Tell me about floortime

[Rosebud325]

Apologies if this is a dumb newbie question. What do you do with your guinea pigs during their floor time? Do you just let them wander around, and if so how do you keep them away from things they shouldn't be in (wires, the kids' toys,etc.) Also, do you have set time(s) for floor time or is it just whenever you have the time?

I'm sorry for ask such basic questions, but I'm really trying to decide if adopting guinea pigs is right for us. Thanks!

 

[kaite13]

I just set up a pen that is bigger than my cage with some extra cubes. I do floortime whenever I have time. I let them run in the pen for a couple of hours each day. An hour at the min.

 

[HannibalLecter]

I use an old large puppy/bunny pen with special houses, boxes, tunnels & wheat (cat) grass they only have during floor time, things I also rotate to keep it interesting. They don't get floortime every day, but when they do it's about the same time, guinea pigs do really well with routine - just like kids. The pen is basically the same size as their cage (2x5), but in a different shape (octagon). I cover the floor with towels & fleece. If you have a carpet you could use a shower curtain as a base underneath.

You could of course let them free roam when they've gotten comfortable with floor time, but you'll have to pig proof the whole room/area so there's nothing to get stuck in, underneath or chew on that's inappropriate.

 

[Kimberly713]

I bought an extra set of purple grids and make a big playpen using that and put tunnels and such all around, things they dont get in their cage; water bottles and sometimes a small pile of hay. And they run around exploring everything for about 40mins to an hour and then they go back home I'd place some fleece or a bedsheet down though to protect your carpet or flooring

 

[Boudicca_Olympe]

I lay out a bed sheet in space that's fairly confined but still much larger than their cage.
I do this for about 40min-1hr every single day. I just put pipes and cardboard tunnels for them to run through.
I've also always got a watchful eye on them.

 

[PrttyChngaderas]

My pigs get floor time every few days. I rotate the pigs out. So two at a time get floor time.

I have a total of six pigs in a L-shaped cage that is 2x8 with the L being 2x5. Every day I get two pigs out, set up a pen in my studio that is approximately 2x6 and I cover the floor with fleece and towels. I have toys, ramps, fleece cozies and treats that they don't have in their regular cage. I usually work in my studio for about 3-5 hours a day and they are in there with me the whole time. This is also a convenient time for me to vacuum out the big cage and get it straightened up. During this time, I also feed the pigs. The ones in my studio get their dish of lettuce and veggies and the other four get theirs. At the end of play time, I vac up the poops, fold the pen, empty the water bottle and hang the towels and fleece over a chair to use for the next day. I wash that fleece and towel set every few days.

Until just recently I had two separate cages. I had so much fighting going on and injuries that were SCARY. My husband was kind enough to reconfigure his office and he rebuilt a huge cage for them in there. With rotating floor time and such a ginormous cage, things have settled down SIGNIFICANTLY!! We were worried but, the get away time every day and everyone seems really happy now.

*crosses fingers* I hope I didn't just jinx it.