Re: Added a new section to the Floor Time page!
I think I'm going to try some of those ideas too.
At the very least, I need a much bigger litter box than that stupid "small animal" corner box that came with Piglet's old cage! I'll try making a "home base" area with newspaper, hay, food, water, and the hidey holes from the cage (but they will still have to have the coroplast linings in them becaue Piglet always, ALWAYS goes in her houses both in the cage and during floor time).
Another idea - you know those little plastic stepping stools with 4 legs? (Got this idea from Guinealynx actually) Would they be good enough for shelters outside of the cage, instead of the hidey holes? I don't know for sure because I haven't tried it yet, but I think Piglet would be less likely to go to the bathroom in there because it is much less enclosed. But is it enclosed enough to qualify as a "safe shelter"?
How do you keep your pigs from peeing in the houses? Or do they go in them and you just don't mind? Even on a relatively absorbant surface (newspaper, sheets) when Piglet has done this she has gotten soaked in the urine before it was absorbed. Even if she didn't it's still a lot of trouble to clean up. Right now I don't give her a house at all for floor time because it is just too much of a mess! As soon as I build the boxes to line the houses, then I will...but I need to find a better solution. It's bad enough to have to use them in the cage. Just two more "litter boxes" to clean! :lol:
Actually my main problem with Piglet and floor time is that she insists on chewing and eating the carpet. We have the kind of carpet that is high-pile and very thick. It's in all our rooms. We had a cat who did herself serious internal damage from eating carpet. She used to hide behind the speaker cabinet in the living room and eat it when we weren't home. She eventually got so sick from the damage it did to her intestines that she had to be put to sleep. Of course we didn't know she was doing this until it was too late. After that well learned lesson, we know it's very dangerous for animals to chew on the carpet. So I have to put down something to cover the carpet even if she becomes relatively "litter trained". Sigh.
Sorry, I didn't mean to complain and make this post so long! Especially in the site feedback forum. Oh well.
