C&C Alternatives: What can I use temporarily to house my guinea pigs until I can buy a C&C Cage?

[sdpiggylvr]

At the moment, I can't afford the supplies to make a C&C Cage, so I was wondering how I could house my two guinea pigs until I can. Are there any cheap alternatives? What can I temporarily house them in that is similar and cheap?
Thanks in advance.

[vicky2]

If you have some spare wire shelving around that would work.
You should search through garage sales and craiglist for grids. And a shower curtain from the dollar store is a good, temporary alternative to coro.

[Tessa Bea]

Is there a part of the house you could block off for them, and lay down towels and fleece? That's the only idea I have...

[lissie]

Can you spare $25 to make the cage?

$10 coroplast
$12.99+tax for grids

Check this company for Coroplast.
GE Polymershapes, Branch Locator
I got a 4'x8' sheet from their location in San Jose, CA. They have a location near you. You are in San Diego, CA, right? I saw your post looking for adoptable pigs in San Diego. The branch in San Jose only opens M-F 8-5. I think the San Diego branch will be the same.

Bed Bath & Beyond has 16 panels of grids in one box. If they don't have enough connectors, you can use cable ties/zip ties.

Add info: Looks like they are the manufacturer of Coroplast. I was surfing around their site and found this.
GE Polymershapes Product Lines Coroplast

Sorry, another edit. They are not the manufacturer. They are authorized distibutor. See more distrubutors on this page.
Coroplast Authorized Distributors

[1frankie7]

Block off part of the house i guess.

[VoodooJoint]

If you have any builders recycling centers or really good second hand shops around you you can find lots of stuff cheap.

My cage only cost ~$7 to make because I bought second-hand supplies. The coroplast is from a political sign (I have never bought new coroplast for my cages--always recycled political signs), the sides are repurposed wire shelving. The loft and tube are also second hand stuff. Here is my old cage thread http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/...html#post80146

A couple of years ago I scored a whole bunch of wire shelving that someone was throwing out. Keep your eyes open when you are out and about and you may find some great stuff to repurpose and keep out of landfills.

[sdpiggylvr]

I'm sure I COULD spare $25 to make the cage ... if it was only that much! A local sign store said they would sell me a sheet of Coroplast for $25. BB&B sells the cubes for $13.99 here. Fleece is probably $10-$15, towels probably $10.
That adds up to about $60 right there - and I just can't afford to spend on extra things right now. I'm sure there are ways to cut costs, but I just can't right now.

[lissie]

Did you check this link? GE Polymershapes, Branch Locator
Call them up. I'm sure there's a branch in your area. Coroplast is only $10.

[Duffinvt]

I got 20 cubes free from a member of Freecycle (there is one in every area of the country). I got lots of used towels and men's large cotton polo shirts free when I asked my friends and family. They were happy to weed out the old towels. I just got fleece at $2.50 per 50" x 60" throw at Big Lots. Zip ties at the Dollar Store. Old shower curtains from friends, too. I bet if you asked on Freecycle you might get all of the above if you live in a city. I am out in the boondocks and still got the cubes. Basically, my 2 x 5 pen cost me less than $20 total.

[lissie]

You don't have to switch to fleece right away. I'm sure you can use the current bedding you are using. What kind of bedding are you using now? I would imagine the bedding will have to be changed everyday with them being in a tiny cage. Switching to fleece will help you save the bedding cost.

[JD In Van]

I made my cage for free except for the fleece (which I got cheap and used my own old towels for) just using extra stuff from around my shop and around other local shops (old signs, old sheets of acrylic, stuff like that).

[jamie15701]

It's not that expensive to make a C&C cage. Mine cost me $10 for the coroplast and 14.99+shipping and handling on grids from BB&B. For less than $30, I got a great cage!

Other than a C&C cage, maybe you can just pen off part of a room and use a shower curtain from the dollar store? Hope everyone's ideas help!

[poopysmom]

I am not in the States but for me, the cubes cost me the most as I just couldnt find any cheaper alt. My local hardware store sells pack of 5 for 11.50 aud (thats about 9+ USD).
I got 4 packs.

You can try Opportunity shops or charity shops like Salvation Army besides garage sales for 2nd hand bath towels. I always keep an eye out and they are very cheap because people just buy them to use as rags. Same goes for fleece either that or keep an eye out for those home decor or cloth shop that have bargains on fleece. You can even buy those 2nd hand quilts. Not as absorbent as towel, but works well too.

If you cannot afford the coroplast just yet, a tarp will work as well. Thats what happened to me before I got my coroplast. Plus tarp are really cheap to get and they are huge. I bought the cheapest tarp I can get for 2.99 AUD. Line the tarp then if it does not have enough rings/holes just snip it using a scissor and zip/cable ties the tarp to the side of the cage. It works well too as temp solution.

Also for coroplast, as another poster have mentioned, you do not have to buy brand new coroplast. Keep an eye out for places that sells hardware, bricks, mattresses as well. They line and ship these products using coroplast/corflute. Ask nicely, and you never know you might get it for free! I got my coroplast from this guy that supplies PVC and PE baby mats to babystores and the mats were shipped in coroplast of 190mmx130mm. I bought the coroplast off him for 2 AUD per piece.

[blackarrow]

How about a big plastic kiddie pool? You may be able to find one on clearance this time of year, or to borrow one. I use one for my boars when I need to do a good coroplast scrub.

[gunnybunny]

I don't know if you have kids or what your situation is, but do you have a baby playpen? maybe you can stick them in there? I don't if I am helping or not but its could be an idea..

[heartpiggies]

I just blocked off an area of my bedroom. It's very makeshift with all sorts of random things lined up to keep him in there. I just used an old blanket and newspapers on the floor, a box for the "kitchen" and a few other cardboard boxes for tubes/houses etc. I measured it today and the total area is about 56 by 30 in. And it was free LOL. I do plan on making a C&C cage though eventually. I imagine it will be a lot easier to clean.

[poopysmom]

what about taping several same sizes cardboard boxes together to form sizes of a cube cage (2x4, 2x5 etc...) then line the bottom and tape the sides with those thick black plastic bin bag and put your regular bedding in? this has got to be one of the cheapest way?