How often do you let your pigs out for floortime?

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Joey&Gizmo

Joey&Gizmo

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I let mine out everyday and hide bits of veg around for them to find.

But as they have a bigger cage i was wondering if i could let them out every other day or is this mean? As once they have found all the veg they just like to have a sleep and then give up on the exploring. rolleyes
I have started to hide veg around the cage too as they love running about their new home. :))

Of course in the summer they will be going out on the grass or in their hutch for a few hours but only when its warm and they wont be staying out all night!

Feel free to add ideas on how to encourage them to explore more as they can be lazy and let me know how often your pigs come out. :(|)
 
mine have floor time every day, even in the summer they come into the living room for a wander around. My foster piggie Ginger also gets floor time but usually in an indoor run and not for as long as the girls.

I now leave a towel of the floor, which they feel safe on, if something startles them they run back to the towel, a couple of hideys (they even use the cat's igloo!).

We have a treat ball that they love to knock around, although I am not fond of them having many treats, so sometimes we put fresh shelled peas in it which is funny to watch. :))
 
Mine come out into the living room too, i put fleece down and their tunnels. They also have a box filled with hay and i too have a treat ball but have never used it, i was going to cut up some veg and see if it would come out.

Just wish they would explore more once all the veg has been found. But i suppose after all that hard work they do need a nap.
:)
 
Caramel quite often just flops onto the floor after 10 minutes or so, has a quick nap then another wander for 10 minutes or so, and on and on like that
I do love listening to them clucking along like old hens :(|)
 
Aww they sound sweet. x)

Mine are so nosey and now they have c&c cage they like to look out from the hayloft as they can see the fridge opening, that way they can wheek for veg every time it opens. :)
 
Don't they get lost?

My pigs floor time is all in a play pen which i put tunnels etc in and hide food. I'd love them to have even more space but wonder how you go on with letting them out on the floor. Don't they get lost?
I'm sure mine would be under the settees and behind other furniture and it would be a nightmare getting them out. -c
 
No mine dont get lost as i have a piece of wood that goes across the room so they cannot get to the settees etc. I also put a piece of wood across the cupboard area so they cannot go under and chew any wires! :)
 
Roger hasn't had floor time yet but this weekend will be his first time, in a grid run.
 
Mine only have floortime once a week when I change out their cage... but their "cage" is 2x1,5 metres, so bigger than most runs. I don't feel particularly mean... ;) I have slippery hardwood floors and found putting down blankies and stuff took so much time and looked really messy. So I just made their everyday living quarters bigger. I change their stuff around almost every day so they will always have something new to discover :).
 
Mine only have floortime every 3 days, cage clean day... but they do get cuddles every evening :)!
 
I put my lot in the run every day, if not every day then every other day (which I set up in the kitchen in the cold weather and in the garden in the hot weather). I wish I could let them run around the living room but with all the wires and gaps under the sofa and chair etc, I'd be worried they'd never come back out or electricute themselves. I wish I could let them run round the living room while I'm watching telly though! Would be cute!
 
try to give them floor time every night but its hard when you have 1 piggy that hates other piggys and then 3 dogs and a cat to contend with hehe :)):))

Thier floor time space has been taken up my berts cage! time to move them to the hall way me thinks! Although they don't do anything when they are out ?/?/
 
Mine rarely get floor time - what with 3 cats and a dog. It does happen but it's rare.

They get in their run most times I clean them out. I have to say though the run isn't much bigger than one of the floors of their cage. BUT it's different and I give them different hideys / toys and hay for the run. It's a change of scene.

I am so looking forward to spring so they can get out in the garden. In the summer last year they were in the garden from morning until night and in the first part of autumn and our indian summer they were out from as soon as the grass warmed until it was about half hour from dusk.

Roll on warm weather!
 
I have just put the girls away after a couple of hours of floor time. They had a large piece of vet bed to "run" to and the cat's igloo. I have one of those small animal runs which i used to open up and block off the bottom of the sofa etc. Now I just have to call them by name and they stop.
Marty Pig doesn't get off my rug when he has floor time, he finds the woodfloor too strange whereas the girls are used to it.

They were soooo cute today... drool
 
My Montgomery just loves his exercise time and is out of his cage most of the day when I'm not at work. I let Mimsi out for an hour a day but he tends to just snuggle up the the rug. The girls get less out of cage time as they are in a bigger cage and they also tend to just hide under the wardrobe!
 
My pigs don't like the Floor without a run / c&c construction. I think they get frightened I have tried putting them all on the floor but have issues with every pig.

Amy & Tia both sit still and look frightened,

Tiger runs up to his C&C cage (which is on the floor) and frantically tries to get back in.

And George cannot be trusted with Amy & Tiger's cage being on the floor as he goes up to it and starts chattering and waggling agressively at tiger! rolleyes
 
Lisajazz said:
Roll on warm weather!
Click to expand...

I agree i cant wait for the summer to begin so they can have some nice fresh air.

Well I'm lucky and i only have a dog which the pigs love! She is very good with them and she likes to tidy up after them by eating their poo :)>>> dirty girl. But she does stay out the kitchen when they are out and the living room is piggy proof as they have the one area just for them with no wires etc to chew. :(|)
 
How do you stop them from weeing everywhere when they have floor time?
I would love to let mine run free but i know the minute they did there would be some serious damp patches on the carpet! I have to put tarpallin down on the floor and then a fleece before they can come out in their run!
 
Mine are out everyday.

They have taken to liking roaming free about the house and love being under the sofa. They go back to their cage to eat and then out again. Sometimes at night they wont come out from beneath the sofa so sleep the night there.

We have checked all the electric cables and they show no sign of being nibbled on and they go to the toilet in the same place (a corner under the sofa) so it hasn't caused any problems so far and they are happy.
 
I can't manage to put them down everyday, so they go every other day for 30 Mins + when I change the cage.In the summer, when it's dry, warm and sunny (not often, therefore), they go in the garden everyday.
 
Thanks to all of you who shared your ideas and floortime set ups.

I have decided to still let them out everyday as it easier for me to clean them out when they arent in the cage and they keep trying to get my brush! Gizmo has taken a fancy to it and likes to drag it round the cage when i put it down for one second. rollseyes

Jenny - As for stopping them weeing, mine have a large willow sticks hidey and luckily they just like to wee under that so i put down newspaper, but also i have laminate floor so i wash the floor after and i put fleece down with a anti slip mat to stop it from moving and they love it. They do poo everywhere though!
I dont let them go on the carpet bit as there are too many wires etc so they have the laminate section just for them as i put a piece of wood across it so they cant get to the carpet and they have never attempted to climb over it. :)
 
I give mine extra running space once a week.
I take one of the grids off their cage and then extend their current 4x4 C&C to make another 4x4 extension on one side.

I let them have it for the whole day, too. Well, for around 12 hours.

I don't think it's mean not giving them floor time every day. As long as they're happy and you let them have a stretch when you can, it's fine.
I do admit, though, back when I had the space, I used to towel over my entire bedroom floor and let them have a few hours of floor time every night.

Sometimes it isn't possible to do these things but as long as you do your best and they're happy, I don't think you have alot to worry about :(|)
 
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