Will PVC "sleeves" be enough to protect cables from my piggies?

[giladbr]

Hi everyone,

Do you think guinea pigs will be able to chew through PVC pipes such as these:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/20mm-Flexible-Conduit-10m-Inc-Glands-Lock-Nuts-White-Cable-Management-PVC-/300756151594?_trksid=p2045573.m2042&_trkparms=aid%3D111000%26algo%3DREC.CURRENT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D27%26meid%3D1819328582175655126%26pid%3D100033%26prg%3D1011%26rk%3D3%26

And harm the cables inside?

If so, there is an option to get PVC tubes with metal inside - what do you think?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/10m-Metal-Flexible-Conduit-MCR-02-ID-1-4-Waterproof-PVC-tube-RoHS-KSS-Taiwan-/130722732826?_trksid=p2045573.m2042&_trkparms=aid%3D111000%26algo%3DREC.CURRENT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D27%26meid%3D1819332862179334272%26pid%3D100033%26prg%3D1011%26rk%3D4%26

Of course this is just one precaution, I also plan to raise my wires above the floor, provide chewing toys for my piggies etc.

Thank you!

Gilad

 

[Glynis]

Firstly hi and welcome to the forum
Look i'm afraid i honestly don't know....... piggies do love to nibble on just about everything rolleyes I know the stuff you've given the link too, i'd think it would be ok but i'm sure you'll get some more answers once everyone wakes up again, this is a UK based forum.
Enjoy looking around you'll find lots of helpful threads up the top of each section.
Whee would love to see pigtures of your little ones too...... i'll pop a link on how to post pigtures on here.

Glynis, Velvet and Onyx x

http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=88068

 

[Glynis]

Also could you please let us know where you are from, as information for different countries is quite different! You can do this in User CP and alter/edit

 

[giladbr]

Thank you Glynis :-) Can anyone else help please?

.

 

[Sarah from Chucklebunnies]

Hello Gilad.

Piggies do chew through plastic, they wouldn't be able to chew through the metal coated with plastic (second option) but they may well have a go and then scrape/break teeth on the metal.

We have an oil heater in the piggy room, with leads and a socket, so we put a wire grid right in front of it. They cannot get to the leads, the heater, the socket or anything. It is totally safe.

If you can't put a grid/guard in front then please use the plastic only and watch for chewing, it will take a while for a piggy to get through that. It is safer for their teeth.

I hope this helps.

 

[giladbr]

Thanks Sarah :-) But isn't it healthy for rodents to shorten their teeth?

Excuse me if my questions sound stupid, as I said I never had piggies or any other pet... :-)

I mean, you said that the metal might scrape/break their teeth, but I read that rodents' teeth constatly grew longer and that's why they have to chew all the time, to make them shorter. So won't the metal actually help the purpose?

Also, I'm thinking maybe if it hurts them the first time they get to the metal, they will learn not to do it? Not that I mean to be cruel or anything...

I know piggies chew through plastic but I was wondering if they would also be able to chew through PVC which is tougher than normal plastic...

Thanks for the replies!

Gilad

 

[Sarah from Chucklebunnies]

Piggies can chew through brick. One of my girls used to chomp away at bricks. Plastic is easy for them to chew through, hard plastic just takes a bit longer!

The problem with metal is that teeth can break - not wear away - but actually split or crack off because metal is so much harder than anything they would normally chew in the wild. And they have rodent brains, not incredibly clever ones, so you will run the risk of broken teeth if you go the plastic covered metal route.

They would normally wear their teeth down on hay, wooden chews are also good for this purpose. They do have a need to chew, as their teeth grow all the time, and they do chew on unsuitable things sometimes. Sigh. Mine are free range, not penned up, and over the years various piggies have eaten; doormats, plastic sealant (pulling it away from the bottom of the door like a little dog would), shoelaces (both material and leather) and mud from the bottom of boots (which some piggies really like). They've also chewed on plastic (various kinds), wooden chair legs, boots, wire guards and so on. So you can assume that at some point a piggie will have a nibble at whatever you use to guard the wiring. That's why I recommend a system that would put the wiring out of reach altogether!