Where People & Piggies Thrive

Newbie or Guinea Guru? Popcorn in!

Register for free to enjoy the full benefits.
Find out more about the NEW, drastically improved site and forum!

Register

Ramps My guinea pigs won't use the ramp

Wheekers135

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Feb 6, 2014
Posts
151
Joined
Feb 6, 2014
Messages
151
Built my 2 boys this on Sunday afternoon

However, they won't use the ramp. I have picked them up and put them up top and they go down fine but they won't go up on their own. I have tried luring them with food but they just stretch as far as they can reach to get it and then give up if I won't give them it. Tips?
 

Starthecavy123

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Jun 23, 2013
Posts
3,242
Joined
Jun 23, 2013
Messages
3,242
Does your ramp have sides. Tall sides will make them feel more secure going up. I just made a trail with their favorite veggie from where they were standing all the way up to the top. Try to keep the veggies close together with maybe a .5 inch spacing. How steep is the ramp if its to steep they won't use it. Or you could try covering the ramp kind of like a tunnel. Just patient with them some may take longer than others. If one gets the hang of it the other should start to copy. Alot of guinea pigs learn from other guinea pigs.
 

bpatters

Moderator
Staff member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Posts
29,261
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Messages
29,261
Cover it with something, like an upside down cardboard box. When they get used to using it, you can take it away.
 

Wheekers135

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Feb 6, 2014
Posts
151
Joined
Feb 6, 2014
Messages
151
I tried the veggie spacing and my one guinea pig would walk up and grab it and then back all the way back down and eat it. I'll try covering it. Also, it's not super steep. The loft is at mid grid height.
 

Kudos

Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Aug 23, 2014
Posts
10
Joined
Aug 23, 2014
Messages
10
Try the luring again, but when they are stretched out give them a nibble and then lure them higher. It might motivate them go all the way up. I rebuilt my ramp and one of my pigs couldn't figure out how to get up and this method worked.
 

lissie

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Jan 25, 2009
Posts
8,190
Joined
Jan 25, 2009
Messages
8,190
The sides of the ramp look like they are curved in. Can you push them out a little?
Try draping a towel or blanket over the whole loft, they might not like being up high out in the open.

Sample:
(broken link removed)
 

Lord Pigwidgeon

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Aug 14, 2014
Posts
240
Joined
Aug 14, 2014
Messages
240
Mine wouldn't walk up the ramp until I had sides on the ramp. The sides that I have go straight up, and they're line with fleece so that it's soft. Now they run up and down the ramp, no problem.
 

wheeklink

Active Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Jul 7, 2014
Posts
32
Joined
Jul 7, 2014
Messages
32
Mine seem to be ok with their fleece-coro-grid ramp, but it took awhile for them to learn to use it, while we urged them up and down it a number of times a day when freshies were served. I fed them their favorite veggies upstairs, and their beds are upstairs. I would put the guys at the bottom of the ramp and pet them while moving them up or down, manually (LOL), then pet them again while at the top/bottom, talking to them the whole while in the "Mama's got freshies" voice. They became used to the freshies being upstairs, and that was a big motivator. One of them uses it very freely now, though prefers the hayplay area downstairs, and the other one uses it only unwillingly/uncomfortably. We are redesigning the whole thing this weekend because the dominant one wants the whole setup for himself (upstairs plus downstairs) and is making the other one miserable AGAIN. The dominated one is losing weight at this point, so the "post-hormonal phase unification" (hoping their boy hormones had settled down) was kind of unsuccessful. We had this problem before, and separate cages were the only solution, so we are going back to that. The rescue ladywe'd gotten them from had tried to bond them once for us, but it didn't work. We just have a situation where one is very bossy and the other one is too afraid of him for them both to be comfortable. If dom-boar had a 14-room mansion, he'd take up the whole thing, LOL.
 

ThePiggiesGotMe

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Jan 23, 2013
Posts
103
Joined
Jan 23, 2013
Messages
103
I agree with @lissie. I've rigged a cover for my loft because the girls don't like being up there out in the open.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.
Top