Hypothetical naturalistic cage questions (inspired by German hamster care)

[ScrufflesRules]

This is going to be a long post I'm afraid, it's pretty much all my hypothetical guinea pig questions.

Over the past year, I've been wondering about ways in which I could incorporate ideas from the hamster care world into my (very distant future) guinea pig care. I was wondering if anyone had any experiences/thoughts on the following:

Enrichment items such as cork logs, or maybe even grapevine wood branches or flat stones/pieces of slate: Rodipet® Cork Tunnel size L ca 25 cm long and 12-15 cm in Diameter

Additional substrates, such as compost and shredded toilet paper, or cork granules/ coconut husk. This is a big thing in the hamster world, but I'm not sure whether guinea pig respiratory systems could cope with additional substrates such as coco coir, or even sand?

'Sprays' in the enclosure (Hamsters), although I'm not sure how this would work nutritionally, and they would probably be destroyed very quickly.

Multi-chamber hideouts, to replicate burrow systems. I haven't seen any on the market big enough for guinea pigs, but here's the one my hamster uses to give you an idea of what they look like: Hamster Chamber House - Formaldehyde Free, Non Toxic, Wooden, Slot Together & Mo | Happy Henry’s Homes

This next one is something I might try out a few decades down the line if I ever have enough time, space and money. From what I remember, wild guinea pigs inhabit abandoned burrows (please correct me if I'm wrong). Would it be possible to make some sort of abandoned burrow system under a really deep layer of substrate for domestic guinea pigs? Do you think they would appreciate this, and could it cause health issues?

Would guinea pigs find a 'digging box' enriching? I know that some rabbit/rat owners have a large (1m by 50cm by 50cm) box filled with substrates such as aspen chips or compost which their pets can access to dig in. I believe it's particularly popular with rabbits (but obviously they're naturally burrowing animals).

Anyway, I think that's all my questions for now? I might just use this as my dedicated naturalistic enclosure thread, as I'm sure I'll think of some more questions soon...

Thanks in advance if anyone has any answers or ideas.

 

[Viennese Furbabies]

In contrast to hamsters and bunnies, guinea pigs don't burrow. So you don't need to include anything to burrow in a natural like enclosure. Different substrates are sometimes used in outdoor enclosures. In Germany there is quite a hype about outdoor enclosures so if you google "Außenhaltung meerschweinchen" you will find examples. I wouldn't use sand but the rest mostly depends on the question if you want to build a large outdoor enclosure or keep your piggies indoors.

Guinea pigs like all kind of tunnels and hideys. Cork is great but most work tunnels are way to small for guinea pigs. I would consider the rodipet tunnel to small for a grown up guinea pig. Rodipet is great, but it started with supply for hamsters, so I think that's still their strong side.

For outdoor enclosures that are used all year, multi chamber huts are a must-have, but apart from this it's more important that piggies have hideys with at least two doors or tunnels.

Wild guinea pigs mostly use bushes and undergrowth for shelter.

 

[Pound Shilling & Pig]

Hi,
My piggies enjoy Cork log tunnels for running through and sitting in. They don't chew or eat them. They also enjoy tunnels made from other things such as grassy tunnels. I think tunnels in general are great for enrichment and different types and sizes of tunnels are good because they will feel different to piggies' sense of touch via their whiskers.

As they are not burrowing animals and are very different to hamsters a burrow system would not be enriching for them in the way it would be for hamsters. For example Hamsters like to forage for food and stash it away in Chambers where as piggies are grazing animals and like to walk about eating as they go, like horses and cattle, etc. Providing plenty of hay in piles and scattered about is the best way of replicating this natural behavior. Their ancestors came from the slopes of the Andes where they would have used abandoned burrows but more importantly
rock crevices and piggy sized caves in which to hide from predators, the heat of the day and the cold of the night. Providing pet piggies with a variety of hides of different sizes, with multiple entrances is good way replicating this. They are more confident out grazing when they know they have a safe place to run to within easy distance.

A digging box would be of no benefit to a piggy.

 

[Pound Shilling & Pig]

This is the kind of thing my piggies enjoy

 

[ScrufflesRules]

Thank you so much for the amazing pictures- that is the kind of enclosure I'd like to replicate one day, taking inspiration from the 'Außenhaltung meerschweinchen' ideas too.
I also agree that piles and piles of hay are the way forward, even though one thing I don't really miss about having guinea pigs is constantly finding hay everywhere.

Hopefully I'll be able to find some cork logs/tunnels big enough for piggies in the future, I really like the look of them and I feel like it's good to have different textures in the enclosure.

Another question I have is about why some of these wonderful indoor enclosures don't use fleece hides. I never used fleece hides in the enclosure myself, but it's something I'd like to try in future as they seem to be very popular with the piggies (I've attached a photo of one of my past pigs in his). Is this mainly for aesthetic reasons?

 

[ScrufflesRules]

Ooh- I was looking through some enclosure photos on a German website and I read something about a minimum 2m racetrack length? This might be Google's dodgy translating, but is this the same idea as a hamster racetrack, where there is a thin piece of wood near the edge of the cage (from one end of the enclosure to another) which allows the animal to sprint the full length of the cage with no obstructions?

 

[eileen]

i use cork tunnels...guinea pig size from zooplus.you have been given some excellent ideas above,i cannot add anymore.Good luck.

 

[Pound Shilling & Pig]

I got my Cork tunnels from an independent pet shop who stock them for reptiles.

The set up in the photos is in my piggy shed (which is insulated and heated in winter). Personally I don't use fleecey hides for a few reasons. Aesthetics, yes, I don't think they'd fit in with "the look" lol. And would probably get a lot of hay stuck to them. Also it would be extra washing and you can't tumble dry them so I worry they would take too long to dry and end up with that damp smell. Also they are a man-made fabric and I try to limit my use of plastics where possible.....Sometimes I am tempted tho....there are forum members who make really lovely ones and piggies seem to like them.

Here is a bigger picture of the enclosure. I change things around every so often but not too frequently as I feel to always be chopping and changing the layout would be stressful for them.

I dont know anything about hamster racetracks but for piggies they wouldn't need an actual track but they do like a clear space to run unhindered. My enclosure in the photo is 11' by 6' and they sometimes like to run the length of it and do circuits, especially when veggies arrive

 

[Viennese Furbabies]

I use fleece hideys and they are very popular. But it's a lot of washing and some piggies like to gnaw on them, so it's not right for everyone.

Piggies don't need a special race track, but at the moment, it's a popular requirement for piggy enclosures to be build in a way that the piggies have enough space to do zoomies. Therefore a minimium cage length of 2 m.