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Post by 3piggles on Apr 4, 2016 15:34:07 GMT
I changed it around so it would appear as NEW, or it just stayed way down on the list. I added the table picture and cage option discussion, and added the response to your post on the end.
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Post by Bean on Apr 5, 2016 7:06:48 GMT
3piggles I might have asked you before, but how high is the clear plastic at the front of the cage? Aren't you afraid they will jump out? I always say that! My pigs are mostly leapy and adventurous types, and a couple of them would have leapt out within minutes of being in a cage like that. I'd need any sides to be at least 12", as Josh in particular will push things over to edges to stand on (and he's the one who, when he hears veggies are coming, will actually climb up the sides of the cage in anticipation!). Good luck to you both with your cage planning. I still have thoughts of a custom built cage for mine - we used to have a big C&C cage for the boys, but when they were separated and took wives, we had to go for two shop bought cages stacked on top of each other. There wasn't space to have another C&C on top. But looking at all the other things I'm intending to do but don't quite get round to, I don't think there's a danger of it happening anytime soon. I shall watch your designs with interest though!
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Post by 3piggles on Apr 5, 2016 14:23:56 GMT
My Plexiglas sides are bout 6 inches high, but if I have anything in the cage the pigs can use to launch themselves over the side, I hang grids to keep them in the cage. I have boxes of grids in both black and orange, so I really have to consider ways to use them, as well as designs that will look decent in the main living area. Not an easy task, as while the C&C cages can be great designs, we've never managed to get the grid connectors to work. We've had to use zip ties instead, and that detracts from the nice look of the cage. I'm working on it
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Post by jolovespiggies on Apr 5, 2016 19:49:12 GMT
Great do far hun, I am sure will think of something love. I know what you mean about something looking right in the living room, we have the piggies in an open pen in ours and there is not much we can do about it. We love it as we can see them all the time but it does make a bit of a mess.
Hugs Jo xx
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Post by jolovespiggies on Apr 5, 2016 19:50:28 GMT
Sorry Bean love I meant to say, that is extraordinary to have piggies that leap like that. I would love to see a video of it.
Hugs Jo xx
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Post by 3piggles on Apr 25, 2016 12:42:43 GMT
On the previous page are some pictures of Pigloo City full of hay. I've changed the houses, had no houses at all, put in the chew log, etc., but they've mainly had hay for all of their needs. They tunnel in it, push it around, make nests, and generally keep very busy with it.
I've noticed, since we haven't had the humidifier going in the piggy room, that they haven't been itching with dry skin. I've had to use a humidifier for them, for years, and it's still dry enough in the house that I periodically shock myself when I touch something. Yet, they aren't scratching dry skin at all.
I'm wondering if having a more natural habitat, they type they were suited for in the wild, triggers the skin to produce more oils or moisture, traps the moisture in better, or something that keeps them from getting dry skin.
Also on the previous page is a picture of the hay box they used to practically live in. It was a high-sided kitty litter box with openings cut in each end. Hubby and I were discussing that I didn't actually start using the humidifier for them until after I stopped using that hay box. Not much hay in it, in the picture, but that was right before it was changed. Normally, there was a pile of hay in it.
It does make me wonder about the hay/skin conditioning aspects. I will definitely be keeping track of the skin issue, as we progress into summer.
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Post by jolovespiggies on Apr 25, 2016 15:23:49 GMT
It is really funny you should say that Piggles love, a dehumidifier is on our list. We badly need one in these places and the piggies would probably benefit too as the place tends to feel cold unless we have our very expensive heating on.
Hugs Jo xx
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Post by 3piggles on Apr 26, 2016 13:57:33 GMT
We have very dry winters/cold months, when the level of humidity gets down into the 30% range. Compared to removing all the moisture we can during the hot months, and managing to get the humidity into the 60% range, dropping that far makes the winter/cold months seem a whole lot dryer than the rest of the year. We started with the humidifiers to stop the static electricity shocks every time we touched each other or anything else. A quick kiss should not knock us on our butts! So adding humidity stopped the worst of the static electric shocks. It was a by product that it also stopped our and the pigs dry skin, so we put humidifiers in the bedrooms, family room and snug. None on the main floor, as I created enough steam through cooking to generally keep that at a decent level. I have been watching the girls, as since we watch TV in the family room for a while at night, and I'm here a lot during the day. They just love having a cage full of hay. They talk almost constantly, run around, popcorn and generally do all the things to show they are happy pigs. I am so glad we decided to buy the hay from the rescue. We help the rescue, and the hay is inexpensive enough to be able to use it freely
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Post by jolovespiggies on Apr 26, 2016 20:17:43 GMT
We have a very good hay supplier too Piggles hun, it is a farm not far from here and the hay is always lovely. Our piggies are very happy on it and we use it abundantly too so they always have plenty to play and sleep in.
Hugs Jo xx
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Post by Bean on Apr 27, 2016 8:48:49 GMT
I didn't know humidity affected static electricity - I'm always giving people shocks just by touching their arm, and getting them from everything when I'm out and about, drives me nuts sometimes!
We did see a bit of dry skin in ours recently, I think caused by low humidity combined with central heating. Usually in colder weather I need to run a dehumidifier to stop condensation problems in the house. It comes on automatically when the humidity reaches a certain level, but it wasn't coming on at all and the display was showing it was much dryer than normal. We just bobbed some bowls of water on the radiators to counter it and it's back to normal ranges now - the pigs' skin is fine.
