[Gpdd] Re: BEHAVIOR - jumping pigs

[mims at sas.upenn.edu]

I have always had cages with levels.  The first one had a ramp, but it was a
pain in the you-know-what, so since then i've just left it out.  My upstairs
level is 10 inches above the ground level.  I put a house on the ground level
that's about 5 inches tall.  One of the pigs that lived there (Wuza) could just
jump from the house to the top floor, no problem.  The other pig (Miss
Fergusson) is more timid, and sometimes had problems getting from the house to
the upstairs.  So I added a mini-level between the house and the upstairs (just
a piece of plywood attached to the side of the cage, just big enough to fit a
piggy as she's traveling up or down.  They never stay on it.)  The ground floor
is Carefresh, and all the other surfaces (top of house, mini-level, upstairs)
are plywood.  I had to install a piece of cloth on top of the house and the
mini-level because Miss Fergusson sometimes slipped as she timidly jumped up. 
With the cloth, she's fine, and is as athletic about jumping as Wuza was.  

So, my piggies have always spent their lives jumping up and down (I keep the
water and hay downstairs, and the pellets and veggies upstairs).  I think that
it helps keep them healthy, by encouraging exercise and helping with paw-eye
coordination.  Of course, if any piggy is ever hurt or sick, I keep everthing
downstairs so they don't have to jump around.  But that only happens
occasionally (like the one time years ago when timid Miss Fergusson slipped on
her way up and sprained her ankle or something).

-Karen and Miss Fergusson (and the dear departed Wuza)