Floor Time Will they pee?! - Guinea Pig Cages, Care, Store, Photos of Guinea Pigs and More Forum!

**sporkubus** · #1 05-08-09, 04:39 pm

Hi guys,

So I've had one of my guinea pigs for several years now and the other one for about a year. Sadly I have been unable to give them extended floor time until now because I was living in a house that didn't belong to me and was afraid of damaging the floors. Recently I met someone who has a guinea pig whose cage she keeps open most of the time so he can wander around, and for whatever reason he knows better than to pee on the floor. Now I'm moving and I am more free to let the guinea pigs roam and I was thinking about doing the same thing, but I still don't want to have a pee-soaked carpet or step into leftover puddles. If I let my guinea pigs have an open cage, will they know not to pee on the floor and go back into their cage when they need to do their business?

**vicky2** · #2 05-08-09, 04:50 pm

when i give lucky floor time, she always pees or shell try to crawl up my shirt so i cant put her back in her cage to do her business and then bring her back out

**starshine123102** · #3 05-08-09, 05:15 pm

Some will and others won't. One of my pigs will only go in one area, but my other will go wherever he chooses, without warning.

**sporkubus** · #4 05-08-09, 05:23 pm

so I guess they don't get any floor time

shame

**fieryone** · #5 05-08-09, 05:26 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by sporkubus

so I guess they don't get any floor time

shame

I have wood floors and what I do for floor time is put a shower curtain down with an old comforter over it and surround it with grids. It's a larger area than their cage and the grids fold back up since they're zip tied together.

**starshine123102** · #6 05-08-09, 05:29 pm

You can still give them floor time. You can do one of many things to make sure they don't go on the carpet.

One thing you can do it to watch when they eat or drink, then either wait until they do their business or take them out for only a few minutes (they go about every 15 minutes).

Or, you can create a floor time pen (make sure it's larger than the cage or there is no point to it). Take a vinyl tablecloth or a shower curtain and put that down on the floor to protect the carpet/floor. Then put the pen (I just zip tied a bunch of grids together) and put them on top of the mat and give it a few inches of clearance all the way around so that nothing spreads out over the floor covering. Then, when you put them back, all you have to do it mop up the pee and sweep up the poo, wipe it down with a 50/50 water/vinegar solution, fold up and put away.

**pigsmakemesmile** · #7 05-08-09, 06:07 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by fieryone

I have wood floors and what I do for floor time is put a shower curtain down with an old comforter over it and surround it with grids. It's a larger area than their cage and the grids fold back up since they're zip tied together.

I also have wood floors and I lay down plastic then an old blanket over top. I did the same thing with the grids...makes it much easier.

**blackarrow** · #8 05-08-09, 07:48 pm

I got a tarp at a discount store and let them have their floor time on that, and they're contained on that tarp with a box worth of grids ziptied together. I do put a litter box in their pen with them. No way would my boars ever head all the way back to their cage even if they could, but they will make for a litter box or a hay box about 3/4 of the time, so I don't always have to do more than shake the tarp off outside.

"Thank you, fieryone, for this useful post," says:
Furry's Friend (05-12-09)

"Thank you, starshine123102, for this useful post," says:
Furry's Friend (05-12-09)