As we've already explained, floor time is important for
mental stimulation and exercise. However, floor time can also be scary for some guinea pigs because we're leaving our familiar cage for less familiar territory.
Following behind the dominant pig can help relieve some of this anxiety. Another thing that can help is if your human sets up what we are calling a "Piggy City." What is a Piggy City, you ask? Well, if you look at a human city, you'll see that they have buildings with streets between them. You can take the stuff out of our cages during floor time and create a similar setup.
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| What street am I on? I wish I had a GPS. I'd make this a "favorite!" |
You see, we guinea pigs
are prey animals, and hiding places make us feel safe. We don't like being in open spaces. You can tell us all you want that we're safe in your living room, but we don't care. The day we let our guard down could be the day that there's hawk hiding behind your bookshelf!
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| I feel much safer here than I do in open spaces! |
Next time you give your piggies floor time, consider giving them a Piggy City to play in!
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The problem with that for Sugar and Cinnamon is that their hiding places consist of a Snak-Shak log and a ledge that clips onto the bars of their cage that they can hop onto. I can't move that out because there would be nothing to clip onto. Any ideas?
ReplyDeleteYou could buy them some new toys, or try putting other objects on the ground that they can walk between.
DeleteAlso, I'm not sure if I've asked about it before, the ledge is plastic, and they can access their pellets and water from it, plus they like getting a better view, so they really like it. The problem is that they've taken to chewing on it, and I'm worried they're eating to much plastic. Climbing on it really seems to make them happy, but should I take it away anyway?
DeleteI use cardboard boxes for my piggy floor time! I cut entrance holes and take different sized boxes and they run in between them, cheap and fun!
DeleteAww this is so cute! It's similar to what I do for my piggies.
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ReplyDeleteAw, so adorable! I wish my house had some carpet, my whole house is hard floor. I have to spread a fleece blanket for them to do their floortime.
ReplyDeleteMine get play time in a kiddie pool that is filled with bedding, toys, food, hay and water. They run around and get their excercise but also still feel safe.
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