3x5 & coroplast & more

[urockstar]

I think the new baby is a boy afterall, although I'm going to the vet on Friday to confirm... still, I want to expand to a 3x5 - if the baby is indeed a boy i'm going to section off a 2x3 section for him, and the rest, 3x3 for Marley and Bean. If I end up getting the baby fixed I'll open it back up. I know 3x3 probably isn't adequate size for two pigs.

Anyway, question is, is a full sheet of coroplast big enough for a 3x5 with enough inches to still have baby proofed walls? At what age can it be de-baby proofed? The baby is around 290G now... getting big fast. It'll be 21 days old on Friday.

Also instead of using the coroplast as a divider I want to use some kind of plastic see through material so they can still see each other. Can I get something like this at Lowe's?

[pig-in-paradise]

What a bummer if your new baby turns out to be a boy, not that boys ae bad of course. It just wuld be so much nicer for him if he could grow up with the others. There's still hope I guess... Btw, a 3x3 cage should be plenty big for 2 pigs, it is 1 square grid bigger than a 2x4 which is recommended here, so you're definitely good.

If I remember it correctly then a sheet of coroplast won't be big enough for the whole 3x5 cage. It's probably long enough, but too narrow. The left-over strip from the long side of my 2x4 cage is only about 10 inches wide (from memory), so you wouldn't be able to fit another grid on it. Unless, of course, there is no standard size for the sheets.

I think Lowes carries plexiglass which might be nice as a devider, even if you only get it for a small section (like a window)so that they can see each other. I *think* it is not cheap. Hopefully your baby turns out to be a girl and you don't need it.

[PhoenixFeather]

One sheet of coro won't work for a 3x5. It is just about perfect size to do a 2x5 with fairly high walls on the 2 long sides, but not wide enough to do a 3x. You will need to get 2 sheets of coro.

I think 3x3 would be fine for 2 girls. My 2 boys are currently in a 2x4 (which is a square smaller than a 3x3) and seem to be happy and have plenty of room. If it felt crowded, you might add a loft at some point to maybe clear out some of the "stuff" from the main level.

[babybunny]

A sheet of coroplast is long enough for a 3x5 with some extra coro left over. It is wide enough if, you don't make a side for one of the 5 grid sides. If you use fleece, this isn't a big deal as you don't really need any sides. I see that you need to baby proof it though so a thought is, if you do use fleece you could make do with one sheet of coro and see if they have any scraps that you could use to baby proof with. With elections going on, there may be some old political signs you could cut up to use as well.

[wickedrodent]

You could get 3in sides out of a full sheet of coroplast. Ask around, some places might be able to sell you a wider sheet (you would need 5' x 8' for a 3x5. The other option would be to get two pieces and work it so you can tape them together.

[urockstar]

Yeah, I'm really bummed about thinking the baby is a boy. I've been checking and checking and although it hardly looks like the boy genitalia some of the pics on websites show, I think it is. But I should know for sure on Friday, unless the vet is an idiot. Originally another vet told me it was a girl, but she said she wasn't sure because it was only a few days old at that time.

Problem is.... this baby is a BABY. It's almost three weeks old and yet anytime I take either it or the mom out of the cage, the baby wheeks and wheeks and .... honestly, won't shut up. Haha. It definitely seems like a mama's boy... if it's a boy! You know like I try to keep it calm and pet it and hold it for a while but it just seems so nervous to be away from Marley. As soon as I put it back in the cage it stops. At what age do they mature enough to not cry so much for the mom? I feel bad for it, even though it is kind of funny. Anytime I hold it I'm like, "You are SUCH a baby!" -- But anyway, yeah, I feel bad to separate it for this reason. I know getting it neutured is an option, but it seems risky.

Anyway, about the 3x5 cage.... I probably could use some of the coroplast from the sheet I'm using now for the walls if need be. And I definitely want to look into getting that plastic see through piece for the divider, so at least they can see each other until the baby proofing is no longer needed.


Question... I just put the divider in the cage, over the coroplast? I don't need to cut the coroplast at the divided section do I? I noticed though that with that extra inch thickness of the coro, when I put a grid in there it sort of lifts up the roof of the cage a bit. Because I don't understand what Babybunny means about 5 grid sides?

[wickedrodent]

You could just use grids as a divider, that way they can still smell and see each other. No matter what you do, make sure you have something covering the boys side of the divider. Its very possible he will try (and probably succeed) in getting back over.

[babybunny]

I meant by the 5 grid sides as in the long side, the one that is 5 grids long not the 3 grid one. However, as Wicked said, you could do 3 inches on each side rather than the 6.

[sam_n_chass]

A 4x8 sheet of coroplast was enough for us to do our 3x5 with 7 inch high walls all the way around and a little left over.