Exercise Are guinea pig harnesses good to use?

Ash14 · Sep 20, 2014

I've seen harnesses and leashes for pigs and ferrets at different pet stores. I was wondering if it might be a good or bad idea. I am getting my first piggie tomorrow and I know they need floor time or time outside to eat natural grasses. The problem is, I have dogs and they pee and poo in the backyard, so if I were to let my piggie in the back, would it hurt her if she ate grass with that on it? If she had a harness I could take her in the front even though it has no fence. I wouldn't drag her with it or pull like a dog, but just to follow her around and keep her close so she doesn't go too far. But I'm still not sure if it's a good idea. Could it hurt or harm her?

spudsthepiget · Sep 20, 2014

Guinea pig harnesses and leashes are actually a pet store gimmick; guinea pigs have very delicate spines and even a small tug on a leash can damage their spine. They can also easily slip out of one and run off. The world is a scary place for such a small piggy, all it takes is one noise to spook them.

I'm not sure if te grass in your backyard would hurt her or not. If the grass in your front yard isn't chemically treated, you could set up a playpen for her and let her graze. You can buy a playpen or easily make one out of grids

playpens are much better than leashes any day

bpatters · Sep 20, 2014

Guinea pigs have very fragile backs, and even though you wouldn't tug on the leash, if the pig gets startled and runs, it could easily be injured.

Don't let her eat the grass that other animals have peed and pooped on. Grass needs to be clean and free of insecticides and pesticides. Wheat grass is very easy to grow -- you can get the seeds at any health food store, and plant them in potting soil in a shallow pan and put it in a window in your house. That way, you'll know it's clean. Also, you need to start them out with very small amounts of fresh grass and work up to larger amounts, or they'll get diarrhea.

Ash14 · Sep 21, 2014

Okay I definitely won't be getting one then. I actually have an octagon pin we used for fostering puppies so I could put her in that for outside time. I found some Timothy grass seeds too that I could plant. Is that good for them?

pinky · Sep 21, 2014

Don't allow her to be outside unsupervised. It only takes a split second for a bird of prey to swoop down and grab a guinea pig.

Ash14 · Sep 21, 2014

pinky said:
Don't allow her to be outside unsupervised. It only takes a split second for a bird of prey to swoop down and grab a guinea pig.

Oh I won't. I don't even let my dogs outside unsupervised. And I finally got her!!! Her cage is horribly small. Could be worse of course, I've seen smaller, but I'll definitely be building her a new one. I want to hold her so bad but I'm letting her adjust to the new room. She's so cute

Rywen · Sep 21, 2014

She is very cute, what's her name? Please make sure your dogs can't pull her cage down or get to her, there have been some very sad incidents reported on this forum where someone's dogs killed their piggies.

Ash14 · Sep 21, 2014

Rywen said:
She is very cute, what's her name? Please make sure your dogs can't pull her cage down or get to her, there have been some very sad incidents reported on this forum where someone's dogs killed their piggies.

I'm keeping the door shut so they can't get in. When they do come in I'll watch VERY carefully. And thank you! Her name is Elsa. That was her name when I got her, but I'm keeping it, I totally dig it. (Adults can love Frozen too) Hahah.

Also I'm going to fix the bottom of that panel on the floor so she doesn't chew on the paint when I let her out. She hasn't tried but I don't wanna risk it. It was just like that from when I ripped the carpet out and never redid it, So I needed to fix it anyways lol.

Lord Pigwidgeon · Sep 23, 2014

So adorable! Yeah, I have a playpen I set up beside the swing outside so that I can relax by them but also keep an eye out

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Exercise Are guinea pig harnesses good to use?

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