Gus&Arlo
Junior Guinea Pig
Hi!
I recently moved into a house with a garden and got my two piggies an outdoor run so they could start enjoying some time on the lawn a few times a week.
Unfortunately… they were not enjoying it at all. I’ve tried to keep at it through the summer but they are stress biting the cage (which they never do otherwise!), and just sit in their hideys for hours absolutely frozen to the spot.
They also just hate being picked up and everytime I have to pick them up to take them outside it stresses me and them out (!). I avoid picking them up generally as I know biologically, they are prey animals and they are never going to like it, so I don’t want to keep putting them through something that upsets them.
So I had an idea to try and bring the outside, inside! And plant some grass, dandelions and maybe some coriander into a planter they can have to nibble on. They are free roam in my office, and I intend to build a cage/wire frame around the planter so they can only nibble on any little bits that are growing through the caging, and can’t just climb up onto the planter and gorge themselves on the whole lot.
I know grass seed can be coated in fertilisers etc so I’m going to pull up some grass from my lawn (that I know hasn’t had any fertiliser on it), pot it up in the planter, and cut it right back down just incase it’s been contaminated with any fox or cat pee.
Has anyone else tried this or something similar? Any risks or serious hazards I could be missing (other than of course ensuring there is nowhere on the planter or the frame they can get stuck/caught)? Can I plant into shop bought compost without risking any harm to my little furry potatoes? Any other plants that they can eat semi regularly that I could put in for them as well?
Thanks in advance!
I recently moved into a house with a garden and got my two piggies an outdoor run so they could start enjoying some time on the lawn a few times a week.
Unfortunately… they were not enjoying it at all. I’ve tried to keep at it through the summer but they are stress biting the cage (which they never do otherwise!), and just sit in their hideys for hours absolutely frozen to the spot.
They also just hate being picked up and everytime I have to pick them up to take them outside it stresses me and them out (!). I avoid picking them up generally as I know biologically, they are prey animals and they are never going to like it, so I don’t want to keep putting them through something that upsets them.
So I had an idea to try and bring the outside, inside! And plant some grass, dandelions and maybe some coriander into a planter they can have to nibble on. They are free roam in my office, and I intend to build a cage/wire frame around the planter so they can only nibble on any little bits that are growing through the caging, and can’t just climb up onto the planter and gorge themselves on the whole lot.
I know grass seed can be coated in fertilisers etc so I’m going to pull up some grass from my lawn (that I know hasn’t had any fertiliser on it), pot it up in the planter, and cut it right back down just incase it’s been contaminated with any fox or cat pee.
Has anyone else tried this or something similar? Any risks or serious hazards I could be missing (other than of course ensuring there is nowhere on the planter or the frame they can get stuck/caught)? Can I plant into shop bought compost without risking any harm to my little furry potatoes? Any other plants that they can eat semi regularly that I could put in for them as well?
Thanks in advance!