Floor-Time and Ramps

[Trace_n_Ripley]

My two girls, Trace and Ripley, have a 2x3 (with a 1x2 deck) C&C cage.

I have set up a floor-time area using a piece of heavy vinyl covered by a blanket and surrounded by cube pieces. It is about twice the size of their home. I put various cardboard boxes inside for the girls to play with, but every time I set them down there, all they seem to want to do is to hide in one of the boxes. The only thing that gets them out is veggies and that doesn't last long either. I have no idea how to encourage them to explore or run more. I really want them to be as happy and healthy as possible but I have become discouraged with the floor time thing and have not put them in it for the last couple of weeks. They get TONS of lap time, veggies and other attention, but I don't know how to encourage them to enjoy their floor time.

My second question is regarding the ramp to the second level of their home: they don't seem to use it often. The younger one will sometimes go upstairs to the pigloo or the grass hut but the older one only goes up there while I am cleaning the lower level (and I have to pick her up and place her there). "Younger" and "older" are realtive terms here, Trace is about 9 months to one year old and Ripley is 6 months old. Could the ramp be too steep? I am unsure of this as Ripley sometimes tears up and down at warp speed.

I would very much appreciate your advice on this.

Thanks!

[jdomans]

Is the pigloo and grass hut all there is upstairs? I have the hay, food, and one of the water bottles upstairs. There is no food or hay downstairs at all.

[chisky]

Piggy Pooh wouldn't go up the ramp so I put his hay and pellets on the first floor and put his fresh veggies on the top floor. There is water on both floors and hiding places and a potty.

When I bring him his veggies I say carrot on top. Look at the fishie. He has a stuffed fish I put veggies, in his mouth and the pig goes after them. Then the rest of the veggies are there. When I say carrot on top, he starts sniffing the air excitedly. Then he runs up the ramp. My ramp doesn't have sides, and at first he was afraid, now he jump down about half the ramp. Quite gracefully and he knows what he is doing. It took him a few days to get used to it. I put a tomato on top of the ramp (that is his favorite) and then a carrot a little inland. He still sort of hangs by the ramp. He pulls his food over there sometime but he explores the top and is getting to like it.

When he runs laps, it is all the way up and around. It is a hoot.

[PiggieMom]

My boys didn't use their loft when all they had up there were hidey houses. I changed it to a kitchen area putting their hay, pellets, water bottles and veggies up there. They run up there all the time now, though it took them a day to get used to it.

As far as floor time goes, perhaps you could hide veggies in the different hidey houses to get them to explore. My boys were very timid during floor time for the first week or so. Now they love it.

[Ly&Pigs]

I would take the houses out during floor time. That will encourage exploration. I give my girls the run of the entire kitchen and sometimes the living room as well. They form piggie trains and explore everywhere. I put down hay and water for floortime and various tunnels. I usually offer a veggie treat of some sort that they have to come to me to get.

Sometimes it just takes time for them to get used to floortime.

As far as your ramp, Trace may think it's too steep while Ripley doesn't. Does it have sides and good traction? All pigs are different so while one may be scared of something the other may not be.

[Trace_n_Ripley]

Thank you all so much for the replies! I'm sorry it took so long to say that -- I've been apartment hunting. ("do you allow guinea pigs and fish????"). I think we may have found a place that suits both us and the girls.

It's really weird how many people don't think of guines pigs as 1.pets and 2. having distinct personalities. That is, until they talk to me!

I will try putting vegetables upstairs in their home and see if it helps.

As far as the ramp, it has sides and 1/2 inch thick carpeting with no loops. It is at approximately a 35-40 degree angle.

I think Trace is a bit more cautious about the world in general. I think she may have been bought at a pet store and then brought to the shelter pregnant. Ripley is her daughter. Since Ripley was born at the shelter, where they handled all the animals frequently, she has always had life good and is a typical teenager who has no fear. Trace seems a bit scarred by a traumatic childhood and becoming a teenage mother. I went away overnight last weekend and had a friend come by to check on them (I'm a nervous mother!). When I got home and was giving them some lap time, Ripley was happy to see me but Trace was washing my face like she thought I'd never come back!!!

[jdomans]

I hid my guineas and chinchilla for a year until they announced about the state going through random apartments. I live in an equal opportunity place and even though I pay market value, I didn't know they weren't interested in me! I made my confession to the manager who laughed at me. 'Caged' pets are not on the hit list. It is cats and dogs and you can have them with a doctor's prescription saying you need a companion animal.

[piggielover92]

I have tried twice to put a second level with a ramp in my C&C cage but my pigs are completely uninterested. I never saw anyone up on the second floor and all of them were too afraid to use the ramp. I even tried to lure them up the ramp with their favorite treats! Uhhh... They are too stubborn sometime!

[fourbwabbys]

I put their food on the top level and it encouraged them to go up. All my pigs have no problem, they did at first, but once they got the hang of it they were fine.

[chisky]

Jdomans, Snowball looks just like your white piggy.

[jdomans]

piggielover92, do as I do and put all food and hay upstairs. Also, physically put the pigs upstairs. They certainly won't starve will they? They will get back down and after a while put them back up. It doesn't take long. Also if your ramp is too steep they won't get on it.

[chisky]

When I built the ramp I put Piggy Pooh on the top and forced him down. Not violently forced just put him heading down and kept him from backing up which was his desire. He made it down. They from the bottom I forced him to go up, not so easy because it is hard for me to reach the ramp from the bottom. Someone here said put little pieces of food up the ramp. I did that, pieces of tomato and he fell for that hook line and sinker. Now he runs up the ramp and jumps off about 1/2 down.

Snowball hasn't tried it yet, and I haven't had him long enough to force him. I'm hoping that he will follow piggy down sometime when he gets acclimated to the cage.

Even if he never goes up and down the ramp it is ok that way both pigs will have their own level for privacy although Piggy runs up and down and his little ol' heart desires.

[muffin]

My pigs took what seemed like forever to get used to floortime and to actually move about. Apart from anything else, if your pigs live in a cage at waist height, everything can look much bigger and scarier to them during floortime! Don't worry that they don't seem to like it. I found it really hard to persevere too, it seemed mean to put my pigs out in their floortime enclosure because they seemed to hate it and just hid all the time. Curiosity eventually got the better of them though, and now they love the extra space. I found having houses and tunnels actually helped because they could explore whilst having something nearby to peek out of or run for cover under if they got scared. Hope that helps.

[fourbwabbys]

Is your cage on the floor or on a table? When I first had my pigs introduced to floortime, I set up their pen and attached it to their cage leaving the door open. They got used to it and ventured out to play. After they get more confident, you can close the door once they're out.