C&C Convincing My Parents To Let My Piggies Live Indoors!

CathiiPiggie · Apr 23, 2012

My guinea pigs currently live in our shed (I know, I know) and I am desperate to improve their living conditions. There are just a few issues with letting them indoors....

1. My mum is allergic to hay. As well as a runny nose she gets a rash when holding the piggies around the arms and neck area. I have also been told to keep away from hay by my doctor in the past but it doesn't affect me so much now.
2. We have a small 3 bedroom house with 5 people, 2 hamsters and a dog in it already. So there's barely any space but I have been messing around with a tape measure, trying to find places a 2x4 cage could fit in.
3. They're getting on fine in the shed. Yes it's true they are and when my mum had piggies in an extra building their cottage had in hutches they never had problems, but I know it only takes one thing to happen to make them ill.

I have made a big Powerpoint presentation to show them about the benefits of indoor and larger housing, how to prevent or keep hay allergies to the minimuum, all about fleece bedding, and included a variety of reviews of C&C cages. I am making a plan for where the cage could go and adding more to it. My parents know I am dedicated to my piggies, and I am willing to get bought the cage for Xmas this year and sacrifice a new phone.

Is this a good way to go about persuading them?
And what can I do to solve the three problems I have listed?

wheekmau5 · Apr 23, 2012

How about we all comment on this thread saying "Hey, we want the piggies inside!" Let's see how much we can get and show it to your parents. Good luck

Zuidy · Apr 23, 2012

HEY WE WANT THE PIGGIES INSIDE!

__

1: Hay should be stored inside, if possible in a cardboard box. Does your mom only get affected when holding the Pigs, like she can be unaffected if the hay is in the house but away from her? If she is only affected when holding the Piggies, then the only solution is....... For her to stop holding them! Sounds harsh, but if you want them inside then that might be the only option.

2: Depends how many Pigs you have and what genders. 2x4 can get 2 female sows along just fine.

3: They may seem to be doing "fine" in your shed, but if you are unable to find them bigger space you should rehome them to who can. They won't have as happy of a life in a shed secluded from family activity.

CathiiPiggie · Apr 26, 2012

wheekmau5 said:
How about we all comment on this thread saying "Hey, we want the piggies inside!" Let's see how much we can get and show it to your parents. Good luck

Hah, nice idea!

CathiiPiggie · Apr 26, 2012

Zuidy said:
HEY WE WANT THE PIGGIES INSIDE!

__

1: Hay should be stored inside, if possible in a cardboard box. Does your mom only get affected when holding the Pigs, like she can be unaffected if the hay is in the house but away from her? If she is only affected when holding the Piggies, then the only solution is....... For her to stop holding them! Sounds harsh, but if you want them inside then that might be the only option.

My mum doesn't hold the piggies that often, but when in the same room as hay she gets sniffly, and when up close gets a rash and sneezes/runny nose etc.

2: Depends how many Pigs you have and what genders. 2x4 can get 2 female sows along just fine.

I have 2 boars who have lived together all their lives (4 years) in a 5sq ft cage with no problems (luckily), so 2x4 should work for them.

3: They may seem to be doing "fine" in your shed, but if you are unable to find them bigger space you should rehome them to who can. They won't have as happy of a life in a shed secluded from family activity.

I know, this is why I get them in several times a day. Thanks for the argument about the being away from family.

pinky · Apr 26, 2012

Try switching your hay. I'm really allergic to timothy but have no problem with orchard grass.

Zuidy · Apr 26, 2012

CathiiPiggie said:
My mum doesn't hold the piggies that often, but when in the same room as hay she gets sniffly, and when up close gets a rash and sneezes/runny nose etc.

I have 2 boars who have lived together all their lives (4 years) in a 5sq ft cage with no problems (luckily), so 2x4 should work for them.

I know, this is why I get them in several times a day. Thanks for the argument about the being away from family.

Don't get mad at me-- You never said this. And I am telling you the truth, that they need to be inside.

I know that Piggies get along just fine outside, but they would be happier inside. But we can't all up and fix everything for our Pigs, so I understand where you are at. But I am a little tired of people jumping to remarks that I was "arguing" when I was telling the down right truth.

Mastershroom · Apr 26, 2012

As @pinky said, try a different kind of hay. I switched from timothy to orchard grass, and it's been better for my allergies. Also, try keeping the bag tied shut in your room when it's not being used, rather than a common room where your mother can be exposed. Given that she gets a rash when holding the pigs, though, she might be allergic to the pigs themselves.

