Floor time

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mshappy89

Adult Guinea Pig
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When you give your pigs floor time do you put them in a pen or let them roam free?
 
I have quite a big hall that they use for floor time. It's really ideal for them as it's a large open space, no wires, no furniture apart form one book shelf. I wish I could let them just run about the whole flat freely but I've tried and failed at litter training and would constantly be having to follow them about cleaning up their mess.
 
I've put our girls in hall for first time tonight. There is no furniture there. Lots of poos though but won't take 5 mins to run the Hoover over :)
 
I sometimes wonder why I bother, my two don't like it very much. I'm sure they think "oh no here we go again" everytime I plonk them down. They usually have a wee donder around. Try and chew the bottoms of the doors and the book shelf and then they just hang about their hay (I've tried using tunnels, boxes, paper bags, placing bits of fleece everywhere, everything!). They know where their room is and CheesyPuff has starting sitting facing their door. I don't know what else to do, I can't really force them to have fun lol.
 
If it's nice outside my lot including foster pigs have outside grass time. If it's not so nice they each get free range, as they are kept in the dinning area they pootle into he front room and mostly go for a poo under the table, then they go back to the dining room to rumble through the other C&C cages at the other piggies rolleyes I've blocked behind the settee off as it is really hard to pull out and hoover behind with it being a corner suite.
My only piggie that nosies in the kitchen is Pepe.

I dont mind them wandering around. I find it funny when they wonder in and out - especially the foster piggies that are most proberbly not that used to all the space and exercise - they do the funniest things.
My Pepper however has a terrible habit of nibbling round the skirting board - by hey ho -- it's not the end of the world, as long as he doesnt bring the house down :)
Fortunatley I have mainly wooden floors so a quick hoover and a wipe if my dog doesnt get there before me that is. :)

I put differnent items down for them to explore, tunnels, hay boxes etc.

I used to be able to arrange the C&C cages so that they could wander back home if they wanted to, but I have built the cages differently now (depends on foster piggies I get in) so they cant do it now.
 
As I live in a student house, I have no space where I'm allowed to let them roam free except for my own room.
I've arranged my room so that wherever they go, whatever they nibble, it won't do much damage.
However, they're not house trained and thus every now and again I can't deal with the stress of having to clean up every day and hoover in all nooks and crannies. So for the more stressful times (like at the moment, with 3 dissertation deadlines heading my way), I keep the ladies in a sectioned off space around their cage.
 
I use a pen - I dont really have a suitable place for them to run around otherwise although with some adjustment in my new summerhouse that could be an option - they have a hutch/run out there at the moment. The only other place they could roam free in my house would be the bathroom. The room they are in upstairs has stairs off it (no doors) so I would worry that theyd fall ...and I have 2 dogs downstairs.... I guess whatever suits you suits you and we all have different situations....
x
 
i move everything off the floor and block them from getting to any wires, then let them room free in the bedroom :) xx
 
I have an indoor pen for bad weather, extended outdoor run, but they have been known to escape and run from the utility tied room to the hidden depths of the dining room rolleyes where they like to investigate the latest item newly acquainted with the floor and run underneath the table but only when daddy is away. Problem is catching them! 8;)
 
My pigs get free range of one of the kids bedrooms. We block the bed off with towels, so they cannot hide under the bed, as its almost impossible to catch them once they run under the bed.
They will pootle down the passage to come say hi in the lounge every now and again, they are so sweet when they run around the house.
 
i suppose it depend on the circumstances, i just let them ahve a free run of the living room and keep an eye on them to stop them going anywhere they shouldn't, like under the bookshelf! haha! they love running round the turtle tank and having a nosey at them!

101117_185659.jpg


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My 3 are kept in the spare room and that room is where they have their floor time. There are no wires on the floor, and I put down boxes with holes cut in them to hide in, balls to push around and give them tunnels for them to play in. Oscar-Lemur and Elliot absolutely adore playtime as they don't live together yet (not yet sorted out the heirarchy...lots of rumblestrutting, shoving their butts into each other and from Oscar-Lemur, 'the yawn!' so they're not trusted to live together yet although they are slowly becoming the best of buddies.

Old boy George couldn't care less about floor time with the 2 young 'uns, although he does like a little mitheration from the anklebiter, Elliot, so they have a little playtime together a day. George, my oldest, and therefore dare I say it, my favourite, is allowed to come down stairs in the evening with me and play on the living room floor and sleep on my wooly snuggly rug and he looooovvvvveeees that time more than anything else in the world. He prefers hoooman company than that of those stoooopid babies (Elliot and Oscar)!
 
i suppose it depend on the circumstances, i just let them ahve a free run of the living room and keep an eye on them to stop them going anywhere they shouldn't, like under the bookshelf! haha! they love running round the turtle tank and having a nosey at them!

101117_185659.jpg


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That photo is adorable!Gorgeous piggy and turtle x)
 
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