Cage: I don't have room for and I can't afford a C&C cage. What is the best alternative?

[molloopsy]

I have one male piggy. soon to be 2 male piggies. But I can't afford a C and C cage. Right now I just have a small petstore cage. What is the best pet store small animal cage that's between $60 and $80 dollars. I can't get to a store to buy chloroplast(sp?) and it is to expensive to ship. So C&C cages are definitely out of the question.
What do you recomend I buy?

[Paula]

You don't have to use coroplast. You can use a shower curtain, tarp, or any number of other things that are easier to find.

If you can't/won't get an appropriately sized cage for your single pig, you absolutely shouldn't be looking to acquire another.

Pet store cages just aren't big enough so no one here is going to recommend any of them for a single pig, let alone for two.

If you're willing to spend between 60 and 80 bucks, why not buy a 2x4 C&C cage from the cages store? It would be $88.

I'm also going to reiterate what you were told in your post asking about buying another pig. You should adopt, not buy. And you should only do so after ensuring that you have a cage big enough for two males. Your pet store cage isn't an appropriately sized cage for two pigs to live in.

[akstrohm]

Some grids and a shower curtain will be far less than $60. Fleece is cheaper than loose bedding so you may want to look into that.

Do you have several hundred dollars available for vet care? Emergencies can be quite expensive. I suggest you save enough money to be able to provide proper care for the current pig you have and then *adopt* another. And getting a pig from a breeder or pet store makes the chance of expensive vet bills increase by a lot.

[pigsmakemesmile]

If your willing to spend 60 tp 80 dollars on a "petstore" cage, then why not just purchase a c/c cage from the cage store as mentioned earlier? You can expand it as you need to. Also, you don't need to use coroplast. I used fleece so it saved me bucks on bedding. I laid down old carpeting, laid a shower curtain of over this then started layering fleece over this. I went back to bedding only for the summer as now my husband uses the used shavings for his compost at his job where he works and I relocated my baby's to the breezeway so they can enjoy the fresh air. Don't consider another piggy until you have the right type of housing for them. those petstore cages, I found, only serve the purpose to use for separating an ill pig, quarantine or transportation purposes or an emergency enclosure. Otherwise, for short term purposes only. A box of grids and dots is only about 14.99 at a Target or walmart. You can build a nice size enclosure for them with just a box or 2. If you have any pieces of plywood, heavy cardboard, you can lay this down as a base then buy a cheap shower curtain at a dollar store then even some old towels. You can use what ever works the best for you. Using coroplast is an option and is "not set in stone". You want to build what would be best for the pig. We remodeled our bathroom and used wallboard. I took the left overs and my husband cut out a base and sides. I laid heavy heavy plastic on top of the wallboard the shavings hold the sides up and works as well as the coroplast. If space is an issue, you can build up rather than out.

[fieryone]

Not only that, two males will fight in a pet store cage. Males need plenty of space to get along.

[TwilightStar]

There was a tip posted in the hot tip section of using cardboard like you would you use coroplast and a shower curtain over it. Though it was said that it was a ok temporary option, it's better than nothing, right?

[~Mel~]

I agree that you don't have to use Coroplast, but like Paula pointed out, the cage set up from the cage store here is $88 shipped for the 2x4. I think that's a much better option than buying a small pet-store cage.

Honestly, I thought it was going to be so much more expensive to buy the items to make a C&C cage, but it really wasn't. We spent just under $60 for the materials. We don't even have our guinea pigs yet! We're just waiting for a pair to become available for adoption because we'd much rather adopt than buy.

[Jaybird!889]

Hey there,

I agree with everyone else; your animals comfort is the most important thing and a pet store cage cannot provide that. I know there is a thread about alternatives to cloroplast(It's under hot tips) (http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/hot-tips/45958-cage-coroplast-alternative.html) you should look there. Also, if you can spend $60-$80 you could buy from the cages store and give your piggie the home he deserves. I am not sure how old you are(don't post your age) but if you don't have use of a credit card you can purchase one of those visa gift cards and use that to buy the cage(Thats what I used to do when I was younger and didn't have a credit card). So there are definitely options so that you can buy the cage from the store. But, if you still can't get the right cage I don't think you should go about acquiring another guinea pig.

I also(not trying to sound mean) wanted to ask about vet care because animals can get sick and if you don't have the funds to get your animal to the vet thats no good at all. I know saving money can be hard but I really recommend it. I've always set aside a small amount of money for my animals and you can do the same thing. It doesn't necessarily have to be a lot because over time it can add up but its always nice to know that if anything were to happen you have the money to help your piggie.

I hope this helped and remember that adoption is the best way to go.