Guinea Pig Pages - Exercise

Exercise

Your guinea pigs need regular exercise to stay healthy, and that means some time out of the cage each day. Being fussy, we don't like to give our pets the run of the house. They will shed fur and chew on things, and they can be irresponsible when it comes to toilet habits. Male piggies also tend to mark out new territory with a strong scent. For these reasons we confine the piggies to our spare room for indoor exercise during winter, and we watch them closely. We have one pig who we know we can trust; he has never soiled the carpet and will call out when he wants to go back to the cage for a toilet break. The other piggy has no self control, however, and isn't allowed loose in the house at all! If you do give your pets an indoor run, make sure they cannot harm themselves. Ensure that there are no power cords to chew on, and block up any narrow gaps they might squeeze into (behind the fridge for example!).

The best exercise solution, in fine weather, is to allow a run in the garden if you have one. But take care: if you let your piggies loose they can be hard to catch again, and they may be in danger from cats and birds. A good idea is to set up a safe enclosure. We have a folding pen that we have made out of metal shelving. We got four lengths of shelving and tied the corners with plastic ties to create a portable fence (see the picture, left). We place their nest box in the pen, to provide a "home base", along with assorted objects for the piggies to run around. Because our backyard is small and fully fenced in, we can even open one side of the enclosure and let the piggies run loose in the garden. They love investigating the yard, and after half an hour or so they will come home to the next box for a nap. We can then pick them up and take them back into their house. After only a few times they learned this routine, and now the free range run is a daily event - weather permitting.

If you do let your guinea pigs run loose, be sure to keep a close eye on them, as they can get up to mischief. They will 'taste-test' the plants in your garden, and if they find one they like they can do some serious damage! Also, be very cautious about using lawn or garden fertilizers, which are poisonous. If you must use these products, keep your piggies away from the treated areas for at least a week until the material has broken down in the environment. Your piggies will need some kind of shade or cover, too. An open sky will make them anxious. Placing the pen under a shady tree is an ideal solution.

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