So Small

I took the photos for this post nearly two months ago and just haven't gotten around to writing about it.

Any good guinea pig guide will tell you that guinea pigs need room to run around.  This means a big cage and better yet, floor time.  It is a delight to watch guinea pigs race around or popcorn all over the place.  One of my favorite memories is Teddi and Eclair racing across the living room floor.  It's been years since I've witnessed a good set of zoomies.  There's plenty of room and traction in my living room, but I think I adopted my girls too late for them to feel the need bolt and leap across the floor.

Why can't we go upstairs?

My guinea pig cage has expanded (and contracted) over the years.  It's currently a somewhat unorthodox design with three levels and single ramp.  When I first wanted to make more space, it was problematic to expand out and I didn't want to redo the base.  So I built up.  It's not conducive for an all-out run, but it's great for allowing the girls to get some space between each other when they need to.  Bertie was adept at racing up and down the levels, going from the second level to the third in a single leap (ignoring the ramp entirely).

I had to block off the upper levels from the cage to prevent Wedgwood from jumping for two weeks as she healed from surgery.  That's when it hit me how tiny that original cage was.  And I remember how BIG that cage felt compared to the store bought cage I had before.  The cuddle cup, cozy, and pile of hay seemed jammed in there; it didn't appear to be much room for Wedgwood and Mabel.  I'm so glad they get along together. 

I also had to keep the gate closed for floor access, because the jump up to the landing was more than Wedgwood should do (the one time I opened the gate, Wedg was out of the cage before I could stop her).

We were all happy when her recovery time was finished and I could reopen the cage.  So nice to have that space back!