Behavior New Piggie Keeps Escaping from Cage

[Starwind Amada]

My new piggie S'more keeps getting out of my C&C cage. She squeezes right through the grid. I have tried blocking off the sides with cardboard but I guess she burrows under it or something. I live in a studio so she can't get far but I have to spend at least 20 minutes trying to catch her. Eventually she goes into the bathroom and I quickly close the door, then she's mine. I was thinking of getting some bricks to line up along the walls. She can't get under those. She interacts well with her two bigger sisters (Oreo & Brownie) yet for some reason she always wants to get out and defecate all over the carpet.

 

[LittleSqueakers]

I would get either more grid squares to double up and make the holes smaller or you can use wire mesh (also called hardware cloth) and cut it to size and ziptie over the grids.

Have you witnessed her escaping to see exactly how she's getting out of the cage?

 

[4boipigs]

How big/what age is Smore and what size is the grid spacing?

 

[Starwind Amada]

How big/what age is Smore and what size is the grid spacing?

Each square in the grid is about 1.5 inches. She won't stay still long enough for me to measure her. I don't know how old she is but she's real small so probably only a few months.

 

[ItsaZoo]

Grids are dangerous to young pigs. They learn to poke their heads through and as they grow, they will eventually get their head caught and they can choke. Young pigs can also be more athletic. Mine is a climber and loves high places, so I have to make sure the cage is covered. She can stretch all the way to the top, and she's always jumping up on her hideys.

 

[Starwind Amada]

Grids are dangerous to young pigs. They learn to poke their heads through and as they grow, they will eventually get their head caught and they can choke. Young pigs can also be more athletic. Mine is a climber and loves high places, so I have to make sure the cage is covered. She can stretch all the way to the top, and she's always jumping up on her hideys.

I moved her to the bed (no bars but she's not going anywhere because it's high up). My only concern is that she's alone. The other pigs are in the cage. I won't be able to do anything about the cage for two weeks due to other commitments. She has everything she needs on the bed... but friends.

 

[bpatters]

The bed is NOT safe. Guinea pigs eyes are on the sides of their heads, so they have very poor depth perception. Three inches, three feet -- it's all the same to them. She's very apt to walk off the edge and get badly hurt.

Get some coroplast (there should be plenty of election signs around, and they're usually made of coroplast) and line the edges of the cage until she can no longer get through.

 

[Starwind Amada]

The bed is NOT safe. Guinea pigs eyes are on the sides of their heads, so they have very poor depth perception. Three inches, three feet -- it's all the same to them. She's very apt to walk off the edge and get badly hurt.

Get some coroplast (there should be plenty of election signs around, and they're usually made of coroplast) and line the edges of the cage until she can no longer get through.

She burrows under the choloroplast. She pushes it up with her head. I might have some extra I can put somewhere and build a small cage. Should be enough for a small cage until my dad gets me some wooden panels

 

[bpatters]

Poke holes in it and zip tie it to the cage bars. She won't be able to get under it that way.

 

[Starwind Amada]

Poke holes in it and zip tie it to the cage bars. She won't be able to get under it that way.

I'll stop at Home Depot tomorrow. Right now I just gave up and let her run around the floor. Poop isn't a big deal because it dries fast but I'm worried about urine on the carpet.