[Gpdd] CARE, car travel

[Ruth Leibowitz]

Re car travel:

Your guinea pig should be fine with three hours of car travel -- I took a 
FIVE-DAY road trip with mine, and they did fine.  I would suggest:  If you 
know some of her favorite foods by the time you leave, definitely take these 
along as "comfort food" for the trip if she is willing to eat while in the 
car.  Your idea about pre-heating the car before putting your piggie inside 
is a good one - you may want to wrap the cage or carrier TOTALLY in a 
blanket just between the house and the car to avoid wind/draft during that 
outdoors transfer.  You didn't say whether there will be room inside the 
carrier or cage for a "shelter" of some sort -- but if possible make sure 
she has somewhere to retreat if she feels scared or uncomfortable.  One 
thing I like to do with my pigs is to put a couple of clean terry-cloth 
dishtowels or washcoths in their cage with them.  They then arrange the 
towels to their liking to use as "nesting" material.  I exchange them for 
clean ones when they get wet and dirty.  You might give your piggie 
something like this so that she can use it if she wants to make a nest 
and/or for additional warmth.  Piggies are sensitive to sound, so I would 
resist any urges to play loud or electrified music on the car radio during 
the trip.  Water tends to drip due to motion of the car and to make bedding 
wet.  So if you do use a water bottle, put some removable paper towels or 
such underneath the spigot and replace when wet.  Or, she will probably be 
OK for three hours without a water bottle as long as you bring along some 
nice juicy pieces of fruit that she likes.  I suppose that because piggies 
are so different from one another, she may or may not be very nervous.  My 
piggies tend to be on the nervous side, yet I was pleasantly surprised by 
their ability to adjust to time spent on the road.

Ruth

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