CathiiPiggie · Apr 28, 2012

Zuidy said:
Don't get mad at me-- You never said this. And I am telling you the truth, that they need to be inside.

I know that Piggies get along just fine outside, but they would be happier inside. But we can't all up and fix everything for our Pigs, so I understand where you are at. But I am a little tired of people jumping to remarks that I was "arguing" when I was telling the down right truth.

Oh sorry did I make that sound like I was angry? :/ I'm not arguing at all - I am completely on your side and agree that they should live inside.
What I meant by 'argument' is that I will use the argument for my powerpoint.

sarah0712 · Apr 28, 2012

You sound very dedicated to your piggies. And I'm sure that it will impress your parents that you are doing so much research in to persuading them to let your piggies inside. I hope it all works out for you

CathiiPiggie · Apr 28, 2012

sarah0712 said:
You sound very dedicated to your piggies. And I'm sure that it will impress your parents that you are doing so much research in to persuading them to let your piggies inside. I hope it all works out for you

Thanks, I really am dedicated! I get them out for hours of floor time, they have a 16sq ft run and go out on the grass when warm enough and get lots of cuddles every day.
If one of my piggies needs an operation to get his lump removed like my old piggie Jack did (RIP

) then they'll have to come inside anyway. As much as I'd hate to risk his life going through all the anaesthetics, I would just love to have them indoors like Jack was. His personality came alive! Hopefully he doesn't need the operation, but I can persuade them anyway.

CathiiPiggie · Apr 28, 2012

Mastershroom said:
As @pinky said, try a different kind of hay. I switched from timothy to orchard grass, and it's been better for my allergies. Also, try keeping the bag tied shut in your room when it's not being used, rather than a common room where your mother can be exposed. Given that she gets a rash when holding the pigs, though, she might be allergic to the pigs themselves.

Thanks, I'll have a look at greener hays.

Petlovr · Apr 28, 2012

My mum doesn't hold the piggies that often, but when in the same room as hay she gets sniffly, and when up close gets a rash and sneezes/runny nose etc.

Well, if you can keep them in your bedrom with the hay, that's one way to get privacy! LOL
Can you stack the hamsters cage on top of the piggies cage? Also, if you can post a pic of where you're trying to fit them in, people here are good at rearranging and organizing, they might have some ideas for you.

CathiiPiggie · Apr 28, 2012

go_ellie said:
Have your parents read the forum!! That is the only way I could get my piggies to come in from the garrage.

Thanks, I hadn't thought about that.

CavyMama · Apr 28, 2012

Yes, have them read the forum. You can start them with this thread: https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...-whats-wrong-keeping-guinea-pigs-outside.html - the specifics about why keeping them outdoors is a bad idea.

CathiiPiggie · May 8, 2012

After my beautiful boy Carrot died yesterday, I only have Broccoli left. He's not the type of piggie who'd appreciate me getting him another cage mate (unfortunately) as he got grumpy even with Carrot at times, and could be a bit of a bully. He doesn't seem to miss Carrot much either, which I suppose is a good thing.

Anyway, this all happened before I'd got round to showing my parents the presentation and forum. I was talking to my mum in the car earlier and I said that I had found hay allergy solutions. Then she said had I found a small house solution :/ and I said that there were a couple of places we could fit in a 2x3 cage if she is willing to try. She didn't say yes, but she didn't say no. I know it's a long shot, but I am a tiny step closer to housing Broccoli inside.

If it had been the other way around (Broccoli passing away instead) then she would have been more inclined to look into indoor housing as Carrot would have deeply missed company.

I miss Carrot so much already, and I so wish I could've given him the housing that he deserved.

Silver_mist · May 8, 2012

We want the piggies inside!

riizu · May 9, 2012

Here's my input on the hay/allergy issue. I'm allergic to hay, and for the last 8 months I've had 2 piggies in a 2x4 cage in my bedroom. My tricks for the allergy problem include:

keeping the hay outside my room, in an air-tight container. In your case, maybe the shed for the bulk of the hay, and a smaller re-fillable container in the house.
Daily sweeps of the poop/excess hay on the cage bottom
Giving the piggies baths when they get dirty
Dusting weekly, which includes vaccuming up around the cage any bits that get kicked out
Fleece bedding, or carefresh. Before I started using fleece, I found carefresh did an okay job neutralizing things

By far the most important thing for my allergies was to not have direct contact with the hay, and to do the daily sweeps and weekly cleans of the cage.

CathiiPiggie · May 12, 2012

Thanks, I've added those ideas to my PowerPoint, fingers crossed it goes down well! :/

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C&C Convincing My Parents To Let My Piggies Live Indoors!

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