About hideaways

[Namida]

I have two boar piggies and both of them are around 4 months old. I have two pigloos in the cage which are supposed to let them hide inside. My piggies, however, always lie down / sleep on top of the pigloos and rarely go inside. Just wondering if it’s just because my piggies do not particularly fancy hiding or I should better buy another hideaways for them?

 

[Siikibam]

They may just like sleeping outside them. You could always use cardboard boxes as a cheap and easy hide. With boars, and especially at that age, it’s essential you have hides with two exits. They’ve just started their teenage months (4-14 months of age) and dominance issues can flare up if there is lack of space or they get cornered. So make sure their minimum cage is 150x60cm (2x5 c&c) or 12sq feet. And hides with two exits. We’d love to see photos of your boys

 

[hrsrdr]

Also, be careful using the plastic ones in the direct sun, because they magnify the heat inside, and your boys could get heatstroke.. I'd love to see some photos of them!

 

[Piggies&buns]

That’s fine that they like to be on top of them, they are obviously happy to not go inside but I agree with @Siikibam. Pigloos, and by that they usually have only one exit, are not a good idea for teen boars - tunnels, so there are two exits is best. A 150x60cm cage is the minimum for two boys. 180cm x 60cm (or a 5x2 c&c (which measures 180x77cm)) cage is recommended for two boys.

 

[Namida]

Thanks guy for you advice! I did try to make some hides/tunnels with cardboard with more than one exit. And they just like to bite it (RIP to those cardboards) or pass through it.

I am going to move them into a 2x5 C&C cage later so that there will more space to add hides and toys for them.

 

[Piggies&buns]

The whole point with tunnels is that they can just run through - it stops them getting trapped by then other piggy which is how fights can occur. Cardboard is a safe thing for them to play with and chew. I save every single cardboard box I can possibly store so I have a supply of them and they can have a fresh one regularly for their playpen

Going by this picture, they look confident enough to sleep in the open so I really wouldn’t be concerned at all, but they will go into a hidey if they want to. To add though, mine would never go inside snugglesacks like in your picture - I just don’t think they liked being inside them and instead would only ever lay on top of them

You need to be careful when upgrading cages. Any new environment will set off territorial and dominance behaviours - a change of cage size will cause this as it will disrupt their territories. For a boar pair who are compatible and want to be together, then it should settle down after a few days but it is so important that you use soiled bedding in the new cage so it smells of them and it’ll help them still recognise it as being their territory. However, given they are now in their teens, giving them as much space as you possibly can and as soon as you possibly can will go a way to helping them get through their teens harmoniously.

The guide below is specific to boars, their needs and behaviours. It also contains a section on how to upgrade cage size without risking causing problems between them.

A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars

These guides also contain useful information about boars and behaviour

Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs