My o/h wants 2 indoor g.pigs

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devoted2buns

devoted2buns

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I've owned 3 g.pigs in my life which were a pleasure but i dont know a huge amount about them i must admit. My o/h said he would like 2 indoor g.pigs but i just want some advice really on the size of accomodation that they need? I was given a cage which used to house a ferret in, it has 4 levels in it with ramps. Would this be okay? Any advice would be much appreciated! ta.
 
Not sure about the ramps they might be a bit too steep and some piggies don't like ramps and refuse to use them, but it depends on the piggie really. :)
 
4x2 is the preffered minimum for 2 pigs. A Nero 4 is suitable from pets at home. There is a lot to learn I suggest going through the sub forums here you will find a lot of info on bedding, food, health etc. :)
 
Hello and welcome :)
A nero 4 is a very good sized cage for 2 piggies. Some members, including myself, use c & c cages made from shelving grids. Depends wether you have any other pets indoors such as a dog or cat, if so, they are less suitable. There are pics of these cages under housing or visit www.cavycages.com for more ideas ;)
 
Mine didnt like the ramp I put in their cage....I had a 5ft by 2.5f cage then I added on to it to make it an L shape and made a second level - the ramp was nice and shallow but they just werent interested - so I eventually took it down.
From what I know they arent real big climbers you may be better off investing in a single level large cage....
 
hi welcome to the forum, i was new to the whole piggy thing when i joined here and have learnt so much from just reading through the old posts and stuff. We love to see piccies so when you get your piggies we want pigtures please!
 
Like S&T said, 4' x 2' is the minimum advised for two pigs and the bigger the better really, especially with boars!

There are cages/hutches with ramps that people's piggies live happily in but I don't think that multi-level cages (rat/ferret) are suitable for piggies. I know that my boys like to do laps, especially when they get excited about food! They run at such speeds around their cage, which they couldn't do in a smaller space.

They also have a large indoor run made from 12 Wilkinson's wire cooling racks and cable ties...we're an inventive lot!
 
Thanks guys, that gives me a better idea. I have read the info page on g.pigs on the home page. I have a dif cage which is 94cm in length and is slightly too small as it says a min of 100cm. Will be on a search for a nero 4 i think. Also my sister in law has 4 g.pigs but one is HUGE, how much should they weight as I'm sure its a bit on the porky side :x
 
Welcome to the forum. :)

Pigs vary a lot in size and weight. Some are naturally dainty, some are naturally chubby! Anything between 2lb and 4lb is the average (800 -1800g) though a little more or less can be normal. As a rough guide, as long as the pigs' belly doesn't touch or drag on the floor as they stand tall and walk, then they're usually a fine weight.
 
CCC4 said:
Welcome to the forum. :)

Pigs vary a lot in size and weight. Some are naturally dainty, some are naturally chubby! Anything between 2lb and 4lb is the average (800 -1800g) though a little more or less can be normal. As a rough guide, as long as the pigs' belly doesn't touch or drag on the floor as they stand tall and walk, then they're usually a fine weight.
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Thanks I will check with her. Apparently she gets stuck in her tunnel :(
 
When i bought my first pigges i was totally new to them and didn't know much about their cages etc. The pet shop advised me to get a Nero 2 for them which was fine for a couple of weeks until they grew slightly and then it was clear to anyone that it was far too small for them, especially as mine seemed like extra big piggies lol, so i upgraded to a Nero 4 and they had plenty of room to run around and play and seemed far happier. So i would definately recommend a Nero 4 cage, easy to clean and the pigs seem to love it.
 
thanks emma. do g.pigs have to have an outside run with grass as my oh lives in a flat and i dont want us to get piggys if we cant offer them the home they deserve. any thing else i should know?
 
I think as long as they have a room or something that they can run around in for daily exercise then they should be okay, mine don't go outside very often...... although saying that we never seem to have any decent weather to put them outside! You can even buy little pots of grass seed from pet shops now which keeps you with a fresh supply of grass to feed to them, thats what i use for my piggies as i have a dog so i don't like feeding them grass from the garden that he could have weed on! lol
 
you will need to get an indoor run or have a room they can run in with no wires / plug sockets or anything they might nibble and damage (ie furniture etc..) I have a play pen which I got from P@h but was a bit pricey, others have made one out of cooling racks / cubes for building selves etc..

Mine just have a sheet of plastic in middle of living room with playpen on top and some fleece so they don't get cold running on the plastic! Obviously its only there for a few hours each day then it gets tidied away (also it is good place to put them when cleaning their cage)
 
thanks for all your advice, i phoned my local rescue today and they wont home us any g.pigs as they think its better for them to have a run on grass every day. :( they suggested we got a rat.
 
Try another rescue, that is plain silly! Lots of people in flats have guinea pigs :(
 
YEAH! thats silly indeed! i live in a flat and lou wont be on grass. she may have play dates with people in the summer on grass but i cant put her out here as its not safe with other dogs etc.

surely thats just plain old silly!@)
 
I would certainly be happy to rehome to someone that is clearly concerned over the proper care of the pet they are looking to adopt and is going to lengths to educate themselves and research into that care, regardless of whether they lived in a flat or a wendyhouse!
Readi - Grass is a fantastic substitute for a garden and a healthy addition to any piggie diet :)
 
That does sound very silly and unfair, your clearly not just going out and getting guinea pigs without thinking everything through before hand.

As i said before my little piggies dont go outside in the garden very often because we have a dog aswell but they are still perfectly happy, healthy and loved guinea's. I just use the readi-grass which pigginrescue mentions for them to nibble on, like they would if i took them into the garden.
 
thank you for your support. can someone advise us or show us pics of suitable accomodation where the g.pigs could live all the time so they dont have to rely on us to get a pen out for them every day. we may have to travel to find another rescue as the only other one is the rspca and dont like them.
 
devoted2buns said:
thanks for all your advice, i phoned my local rescue today and they wont home us any g.pigs as they think its better for them to have a run on grass every day. :( they suggested we got a rat.
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I do not agree with this. Have you tried Flowerofshona in Bournemouth. She still has some piggies and I am sure that she would not have a problem with them being in a flat. i certainly wouldn't have re-homed very successfully to a flat where they have been really pampered.
 
fi.cantillon said:
I do not agree with this. Have you tried Flowerofshona in Bournemouth. She still has some piggies and I am sure that she would not have a problem with them being in a flat. i certainly wouldn't have re-homed very successfully to a flat where they have been really pampered.
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no i havent heard of flowerofshona, do you have their contact details?
 
Hope you get to give a lovely home to 2 lucky piggies-keep us posted!
 
devoted2buns said:
thank you for your support. can someone advise us or show us pics of suitable accomodation where the g.pigs could live all the time so they dont have to rely on us to get a pen out for them every day. we may have to travel to find another rescue as the only other one is the rspca and dont like them.
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Here is an example of where Jimmy and Joe live at the moment which is in our kitchen they have full access to the kitchen and get in and out of their cage we never shut them in.

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Hope this example helps:)
 
Lindsay thats fab! I wish I could do something like that but I have two very curious woofers....my pigs do have their own room upstairs and dont get bothered by the dogs - I will get them somekind of outside accomodation nearer the spring - I do like the simple apex runs - but I wouldnt have them live outside perm...purely because we live with a countrypark at the back of our house & theres lots of creatures around at night...
I totally dont get the rescue center saying they wouldnt rehome to someone with a flat - if I'm honest this sort of nonsense really annoys me...
 
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