[Gpdd] Re: CARE: "hiding house" opinions wanted

[Patricia Simon]

Our guinea pigs live in a homemade open-topped pen-on-wheels in our living
room area.  We keep a variety of "houses" in the pen for them because it
really seems to make them feel more secure.  For example, when the crows
make a racket outside the window, the girls dive for cover -- they can't
help it, it's just instinct.

The "houses" include plastic igloos, wooden hutches and cardboard boxes.  We
also used, when the girls were smaller, an interestingly shaped piece of
driftwood that provided a natural tunnel, plus carpet roll-end tubes having
various lengths and diameters.

Like you (Ann), we have observed that our piggies don't scurry for cover if
these houses are unavailable.  However, we also observed that they don't
really relax completely under these circumstances.  When resting/sleeping in
a house, our girls will curl up on their sides, close their eyes tight and
really sleep deeply, faces mashed flat onto their mattress.  If left in an
exposed location (e.g., if they're out for floortime longer than they want),
they "rest" with their legs under them and don't shut their eyes
completely -- they're always in a ready state and somewhat alert.

Over time, the girls learned to become curious when we walked by.  Instead
of scurrying, they came out to see what was up.  There were lots of treat
bribes involved :-)  and it was a gradual process.  One of the girls was
never completely able to curb her instinct to flee from us (though she did
learn to "flee" into the house in the corner of the pen that was easiest for
us to get her out of).  Our girls were 4 weeks old when they came to live
with us, and are now (with the exception of Ginger who passed away in
November) 5-1/2 years.  These are the only piggies we've had, so I can only
speak to what we've found works best for them.

Regards,
Patricia