pigloo or not to pigloo?

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kat04kt

kat04kt

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So I have a question open to debate?

At the moment in my c&c cage there are a number of 'hide-aways' for my guinea's - igloo's etc.

Reading some Peter Gurney, he advised against this - for piggies that are kept indoors. He believed by not providing igloo's/hideaways it speeds up the taming process.

Part of me can see the logic, part of me think it's quite cruel as its in their nature to take cover.

Wonder what other people thought?

xx
 
I read that too but I think it is cruel not to give piggies a place to feel safe. They are such timid creatures that they need to be able to hide when they need to. They also like to sleep in them and with the wooden ones they help to chew for their teeth.

How is the new cage?:)
 
I personally think they should always have somewhere to feel safe. Mine do run and hide under there stools if they hear a loud noise, its not a bad thing for them to do that.
 
It's way too big! haha. I thought it would be fine.... but I had to stop the car after I picked it up as it kept hitting me in the head! lol. So I thought, erm, maybe this isn't the best holiday home if I have to take it back and forth on long car journeys!
I should have done my measuring, totally my mistake. It's a brilliant cage though! I might try to pursuade my Mum to just let me leave it at her's so that it's there when I do go home and/or she's pigsitting for me when I'm on holiday :)


With the pigloo debate: I'm thinking the same thing, isn't it a little cruel to deny them one of their basic instincts? I removed one of their pigloo's tonight and replaced it with a cosy and I have seen a lot more of them, so I get what he's saying - to remove all of them, I'd feel pretty damn mean!
 
Mine have 2 stools and 2 beds/cosies plus some tunnels, I think if you have a mix of things its a good balance. They will sit out in the cosies when they want to and if they want some privacy they will go under/in hideys.
 
I understand what he's getting at but if something startles them, like the hoover for example, what are they gonna do?
I have a chew tube, a couple of cosey beds, a hammock house and an upturned cardboard box with a hole cut out either end for both pairs of boars, it gives them places to hide, sleep and keep warm and it hasn't harmed the taming process for me, I have a boar within each pair that is more skittish but each of these are the young ones. I think being inside is a big improvment on outside for taming them anyway, my elder boars don't even flinch when i get the hoover out! :))
Mine are in a c & c in the kitchen as this is the biggest room, warmest and as our bathroom is downstairs and its the middle room, there's always people in tere, passing through etc.
 
I think they need somewhere to hide too if they feel insecure. if they want to come out and see you, thats up to them :)
 
emmalala said:
I think they need somewhere to hide too if they feel insecure. if they want to come out and see you, thats up to them :)
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I agree - I would never not have somewhere for mine to run into if something makes them jump.
 
Definitely to pigloo! They are prey animals and they need somewhere to hide if they feel threatened or somewhere to relax where they feel safe enough to sleep! They'll get tame over time once they get used to regular handling and the noises around the house etc :)
 
Personally I don't use pigloos for my piggies. I don't like the way they only have one entry/exit which is not good if one of them doesn't like the other, it can cause squabbles over the pigloo, & one will inevitably get kicked out rolleyes

I do provide hideys for mine, but do take them out occasionally as they have a hammock to hide under, but I think it is good for them to occasionally not to have somewhere to hide as it does make them more used to us & mine are happy to chill in the open, even within days of us having them, & I am sure it's because of this. They have a hay tunnel, a cardboard tunnel, a cosy tunnel, & cardboard boxes I have cut several holes in so they can escape from each other easily. However out of the three of them, only one actually sleeps under a box, they other two just kip where they like as you can see:

DSCF0792.jpg


I don't find it cruel, they are already very used to us just 7 weeks after us getting them & I am sure it's because of this. I found with previous piggies they can get very possessive of hideys so if there are any indications of this I would remove them. :)
 
Ours have a pigloo. It really hasn't caused any problems with them becoming tame, and they really don't squabble over it. Sometimes they will both sleep in there together- very cute, they always are facing in opposite directions side by side! Sometimes the dominant pig Linney likes to snooze in the pigloo with her nose and eyes poking out the door and Sundae will snooze in the open somewhere else, and sometimes when Sundae is in the pigloo Linney will camp out in the opposite corner in the open. Linney probably gets to use the pigloo more, but those are just the perks of being top piggie, and it doesn't seem to cause any problems.
 
I take my igloo's out sometimes and they don't seem to mind, they actually seem to like it, more space to run and play and they seem tamer :)
Also they use there litter trays alot more, when there igloo is in they seem to be lazy more and go in there !
 
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