages your pigs to stretch up to reach their food. However, I always supervise my boys when I set this up for them so that there are no issues with the pegs.

(Sorry I've no photos of this one, but I'll t and take some next time I do it)

A cored apple with holes dug out of it, stuffed with veg. My boys love pushing it round the cage in order to try and roll an extra veggie out of it. Alternatively you could dig some holes out of it and hang it up with a piece of sting or twine and cut grooves out of it which you can wedge veg into. Or stuff with hay.





The boys also like Hay balls which they can push and shove around and of course eat! Again I always supervise when these are in the cage as they could become stuck in them, so just be vigilant.



The humble toilet roll and/or kitchen roll has many uses.




Even a brown paper bag stuffed with hay is a very exciting toy.

In the past I also made piggy playhouses for my boys which had an upstairs. I hung treats and chews inside and the floor was covered with seagrass mats which the boys enjoyed chewing. I also hid veggies round it to encourage them to forage for it,



Every floor time I hide veggies round the kitchen, in tubes, on top of small cardboard boxes to encourage as much activity as possible. The boys are usually worn out after 25 mins or so LOL.



Hope this is helpful.