C&C: Convince Mom to get a C&C Cage?

[Ted&Ham]

We are on a tight budget here and we currently have 2 guinea pig in the smallest ever pet store cage. I found out this site maybe 3 days after we got them and now I'm thinking it's time to get some cubes and coroplast to make a C&C cage. But my mom thinks its way to expensive. I'm always afraid to ask my mom about these things because she yells really loud. My mom and my brother keep saying, "It's big enough!"

But it's not. It's like so small! I can only put in one freakin hidey box.

What should I do?

And we are on an extremely tight budget like i said before.

[wonderwhiskers]

Look around for some cheap second hand ones maybe?

[CavyLuver516]

I know that grids at Target are about $17 for 23 grids, so that's not too bad. You could also check out garage sales to see if anyone has some used grids for sale. And instead of coroplast, which can get really expensive, you could use a shower curain (dollar stores have them I think) with lots of newspaper bedding or old towels/blankets for bedding. I hope you can convince your parents to get a C&C cage - it sounds like those piggies NEED a bigger home! Maybe try comparing the price of your store bought cage to the price of a C&C cage. So - if you make a 2x4 (or larger) C&C cage that uses less than 23 grids and you pair it with a dollar store shower curtain for a base, you've got yourself a roomy piggie cage for less than $20! Tell the 'rents that and see what they think!

[Skeetersmom]

Well, a C&C cage is actually cheaper than a petstore cage. They are also easier to clean.

[LauraBean]

Check out the pics of alternative cages in the galleries....... if your dad is a "handy man" like mine is he might have those items laying around in the garage. My daddy always had those shelving pieces some people use laying around.
Definatly check yard sales and thrift shops too. I've seen grids at those places for a steal. You could also check Craiglslist.
You can also ask stores if they have any advertising signs they don't use anymore. They usually make them from coroplast. They likely would give them to you for free. If you got enough pieces, you could clean them up, and tape them together!
Also, just call the regular sign stores... sometimes they will give away what they consider to be "unusable scraps". That's how I got mine... they gave me three pieces about 16 inches wide by 4 feet long that were destined for the trash.
But I do feel your pain... whenever my mother comes to visit me, she scolds me about my cage. She also thinks its too big and extravagant.

[akstrohm]

You could:

Use a shower curtain for the bottom instead of coroplast. You can find them pretty cheaply in stores.

Look for grids at garage sales and on ebay and craigslist.

Sell the pet store cage and use that money to reimburse your mom for the C&C supplies.

Emphasize that C&C cages smell a lot less because they are bigger and that they are easier to clean. Also with C&C cages you can use fleece which is cheaper than disposable bedding.

[CavyLuver516]

Once I make my C&C cage, I'll by a bunch of misc. fleece blankets at garage sales and sew them up for bedding. I might by some small fleece blankets from the Dollar Store, too. Fleece at the fabric store runs at about $10- to $15 a yard - I'm to cheap for that!! = D

[Froggirl009]

Originally Posted by akstrohm

You could:

Sell the pet store cage and use that money to reimburse your mom for the C&C supplies.

If you sell the cage make sure that you call it a hamster or gerbil cage because it is not nearly big enough for guinea pigs.

[PiggieMom]

Depending on your capabilities and age (don't post your age) you can do different things to earn some cash yourself. Dog walking, lawn mowing, babysitting, bake sale, hold your own yard sale, ect. Heck, when I was really young I used to go around and collect soda cans. Good luck!