Help! The zoomies have begun!

[Ruth1]

They are doing the Grand Prix around this 2x4 c&c and I can see it’s not enough for them! It’s time to give them regular floor time, but I tried it a while ago and they were terrified.

I had put lots of hide things around but they just sat in a corner under a blanket. Then they were so hard to catch - the whole thing seemed stressful rather than fun.

Also - the real race track zooming starts just when I’m thinking of going to bed around now.

So I’m just asking - what are your experiences and triumphs of introducing floor time and is it possible to tweak their ‘time clocks’ to start the crazies a bit earlier?

They are hilarious in the cage, but they need to run further before they have to stop and turn I think!

Thoughts and experience would be most welcome please!

 

[Siikibam]

Mine were quite okay with floor time. The boys enjoyed it and weren’t too scared. Admittedly that was a couple of months after I got them that they started having floor time. The girls liked it but weren’t as fussed. So I didn’t give them much. They were in a 2x5 so had room to zoom. By the time they moved outside, the boys had (just) stopped zooming. Now they only tend to popcorn occasionally when I’m topping up their hay.

 

[piggieminder]

Some of mine have liked floor time, other's haven't. I have a 6 x 2 C&C grid pen, all but the last 2 grids are joined by cable ties so it folds up concertina style and goes away in a cupboard. I join the last 2 grids with bull dog clips when it's in use. The piggies who don't like the great expanse of the room use the pen. At one time I had a pair of boars, one liked the whole room to explore and the other liked to have a cage around him. I used to leave the last two grids open, the room explorer would pop back in the pen to check on his friend regularly. It was so sweet!
One of my current piggies likes floor time so much he rattles his cage at around 6pm to be allowed out. He explores the ground floor of the house to check all is as he likes it, any closed doors get wheeked at until they are opened for him.

 

[AidaB]

Our boys took a while to enjoy floor time, we use extra C&C grids, to block a safe space for them, as it not safe in our old house to let them have totally free floor time. I put out plenty of places to hide, and a big pile of hay. We have a giant bit of fleece that I lay down, which is reused multiple times(with pee pads in favourite spots) and as a consequence, smells of them, so its a familiar place instantly.
Catching… Have you tried using your carry case? We have found using a fleece bag works best for us, for a quick transfer to the floor, or if heading outside to the run we use the carry case, which is safer for the longer distance.

 

[Ruth1]

Thanks all - I’ll see what I can do over the weekend. Maybe if I had a carry case with a wide side opening…