Lots Of Questions!

[VJ&Flower]

Hi all

Thanks for all your help so far. I'm loving having my boys! I have loads of questions if that's ok? I have read most of the guides I think these are ones I haven't found the answers to yet!

1.) they have fleece snuggle sacks. How often should I wash these? They must wee in them but they don't feel wet.

2.) how often do you replace shop bought cardboard tubes? Lots of wee stains and old poo marks in there but have only had a week.

3.) how often do you wash the flooring of an indoor play pen? I put down a fleece or towels and they wee on them in the time they are out. Should you wash each time or reuse after drying?

4.) the boys seem to struggle with dominance issues as soon as they are in the run. I know you are meant to pick up the dominant one first but I'm not entirely sure which one is! I thought it was Vinnie but sometimes it seems to be Flower.

5.) the boys don't seem to eat that much pellets or thy much hay. They have plenty of both (under six months). I weighed them last thurs so will weigh again this thurs. they absolutely love veggies and act like they are so hungry when I put them out twice a day.

6.) i am going to put them outdoors at some stage as the utility room gets v warm on days like today. Could I put them in hutch outside in day and bring them in at night in cage or is this too disruptive? I think we will alll miss out on them being outside all the time also worried it will be too cold at night (I do have thermal cover and heat pad)

7.) finally, I need to clean out the second hand hutch I bought. Does anyone have any good cleaning tips?

Thanks so so much. You guys rock!

 

[sport_billy]

to answer some of them for you

1. we wash the sacks weekly as a rule, have bought lots so can rotate.

2. Till they have been chewed to destruction I keep one in as a pick up device but the other I let them go to town on it

3. We wash the fleece run each time after use as they only have run time once a week as the cage is so big...

4. That's hormones, just pop them in and distract the monkeys with a pile of fresh hay... It will calm down for sure.

5. Hmmmmmmm try and find a hay they really like... This is trial and error. Try a local pet supply store for local hay maybe? Dust free hay soft hay goes down well also. We feed ours a local meadow hay and the oxbow Timothy hay - oxbow is expensive but they love it and luckily we can afford to get it them. The local hay makes up the bulk of the hay

6. Can't answer that one for you ours are indoors so I have no experience and brining them in and out - sorry

7. @BossHogg @Lady Kelly hutch cleaning tips?

Hope the above helps and I haven't waffled too much

 

[Lady Kelly]

For cleaning the hutch you'll want f10 disinfectant as it kills fungal spores as well. You can get it on Amazon for £10-12 with the spray bottle then going forward buy the concentrate for around the same price which should fill the bottle plenty of times over. I use non scratch scouring pads and a lot of elbow grease. Once a year I take the blunt edge of an old dinner knife to get the worse bits of pee deposits up as they will always go in the most hard to reach corner.

I would douse all areas of the hutch in f10 including walls and ceiling and take a scrubbing brush to it to work it in and then leave the hutch open to dry out. This is what i've just done with mine this weekend while daisy is indoors

 

[VJ&Flower]

to answer some of them for you

1. we wash the sacks weekly as a rule, have bought lots so can rotate.

2. Till they have been chewed to destruction I keep one in as a pick up device but the other I let them go to town on it

3. We wash the fleece run each time after use as they only have run time once a week as the cage is so big...

4. That's hormones, just pop them in and distract the monkeys with a pile of fresh hay... It will calm down for sure.

5. Hmmmmmmm try and find a hay they really like... This is trial and error. Try a local pet supply store for local hay maybe? Dust free hay soft hay goes down well also. We feed ours a local meadow hay and the oxbow Timothy hay - oxbow is expensive but they love it and luckily we can afford to get it them. The local hay makes up the bulk of the hay

6. Can't answer that one for you ours are indoors so I have no experience and brining them in and out - sorry

7. @BossHogg @Lady Kelly hutch cleaning tips?

Hope the above helps and I haven't waffled too much

Thanks so much -
No waffling at all! So helpful as before xx

 

[VJ&Flower]

For cleaning the hutch you'll want f10 disinfectant as it kills fungal spores as well. You can get it on Amazon for £10-12 with the spray bottle then going forward buy the concentrate for around the same price which should fill the bottle plenty of times over. I use non scratch scouring pads and a lot of elbow grease. Once a year I take the blunt edge of an old dinner knife to get the worse bits of pee deposits up as they will always go in the most hard to reach corner.

