Piggies won't use ramp

[ChocolateBreakfastBalls]

As the title really, have bought our piggies a new cage as they really didn't have room in the other one, they're 1 year old. We put it together yesterday and they just will not go up or down the ramp, is there anything we can do to encourage them? I've tried tempting with treats up it, didn't work.

Thanks in advance :)

[Baguettes]

They might take a little while to get used to it. What does the ramp lead to?

[ChocolateBreakfastBalls]

Down to a lower tier, it's sleeping on top and play below as they only had a single level (too small) cage previously.

[RubberDuck]

If steep with no sides, it could just be too scary for them. Perhaps get/make a fleece tunnel or use some guttering cut to size so they have sides on the ramp?

[RubberDuck]

www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/ramp-tunnels.114230/ Thread on here has some good suggestions.

[ChocolateBreakfastBalls]

Thank you, will try and fashion it into a tunnel for them I think!

[Chopchopbusybusy]

Ours were the same. We got one of those nylon play tunnels and put the ramp inside. They were quite happy to use it then and it did protect them when the inevitable happened and they slipped off.

[ChocolateBreakfastBalls]

I've just ordered a plastic bendable one from Amazon so fingers crossed we can combine that and the existing wooden one and they'll be up and down having fun :)

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

YY to 'fencing' the ramp in, make it tunnel-like . Wooden sides if you have some offcuts (careful with nails, file any sharp edges too)
Maybe some carpet or small ridges/ strips of wood adhered to the ramp for grip.

They aren't athletic really. My DH built a lovely wide, shallow carpeted ramp to the top of the haybox. GP1 and GP2 hid under it. Never climbed it.
They'd climb down if placed on the higher level, towards food

[slalomsuki]

I could have written this post as our exceptionally lazy piggies don't use the ramp. They are capable of it as we put the food down below and move them and once they have had their fill they stagger back up to lounge around a bit more.
We move them from top to bottom as they won't go down the ramp even for food but if I clean the top area and close the ramp but off they constantly run up and down the ramp trying to get to their lounging zone. The bottom has food, tunnels and an igloo thing that we also use in their indoor house in the winter.

[millimat]

Can you also alter the angle of the ramp? We put a brick under ours so it wasn't as steep.

[AMcoffeeLover]

My indoor boy wouldn't use his ramp at all. No tunnels/sides/angle change helped.......he used to squeak when he wanted to go down a level and I had to lift him, same for going up.
Hope you find something that works!

[clippityclop]

OP, which cage do you have, we have the double one from Pets at Home and our girlies refuse to use it. I will look at tunnels on Amazon.