Paddling pool for piggies?

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Teejay

Teejay

Adult Guinea Pig
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Hi all, my two young boys, Pudding & Squeak, are currently indoors in a 150cm cage, so they have plenty of room, but I am very keen on the idea of letting them have more exercise while I'm out at work all day.

I'm not really a 'morning' person; I'd rather spend an extra 10 minutes in beddy-byes, so I want something that is quick and easy to set up by a person who's still half asleep.....:))

I've looked at metal fold-up runs and ELC ball-pits, but I'm put off by the fact that I'd have to go through the rigmarole of laying something waterproof on the floor every morning.

I've also looked at specially designed mesh/fabric puppy play pens (which do have a waterproof base), and they look great, but they're quite expensive (probably £40 - £50 when postage is taken into account).

So....i had a thought...what about a pop-up paddling pool? Something like this:
45-3650536A73UC622249M.jpg


I've read the reviews on Argos website, and apparently it's easy to set up (snaps together), is 6ft across, waterproof (you'd hope, anyway!), and huge (much bigger than most ball pits). Some downsides are that it seems like the sides have a tendency to collapse inwards, which could be a problem.

What do you think? Has anyone used one of these for piggies? The only negatives I can think of are where to put the water bottle and maybe the fabric is rippable (but you'd think it would be quite tough, being a paddling pool designed for kids to use).

Tracey
 
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Gosh, I have no idea about the pool as was going to suggest the doggy pen (which I have).
If you can afford it, the larger one is great as more space, pops out mega easily and has mesh flaps you can open so you could wedge it against their existing cage to create a run for even more space!

Only thing with the plastic pool is:-

They will probably munch on it (not an issue if it's not an inflatable one, lol)
water bottle (as you said).

I think as long as you put a bit of paper down in it as well then they won't get soaked from the pee remaining on the surface. :))
 
Hi Tani, would you recommend the doggy pen then? It was the 'XL' version I was looking at, which looks to be a lovely big size......it might be worth splashing the cash and investing in one if it 'ticks all the boxes' so to speak!

Their indoor cage is up quite high (in a frame) so my hubby will make a long, long ramp for them to get in and out of the cage and run, so the run would have to be quite long to accomodate the length of the ramp!

Tracey
 
Humm, well the problem will be that it's hexagonal shaped so not so much long.

What about getting a colapsible run? can be 3 sided even - or make your own with some chicken mesh and a wooden frame and hinges? Shld be quite cheap. I just throw on the floor one of those picnic blankets which are waterproof underneath and fleecy on top and they work a treat!

Just thinking it might be worth doing that until you find out what works best for you instead of spending all that money. If you were closer I would lend you mine to try as I only really use it in the summer in the garden or when I take them away.

x
 
My only experience with this type of pool is that it's mainly the pressure of the water that keeps the sides stable, so I wouldn't think it would work well for guinea pigs.
 
Someone I know bought a paddling pool for her guineas. When she got it home and opened it up we were quick to realise how unsuitable it was. It was too flimsy and the piggies would have had no trouble getting out of it. Was too squishy squashy. She returned it and got the ELC ball pit.
 
Hi everyone, thanks for the input, but......too late.......patience never being my strong point, I've just bid for a brand new large puppy pen on ebay and won it! £29.99 including the postage, so I think that was quite a good bargain.

i'm sure between us, me and my OH can come up with some ingenious way of safely getting the piggies from the cage to the run......and, if not, it'll be back on ebay by the end of next week, hehe!

Tracey
 
Photos won't work; try this linkhttp://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fabric-Dog-puppy-crate-rabbit-hutch-play-pen-cage-run_W0QQitemZ250714191665QQcategoryZ20748QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp5197.m7QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D4%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D7017071357151575634

I've bought the large size. As far as i can make out, the XL only has higher sides, and no additional floor area. It has a special hole for a water bottle and folds up into the carry case. I think it's rather smart!

Hope it'll be delivered by mid-week. Fingers crossed!

Tracey
 
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I can't wait to receive it.....my OH and I are currently puzzling about how to make it an extension of the indoor cage.......but it's all pie-in-the-sky at the moment, cos we need to actually get it before we can come up with any really sensible ideas!

I'll post some pics of the set-up when we've sorted it out!

Tracey
 
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