I would douse all areas of the hutch in f10 including walls and ceiling and take a scrubbing brush to it to work it in and then leave the hutch open to dry out. This is what i've just done with mine this weekend while daisy is indoors

Thanks so much for the info. That's really helpful. Xx

 

[BossHogg]

I've never had to worry about second hand hutches as mine were custom built in a shed from new, I have heavy duty cushion flooring down to protect the wood, a large piece cost me £5 from my local carpet salesroom and that was enough to cover 2 floors. I just use Wilkos hutch disinfectant one a month for the pee that gets under the flooring. It's only £2.50 for a 300ml spray bottle so cheap as chips.
Wilko Small Animal Disinfectant Cleaner 300ml

 

[Vanessa1104]

Hi all

Thanks for all your help so far. I'm loving having my boys! I have loads of questions if that's ok? I have read most of the guides I think these are ones I haven't found the answers to yet!

1.) they have fleece snuggle sacks. How often should I wash these? They must wee in them but they don't feel wet.

2.) how often do you replace shop bought cardboard tubes? Lots of wee stains and old poo marks in there but have only had a week.

3.) how often do you wash the flooring of an indoor play pen? I put down a fleece or towels and they wee on them in the time they are out. Should you wash each time or reuse after drying?

4.) the boys seem to struggle with dominance issues as soon as they are in the run. I know you are meant to pick up the dominant one first but I'm not entirely sure which one is! I thought it was Vinnie but sometimes it seems to be Flower.

5.) the boys don't seem to eat that much pellets or thy much hay. They have plenty of both (under six months). I weighed them last thurs so will weigh again this thurs. they absolutely love veggies and act like they are so hungry when I put them out twice a day.

6.) i am going to put them outdoors at some stage as the utility room gets v warm on days like today. Could I put them in hutch outside in day and bring them in at night in cage or is this too disruptive? I think we will alll miss out on them being outside all the time also worried it will be too cold at night (I do have thermal cover and heat pad)

7.) finally, I need to clean out the second hand hutch I bought. Does anyone have any good cleaning tips?

Thanks so so much. You guys rock!

1) wash them once they feel wet

2) replace them when they are wet

3)after every use

4)watch them and see who acts like the alpha-pig

5)go and buy some more brands of hay and pellets and see which one they like

6) it won't be too disruptive

7)VINEGAR

 

[VJ&Flower]

1) wash them once they feel wet

2) replace them when they are wet

3)after every use

4)watch them and see who acts like the alpha-pig

5)go and buy some more brands of hay and pellets and see which one they like

6) it won't be too disruptive

7)VINEGAR

Thanks very much Vanessa

 

[VeganIzzy]

1.) I would wash them around every 2-3 days, depending on how much they use them. Always wash at 60 degrees to kill bacteria.

2.) They usually only last me a few days, so I just use fleece or fabric tunnels and hideys, then cardboard and wooden chews. You can use the roll from the loo roll for them to chew, and I give them my Primark bags to chew and sleep in.

3.) I would wash after each use.The longer you leave it, the more bacteria will breed and the chance the pee will stain.

4.) Boars are usually dominant and not very submissive, but over time they'll sort it out. Try watching them and their behaviour to try and tell, though sometimes they are just as dominant. You could try giving them more space too, as usually males need more space than females to sort things out.

5.) Piggies LOVE veggies. Hungry or not, they'll stuff their faces with veggies. My girls love their pellets too, which is slightly irritating as they always want more, but I buy ones rich in vitamin c so I know they're getting enough. If your piggies don't eat their pellets, just make sure you give them nutrient rich veggies in order to give them what they need.

6.) You don't need to bring them indoors at night if you have thermal heat pads. I wouldn't personally bring them in every night, only during winter. Just make sure to get them out every day to make up for the loss of constant human contact. You could probably bring them in for a few hours each day if you would like. If they seem to become ill, bring them back indoors as it could be that it is too cold.

7.) Vinegar and animal safe disinfectants.

Hope this helps.