Any tips to encourage my new guinea pigs to explore the lower deck of their hutch? Please help !

[Sagacious]

We've had them for two weeks now (so they're 10 weeks old)

we have this hutch

And they also have a seperate run which they go in for a good couple of hours a day.

But they never venture to the lower deck.. have tried putting them in there and they just look confused (yy I know thats pretty much the norm for pigs.. but after 6 hours they still hadn't worked it out (despite me trying to waft broccoli around upstairs)

Do I have particularly stoooopid pigs?

trail of dandelion leaves down the stairs?

LOL at them looking confused .

They are a bit dim, we have had ours for nearly a year and one of them has just figured out how to climb on the pigloo. So I think give it time. Pop them in the bottom and put a trail of cucumber (my pigs go mad for it) and let them explore. Maybe pop them on the ramp itself?

Just put some cucumber or their fav veg down there, they are generally lead by there nose.
We only have a single level run and hutch but yo may also want to try some old carpet or similar on the ramp, maybe tey feel a little unsure if it feels slippy to them.

I just put the water and food downstairs for mine - then moved the water upstairs and the food downstairs

I put them in the bottom bit 30 mins ago.

Have artfully arranged celery leaves (there favorite) on a trail up the stairs

They squeaked
Looked gormless
Had a bit of a sniff around and hid under the stair bit.

Still there....

Thanks for your help I suspect this may take time !

We are thinking of getting that hutch but we are away for 2 nights next week so DH says we can't have any new animals until we are back.

Maybe out some toys, a telly, some beer downstairs?

Maybe they have been down already and saw something that scared them?

Its on sale at the moment Fab.

Be warned it says it takes 30 mins to put up .. more like a whole afternoon !

They are girl guinea pigs.. perhaps I should mix up some cosmopolitons and intall a girls loo

They're still there (just checked)

Seal the top bit off.

GentleOtter.. i'm trying to get them to work out how to use the ramp.. so they can go up and down themselves

But Ta I can see the logic otherwise

I love that hutch.

I'd love the hutch if they'd fecking use all of it

They're still downstairs

Am going to have to move them upstairs (bedroom is upstairs)

God its worse than toddler training.

I'd love the hutch if they'd fecking use all of it

They're still downstairs

Am going to have to move them upstairs (bedroom is upstairs)

God its worse than toddler training.

they;ll get the hang of it don't worry

put them at the top and kind of 'push'(which sounds terrible but I don't menan it that way) them down, then another tim e help them to climb up - once they know they can do it they'll get the idea

Put one upstairs and one downstairs and see if they find each other? keep doing it and swapping them round until they realise they can go up & down

How are they getting on now ohnelly? We've just got our Piggies a new cage with ramps, and all four are sat on one level and refusing to budge! Did yours get the hang of it eventually??

I'm going to HAVE to try the one up one down tactic

They've still not got the idea (and now its wet and windy they're not out in the garden as much)

I just don't like the idea of separating them

FGS I didn't shed a tear when the dc's went to school but the thought of the squeakers on their own is quite upsetting me

You big softie

Our new cage is an indoor one, it has 3 levels and ramps between each level. I think its really cool (if not a bit big!), but all four piggies are looking at the ramps with absolute horror, and are squidged up together on the top level (where I put them).

The trail of dandelion leaves down the ramp is not enticing them, and any attempts to 'push' them in the right direction is being met by lots of squeaks.

put them on the ramp half way up/down - they have to choose either way. do that from the top facing down first, then from the bottom facing up.

I had this trouble with mines. Then after a couple of hours the more nosy one went upstairs and then was happy to go up and down. I had to put the quiet one half way up the ramp and he ran up .... I don't think he was ventured down below since, but he nosy one does go down there. I love my piggies and totally get how worried you can feel about them, I actually miss my boys being inside but they were getting so big for the indoor cage we had (5 months old and probably more than double the size they were when we got them at 8 weeks)