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Is this play pen too small?

couchon

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Is a 36" diameter playpen too small for two piggies? What about one piggy at a time?

Should I also put a hidy there?
 

Triggs

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That work's out to be about 2.5 grids yeah? So It's 2.5 X 2.5?
Personally I think that's too small. They need room to run around and pop corn. And the fact there's two means they need more room again. Are they male or female? Because males can tend to need even more room again.
 

couchon

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They are females.

Just to clarify, this is for floor time, not for them to live in, so I wouldn't have to put a lot of stuff there.
 

akstrohm

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Yes, that's too small. It's only about 7 square feet, and even their normal cage should be bigger than that. One of the main reasons for doing floor time is to give the pigs more room to run and explore. Instead of using a pen, see if you can find a room or hallway that you can block off. And yes, pigs need hideys during floor time. It is important to make them feel safe.
 

Triggs

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Yes, that's too small. It's only about 7 square feet, and even their normal cage should be bigger than that. One of the main reasons for doing floor time is to give the pigs more room to run and explore. Instead of using a pen, see if you can find a room or hallway that you can block off. And yes, pigs need hideys during floor time. It is important to make them feel safe.

Agree 100%. Also one of the reasons for floor time is to give them room to exercise and run. If It's that small they could not run or popcorn and would likely just sit in a corner until they got let back into their cage. Their main cage should be 2X4.
 

couchon

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The thing is, my apartment is very small. It's 150 sq ft total (only one room that also holds a stove, my bed, etc.). I do have a separate bathroom (separate from the room but part of the 150 sq ft - I can't use it for floor space, since the pipe actually let's out steam in the winter).

I barely fit a 2x3 in the room. I figured that the cage has so many other things, that it may be better for them to just have a space free of all that stuff. I will try to get them a bigger playpen. Would that be OK?
 

JD In Van

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Get some extra grids and zip tie them together then you can use them to make what ever sized play pen fits in your room.
 

distancel

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I have a small unit too but I just section off a corner for the piggies in the kitchen with grids zip tied together or let them have the run of the bathroom which has a lot of floor space. Would it be possible to section off the pipe that the steam comes out of? Like so they can't get near it?

I also have another way to let them have 'floor time' since their cage is next to my bed, pretty much parallel to it (it's on a stand). I made a ramp from the cage to the bed and then put grids around the bed so they won't jump off. It's a bit weird but it's a good way for me to spend time with the piggies cuz I can sit on the bed with them. They also enjoy being able to run back to their cage freely. It also makes the overall space bigger since it is technically their cage + the extra space.
 

louie_joey

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Distancel: wouldn't the piggies poop and pee on your bed though?
Couchon: you should look into getting extra grids. That way they are fairly easy to set up a larger floortime area if you can move around tables and whatnot.
 

distancel

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Oh I should have mentioned I put towels and fleece down over my doona. But they don't really anyway they prefer to go in their cage.
 

Sugar&Ellie

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For my floor time, I let them have free range in my room and block off anything they can get under, like my bed, with the play pen I bought when I had only 1 guinea pig.

I put out cat toys, chubes and various veggies. They LOVE it, when I need to leave the room I can hear feet rumbling around, wheeks and cat toys jingling. They also like to sleep in the dog bed when they get tired.
 

Anabelle&Jane

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I agree with all of these BUT..

when i give my two piggies free time in my computer room (i make sure they dont get into anything harmful) they just sit there doing nothing or just barely walking around.
is there anything i can do to make them happier and actually do anything?

-hanah
 
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