Normal for piggies to do very little?

Jemima

Jemima

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hello!

I just wondered, is it pretty normal for piggies to be inactive? Mine have been from day one, so it's not a new thing.

I feel a bit bad as I haven't been able to give them much floor time since they aren't able to go in the run any more, due to it being too cold.

When I do give them floor time with loads of hides, they will mostly just hide in a hide! They'll venture out once in a while to eat if I pop stuff out.

In their C&C, they do the same! Just sit in their hides munching hay! They seem perfectly content and I keep telling myself they are OK, they are very well looked after, fed and cleaned etc, it's just I would like to give them more space when possible, as they have a minimum 4x2 with a 2x2 loft space.
 
They are most active in the morning and evening
I just keep mine occupied with forage in hay piles etc but my boys are coming up 4 so the zoomies and popcorns don’t happen much anyway these days
 
Mine are active in the morning and evening - they nap mostly in the day time! What a life eh!
 
Jemima said:
Hello!

I just wondered, is it pretty normal for piggies to be inactive? Mine have been from day one, so it's not a new thing.

I feel a bit bad as I haven't been able to give them much floor time since they aren't able to go in the run any more, due to it being too cold.

When I do give them floor time with loads of hides, they will mostly just hide in a hide! They'll venture out once in a while to eat if I pop stuff out.

In their C&C, they do the same! Just sit in their hides munching hay! They seem perfectly content and I keep telling myself they are OK, they are very well looked after, fed and cleaned etc, it's just I would like to give them more space when possible, as they have a minimum 4x2 with a 2x2 loft space.
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Hi!

Adult piggies can get very sedentary but you can still create enrichment on many other levels and turn feeding time into exercise and enrichment time. ;)

See whether you can use some of the ideas in these two guides here:
- Enrichment Ideas for Guinea Pigs
- Weight - Monitoring and Management (especially the chapter exercising tips towards the end)
 
Piggies&buns said:
They are most active in the morning and evening
I just keep mine occupied with forage in hay piles etc but my boys are coming up 4 so the zoomies and popcorns don’t happen much anyway these days
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That's a good idea!
 
My boys are rambunctious. I cannot speak on inactivity. Could be age, personality, and other factors? My pigs are very skittish too. Had them a little over a month and they still scatter. I spend about 4-5 hours in the room with them too.

Do you spend time in their room/area? Talking to them? Hand feeding?
 
I scatter feed pellets (1 tablespoon per piggy per day) and my 2 old gals love arthtically running around finding them. I also scatter feed veg. This gives them some exercise as well as enrichment.
 
dhill_cb7 said:
My boys are rambunctious. I cannot speak on inactivity. Could be age, personality, and other factors? My pigs are very skittish too. Had them a little over a month and they still scatter. I spend about 4-5 hours in the room with them too.

Do you spend time in their room/area? Talking to them? Hand feeding?
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I do! I work in their room. :) They are sweet boys, they actually come when I call them! So they aren't shy so to speak, they are just not that active when I am around. They love it when I first put them down for floor time, but then end up sitting. Although I think if I do it when it is quiet during the week rather than at the weekend when it's louder, it would be better. I just feel bad that they aren't in their lovely big run enjoying their grass. I do bring them grass in the day.
 
I have 6 piggies all a year old and under. I scatter food (forage, veg, pellets). My pairs have a 2x5 C&C and spend a lot of time doing zoomies and popcorns day and night. Mine are very active. I like doing little brain enriching games. All involving hiding food of course, they wouldn't play else. I hide high value treats under mats, in cardboard tubes or boxes stuffed with hay. My boys have a seagrass ball type things. Once they start making holes in it, I start hiding food in it and they roll it around to get food out. Get creative, doesn't have to be expensive. You wouldn't believe how much fun a box or tube stuffed with hay can be, or finding bits of dry forage in their hay.
 
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