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Post by 3piggles on Apr 27, 2016 13:09:07 GMT
Yes, I don't know the scientific explanation, but dry air seems to conduct static electricity exceptionally well! I've zapped myself pretty badly a few times, and a kiss really shouldn't be that shocking, lol I think people/animals in different areas tend to adjust to the different humidity levels in different areas, or every animal and human in California, Texas, Nevada, Arizona, etc., would have terrible dry skin problems. When my mother moved from San Francisco with about 18% humidity, to Seattle with 40+% humidity, she said within a week, she and my sister looked a good 10 years younger, just because their skin was getting the moisture it needed from the air. She said she hadn't even realized how leathery their skin was getting, until the humidity reversed the effect. So I definitely think it's something all sufferers of dry skin should consider. We can't put moisturizing lotions on animals, but we can simply add enough humidity to their air that the air isn't constantly sucking all the moisture out of their skin, or ours! I've also found that forced hot air heat, which we have in this house, dries the air much faster and more completely than radiator/steam heat does. In our last house, with forced hot water heating, we didn't need humidifiers in the winter except in the main living area. We had one 'whole house' humidifier in the foyer, instead of one in each room. Bean, when I had minimal humidity issues, I use a fan to move the air around. It usually does the job. We have a dehumidifier and humidifier on the central heat/cooling system, but I can't see that they do very much. When it gets really hot and humid in the summer, we find removing a lot of the humidity cools the place better than just adding a lot of cold air does. The hay-filled cage I do wish I could get the whole cage into one photo, but I can only do that with my phone. The pigs love having hay everywhere. Sometimes the pigloos are in Pigloo City, sometimes not. Whatever the situation, they have been so much more active since I filled the cage with hay, and it really doesn't use all that much more hay. Each day I roll up the hay so all the poos and little bits fall out, sweep them out of the cage, and reuse that hay in the living area. I put fresh hay in the kitchen area, which will get mixed in with the hay in the living area the next day. Once a week I remove it all, and start over. I have a about 2 inches of granulated pine pellets under the hay, so no bedding to wash or replace. Since we are moving in a month or a little more, I'm trying to keep the cage to a minimal effort, as we won't be taking this cage with us. Since it will have to be dismantled and tossed, I don't want to waste any more bedding than I have to.
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Post by jolovespiggies on Apr 27, 2016 19:35:58 GMT
That set up looks great love. Our piggies are in their cuddle cups eating hay at the same time. Talk about the lap of luxury, I only wish all piggies had the same.
Hugs Jo xx
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Post by 3piggles on May 9, 2016 13:25:10 GMT
I could not resist snapping a picture of this squirrel sunning on top of the gas grill. It's been a really long time since we had real, bright sunlight, and even the animals are enjoying it
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Post by jolovespiggies on May 9, 2016 19:41:18 GMT
Oh wow, that is a great shot hun.
Hugs JO xx
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Post by Bean on May 10, 2016 8:23:47 GMT
Haha! Brilliant photo - I hardly ever see squirrels chilling out like that, it's great!
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Post by 3piggles on Jun 13, 2016 19:15:56 GMT
A few post above this are pictures of the current Pigloo City. What the next Pigloo City will look like is totally up in the air for now. When the girls move to their new home, they are going to be in a temporary cage on a table in the dining room. Instead of being in the basement family room where they often spend a lot of time alone, they will be right in the heart of everything, right next to the sliding glass door so they can see outside and get plenty of light, and right where everyone has to walk by them to get anywhere. I figure they are going to be totally worn out by the time the move is over on Monday I will get the temp cage set up in advance of the move, so they can get settled in, then I may cover the cage while the movers are moving in the furniture, or at least cover part of it, so they can hide if they get overwhelmed. New adventure for all of use
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Post by jolovespiggies on Jun 13, 2016 19:47:40 GMT
It's all happening now Piggles love. I think it is a great idea to cover the piggies whilst everywhere is chaotic. You place looks beautiful by the way, I would love it.
Hugs JO xx
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Post by Bean on Jun 14, 2016 10:45:29 GMT
Great that you have the cage so can move them more easily. We moved our pigs the night before we moved in here (it was only 5 minutes up the road) and tucked them away in a quiet room - but whether it's the night before or at the start of the day, it's much better to have them sorted and out of the way before the major chaos of the day starts (I expect there's already a fair bit!).
Look forward to seeing what set up you come up with in the new house, once you've unpacked enough to know what will fit etc. Hope they enjoy the excitement of a new place and being in the middle of everything - I bet they'll love it!
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Post by 3piggles on Jun 14, 2016 12:41:22 GMT
I noticed hubby looking at the existing Pigloo City a lot, and last night he finally asked if I would like a similar piggy condo, only not quite as big. I think we've settled on creating the hutch aspect of the existing condo, no storage over, and on a stand that works as furniture. We have a white storage shelves we have stacked on the other side of the sliding glass door, so having another white cage on the opposite wall will even off the only white furniture in all the dark wood. We'll take the lights and anything else we can salvage from the existing piggy condo, and reuse it on the new one. I think it will be perfect on the one wall we have for the cage
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Post by Bean on Jun 14, 2016 21:06:40 GMT
Sounds great! I bet you'll love being able to watch them all the time.
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