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General Moving From WI to NV with Piggies

DoD09

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Cavy Slave
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Hello everyone!

Like the title said I am moving from Wisconsin to Nevada (25hrs road trip) with guinea pigs, the trip will be about 3 days and I will be mainly driving at night. Prior to this post I've been researching and trying to get preparation ready for the move with them but just wanted to get a second opinion and if I need to change/do anything.

Little about the piggies, I have two 3yr old female abyssinian guinea pigs, they are sisters - born from the same litter, and grew up in the same cage all their lives. Ever since I adopted them they have lived in a 2X4 C&C Cage with fleece bedding and when I'm traveling with them they are house in the Midwest cage.

For the road trip I am traveling alone so I have decided to reserve the backseat for the piggies (I have a Honda Accord coupe). I plan on modifying their C&C Cage they are in right now to fit better in my car and using puppy pads, so it'll be easier to clean. To level the surface of the backseat before I put the cage, I'm going to use towels and their fleece bedding. While the backseat feet space will have my duffle bags full of clothes so hoping to try and level out the whole back area of my car. Also, I figure the towels will be good to use as place holders, to keep the cage from moving/sliding and fill any cracks.

From what I read, I won't be using a water bottle but was wondering if keeping hay and pellets in the cage is fine? For water I plan on feeding them veggies but curious how much water should they be getting a day? The idea is I'll be driving 500 miles intervals (7-8 hours) and then I plan on resting at a motel/hotel. I follow a guinea pig account on Instagram that has their piggies in bed with them (a bonding process); towel layout in case they pee and food nearby them. I was thinking of doing this having the piggies on the bed with me while I sleep so it'll be an easy transition of transporting them in/out of the car. The other option would be setting up the midwest cage but the only downside I see is having to assemble/disassemble it.

For anyone wondering, while I modify their cage to fit in the car they'll be house in the Midwest cage. The same thing will happen when we get down there and I make them a new cage.

Anyway this is my plan/idea I have in handling the road trip but again I am open to suggestions in improving it!
 

bpatters

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Cavy Slave
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Sounds like a plan to me!

Yes, they should have hay and pellets while traveling. Keep some leafy veggies in a container with water, and give them some every couple of hours. If cucumber and tomato don't upset their tummies, give them those as well -- they're very watery.

I wouldn't sleep with the pigs. For one thing, they have eyes on the sides of their heads, like horses, and so have no depth perception. Six inches, six feet, it all looks the same. And if they get startled by a noise outside and jump off the bed, you may have an injured pig on your hands. There's also the danger of rolling over on one and smothering it.

You could get a wire playpen, or even some grids zip-tied together, and make a temporary enclosure that will fold pretty flat. If you put that on an old quilt or blanket or some towels, it would work as a night-time enclosure.
 

DoD09

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Thank you for the advice!

Luckily my girls love cucumbers so that's a foresure veggie I'll be packing. Is there any other veggie with high water content you'll recommend? I've tried on two occasion with tomatoes (specifically cherry tomatoes) and my girls didn't care for them. I feed them daily romaine lettuce, yellow peppers, and baby carrots, so I figure those would be good enough as long as I wet them a lot.
 
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