No free roaming?

[Cambridge Piggles]

Hi,
Sorry for the millions of threads! My two girls are in a 5x2 c&c and popcorn and race around in zoomie heaven. My room has a bed with a huge amount of clutter under it and a wardrobe which they could get trapped under. I won’t give them free roam time for this reason currently. I could get extra c&c grids to block off under the bed and wardrobe - is this necessary? Or do you think their cage is enough? They have a huge hay pile, forage foods and I scatter veggies and pellets around the Enclosure. I just want them to be as happy as possible. Also a little worried about having to herd them back into the cage and scaring them in the process (they are still very young!). Thanks !

 

[Piggies&buns]

They don’t ‘need’ to free roam. A safe playpen is another option if you want them to have a change of scenery.
Their cage is more than big enough and they clearly have plenty of space to run so don’t worry about getting them out.

Mine are in a shed and with a bonded pair and two singles who don’t get on, mine do not get out much in winter (they have a bit of a time share of the space on the shed floor but if it’s cold they stay in their hutches).

 

[Cambridge Piggles]

They don’t ‘need’ to free roam. A safe playpen is another option if you want them to have a change of scenery.
Their cage is more than big enough and they clearly have plenty of space to run so don’t worry about getting them out.

Mine are in a shed and with a bonded pair and two singles who don’t get on, mine do not get out much in winter (they have a bit of a time share of the space on the shed floor but if it’s cold they stay in their hutches).

Hmmm so hard to decide. Need to wait until next pay day to buy more grids now! Sigh…. Do you give them lawn time in summer?

 

[Piggies&buns]

Hmmm so hard to decide. Need to wait until next pay day to buy more grids now! Sigh…. Do you give them lawn time in summer?

Yes all four of mine are out 12-14 hours a day in the height of summer, after a long slow build up of access to grass. I have actually started now by picking small handfuls of grass for them to have in their cage. These amounts increased each week until around April/May time they are ready to go out for some time on the grass when warm enough (which I then gradually build up each week).

 

[Cambridge Piggles]

Yes all four of mine are out 12-14 hours a day in the height of summer, after a long slow build up of access to grass. I have actually started now by picking small handfuls of grass for them to have in their cage. These amounts increased each week until around April/May time they are ready to go out for some time on the grass when warm enough (which I then gradually build up each week).

How lovely! I will get mine an outdoor enclosure in summer for some grass fun! I’m considering growing some indoor grass in the meantime. Will slowly introduce grass to their diet…

 

[AidaB]

Our guinea pigs don’t free roam, its not safe in our house. Usually if its not chilly I set up our spare grids as a play space and they get a change of scenery at the weekend. The foster pigs are currently using our spare grids, so I gave everypig a change of scenery in the hall last weekend. I did have to clean the hall, use a lot of blankets and move rugs around so the floor wasn’t chilly! (Spoilt pigs!) This was the first “outing” since Christmas.

I have used our outdoor enclosure inside before too, but its a bit bulky and big to walk around, and we don’t really have the space.

Using the carrier, is a good way to transport guinea pigs.

Your 2 sound like they have a lovely big space.

 

[fluffysal]

Mine were free roaming until 2 weeks ago. I used grids to pig proof certain areas. Despite having the option to come out whenever they wanted to they spent a majority of their time in the cage. Since we moved house we now have an extra room so are no longer in the same room all day. We did plan to work out some sort of way for them to get in and out at will but not sure now as they seem just as happy.

 

[Bertie & Jelly]

Mine aren’t free roaming but they do come out of their cage for their daily veg. Their cage is huge so it’s more a change of scenery! I put mats down on the floor and they pootle around to the edge of the mats, stop, look around, then pootle back! Mind you they are older boys so are much less adventurous than they used to be I wouldn’t leave them unsupervised though - just in case they get a bit brave …

 

[piggieminder]

I've had piggies in the past who loved to free roam when I was there to supervise. My current youngsters are not impressed, head fir the nearest piece of furniture and hide. The 2 oldies love to come out for a wander but Red just heads to the other's cage, bites their bars and shouts at them. Brillo heads straight for the sofa and goes to sleep behind it so I've decided not to have them out now, there's no point. They all have cages large enough to zoom if they want to, we don't have the floor space for a floor time pen that would be bigger than the cages they are in.