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Rescue :: Footloose Furballs
Footloose Furballs
Guinea pigs, as with most animals, need exercise to stay fit
and healthy. Having a big area to explore and bullet around
in also keeps our furry friends stimulated and entertained,
which is equally as important. Opening up your home to your
guinea pigs seems an ideal way to cover both.
But how easy is it to make your house safe for the wanderings
of small animals on a free-range or semi free-range basis, and
what are the benefits of doing so?
Giving your guinea pigs access to a big and varied environment
improves their world in an incredible way. Even a large cage
or hutch is quite a restrictive space, which is why daily floor
time or sessions in an exercise pen are so important. Free roaming
brings the obvious increases in opportunities for mental and
physical stimulation for them, but let's not forget there's
plenty in it for us too!
Popcorning and strutting piggers
Seeing them strut around the house as bold as brass, popcorning
across the rug and playing piggy trains around the sofas is
delightful! They usually become more active, their confidence
increases and they seek interaction in a much more liberated
way than simply squeaking at you from a cage.
Having guinea pigs follow you round the house pied piper style
isn't unusual, and just you try making a meal without the odd
piggy popping in to the kitchen to see if he can help dispose
of any unwanted veggies! The extra freedom does of course give
them additional powers of manipulation which they will inevitably
abuse.
It's hard to turn down a line of pigs who all come over to
where you're sitting and stand on their back legs begging for
food with desperate, hungry faces. Not to mention those who
figure out where the veggies come from, and pace the floor by
the fridge, chuntering impatiently until some romaine falls
down. But seeing your pet active and having fun is what it's
all about - the happier you can make them, the more pleasure
they bring you.
Safety
So now to the practical aspects of free-ranging. Firstly, anywhere
animals like cats and dogs have access to is ruled out. Same
rule applies where small children may be wandering about, or
where there are children of an age that still need supervision
to ensure they handle animals safely and gently.
All could create situations where the pigs could be unintentionally
stressed out, injured or killed. In all these circumstances,
a secure pen is better for exercise.
Next, the issue of 'pig proofing'. Basically anywhere they
could crawl in to and get trapped, or where you don't want them
to go must be securely blocked off. Think about your houseplants.
Many are poisonous to small animals so these should not only
be out of reach, but away from where they could drop leaves
on to areas the pigs have access to. Here is a list of some
poisonous plants http://www.cavies.com/poisplnt.htm.
You must be careful about leaving large windows and doors open
as cats and wild animals could climb in and injure or kill your
pet. And then there's the chewing problem. Every wire they could
chew must be placed safely out of reach.
I've never had a problem with them chewing furniture but that's
also something worth considering if you have furniture you think
of as anything other than a place to park your behind. Incidentally,
people who have bar chewing pigs often think free-ranging would
be unsuitable or dangerous for them. But many actually find
that the destructive chewing behaviour stops once the pig has
more space and stimulation. He will still nibble at things as
they all do, but now has better things to do than constantly
twang on the bars!
As a matter of habit, don't put anything valuable or important
on the floor in reach of their teeth - they have a particular
liking for papers and books.
Once you have the basic set up secured, keeping it up and watching
where you put your feet quickly becomes second nature.
Litter training
Those who haven't already tried free-ranging will probably
be thinking about toileting matters about now - won't they just
wee everywhere? The good news is that many guinea pigs can be
litter trained whether they return to the open cage, or use
a litter tray in the room. Most pigs can be encouraged to at
least wee in certain areas, while dropping the odd rebellious
bean, which is enough for a lot of people. And many can go the
whole way. It's a gentle process and simply involves providing
a litter tray (I first used shredded newspaper in a filing tray)
or an easy return to the cage for them.
With the litter tray method, just pop some soiled bedding from
their cage in it and place it in a corner of the room. This
may be enough but if they go elsewhere, just clean up what they
do straight away, and place it in the litter tray until they
catch on. If they select another regular place to go, simply
move the litter tray there. You may find that placing the pig
in the litter tray (or back in the cage if you are not using
one) from time to time will encourage them to go there too.
There are some pigs who don't catch on, or just can't be bothered,
and in this case an exercise pen where you can protect the floor
is a much better idea as you really don't want urine soaking
in to your floorboards. Something waterproof like a shower curtain,
covered with a towel is a good choice.
So give it a go! If it doesn't work out for you and your pets,
then concentrate on having as big a cage for them as you can
manage, and giving them as much exercise and stimulation as
possible - see www.cavycages.com
for how to make a splendidly sized cage or pen your pig will
love for very little money!
About the Author
Article written by piggie fanatic Treen of the wonderful www.treenspigs.com
website. Check out piccies of piggers as you've never seen them
before, enter fun competitions and watch Treen's animated piggies
among lots of other brilliant stuff!!
It really is an excellent site for lovers of all small furries,
not just piggy lovers...if you are ever having a bad day, log
on to www.treenspigs.com
and you'll soon be laughing!
