The humans just let us our for extra long floor time tonight and I have to say, it was awesome! Not only do we enjoy the exercise, but we really love the opportunity for foraging that floor time affords us.
We were made to nose around the floor, taking little steps, sniffing the floor, and tasting the occasional stray blade of hay. It's a strong natural instinct for us, and when we are let out of our cage for floor time, we get to explore and forage for food.
If you want to go a step further, you can hide little treats around the room we forage in. Take some stray pellets and hide them under chairs, in paper bags that have been tilted on their side (so we can crawl in) and we will make it our personal mission to sniff them out!
If you're concerned that we will pee and poop all over your nice carpet, have no fear! We are conditioned to only go in our cage, so just leave the cage open and we will return when nature calls. The exception to this is if there are covered areas that we have access to, such as under bookcases, or under tables, in which case we will designate these areas as our personal bathroom spots, so make sure you block these off beforehand.
One more thing: we need to be supervised during floor time because as gnawing animals we will chew on any and all things you leave on the floor: papers, shoelaces, etc. So keep a eye on us to keep us safe!
What do your piggies like to do when you give them floor time? Tell us in the comments!
Cavy Savvy is a guinea pig blog written from the perspective of three guinea pigs: Lola, Buffy and Broccoli. We review guinea pig products, pet food, toys, bedding, cages and more to provide humans with all they need to know about guinea pigs!
I've tried the cage thing, but once they go in, they don't come back out! I've tried luring them with food, but either they don't want it as much as they want to be in their cage, or the cage wall is to tall to get out of.
ReplyDeleteOur cage does feel like home, so we can understand not wanting to leave it sometimes. However, sometimes we get stir-crazy and will rattle the bars until the humans let us out!
DeleteAll you can do is make sure your piggies have the option for floor time.
How could I boost them up for getting out?
DeleteWe have only had our 2 for a week now and all they do during floor time is hide. We will put hay around. They will get some and run back to their hiding spots.
ReplyDeleteIf you've only had them for a week, it's understandable that they're not comfortable exploring yet.
DeleteOf course, we've been bad about replying to comments for the past couple weeks, so they've had a few more weeks to get comfortable with the idea of floor time. Any change in their behavior since you posted your comment?
After reading this article I made a game of giving my piglet treats, by hiding them around his cage. Now I have to hide them EVERY time, because he enjoys hunting for them. Thanks for a great idea!
ReplyDeleteWe're glad our post inspired you!
DeleteI just love when you wrote, and tasting the occasional stray blade of hay. It just shows that I'm not the only one that has strands of hay on the floor! :-)
ReplyDeletethanks but still poops
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHow can i train my piggy to poop in her cage?
ReplyDeleteI have 2 piggies been trying to get one them to be more social. She just seem to not as vocal as other pig. Trying to figure out if she sad or happy. Always have fresh water food etc... Pet them a lot but Dixie just sit dont. Make a sound
ReplyDelete