This is the routine we follow at the Nest; it’s a guide for working out what is best for your set up. Piggies soon learn new routines and let you know if their veg is more than 2 minutes late!
Morning
Top up hay
One handful of pellets per piggie
Change water
Sweep poo
Lunchtime (if you’re at home!)
Check hay
Grass or forage in summer
Late afternoon
Selection of 3 veg, one leafy green
Top up hay
Bedtime
Top up hay
Top up pellets of piggies are under 1 year.
Treat, e.g. piggie pick ‘n’ mix – from our shop – or a sprig of parsley (try keeping a living parsley plant so you can pick a spring as needed)
- This routine would also need handling and floor time, which would ideally be every day. In summer they would go outside in the run, from 1-8 hours, depending on the weather.
- Handling new piggies should be done little and often, so 5 minutes every step of the routine would be perfect with one longer cuddle or floor time.
Weekly
Full cage clean, disinfect, wash bedding and cosies, rearrange everything in the cage for enrichment.
Monthly
Check claws (probably need trimming every 6-8 weeks)
Record weight – this is important, so you have a baseline to check against if they are poorly. As a general guide, a piggie is around 1kg, but they can vary from 800g – 1.6kg, which is why it’s important to know what ‘normal’ is for your piggie. A change of up to 30g, either way, is nothing to worry about.
