C&C: I can't decide between the 2x3 or 2x3.5?

[PikaTot]

I've had my guinea pigs for a couple months now and they're in a store that I got from the pet store. I wish I had heard of C&C cages before I paid $80 for it. So now I'm going to buy a C&C cage from Sue :] Before I do though, I have a couple questions.

I live in a small apartment (I'm a college kid) so I'm debating between the 2x3 cage and the 2x3.5. I know that I can make room for each cage and that my small apartment shouldn't be an excuse to deprive my piggies of extra room... so I would love to get the 2x3.5, but I worry about the amount of bedding. How much extra bedding would I have to use? (I use aspen and carefresh sometimes... I'd love to switch to fleece but that's a-whole-nother issue with not having a personal washer/dryer.)

Is there anyone on here that, from experience, can tell me how much bedding they use for their 2x3 or 2x3.5 C&C cage?

Oh, and as a side note, do the cages have grids underneath them to support the coroplast?

[Seonta]

You can put grids under the coroplast and it helps to stabilize the walls, but some people don't do grids under the coroplast if they have it on the floor.

[Tessa Bea]

The purchased ones only have enough grids to form a border around the coroplast, if I'm not mistaken. If you're putting it on a table or a floor, you don't really need grids underneath. Coroplast holds its shape.

How many pigs do you have? If it's two, would you be able to get a 2x4? The more space, the better.

(If cost is of concern to you, you could always make your own. I've made 2 cages [a 2x5 and a 3x4] for $85 altogether. Shower curtains can work instead of coroplast.)

EDIT-

Oh, and bedding... I would go through a whole bag of Carefresh for one cage change of my 2x5. I made the switch to fleece because of it.

Edit again-

A big, 50L bag of Carefresh.

[Matt Ceja]

If you use fleece as bedding then you don't have to worry about bedding costs. I would build your cage as large as you can. The more room the better. If you want information on fleece there are a lot of threads on the subject you can search for the information on your own and or check out threads in the bedding section of the forum here. You can just wash it at a laundromat.

[akstrohm]

If cost is an issue, definitely switch to fleece. It will save you a lot of money.

Do you have two pigs? If so, I would go with a 2x4 (sows) or 2x5 (boars) if at all possible (or a 3x3 or 3x4). Guinea pigs are social animals and should not be kept alone. The extra space makes it easier for them to get along and to get the exercise they need.

[Sugar&Ellie]

I find that cleaning a coroplast cage can be harder. My store bought cage, I would just take the top off, slide it into the garbage bag, dump it and off I went. I switched to fleece because of this.

The money you'll be spending on bedding will be ALOT more than the money you would spend at the dollar store (buying the fleece) and the washer machine. For fleece bedding, you would only have to do the fleece laundry with the rest of your laundry so there would be no extra cost.

I dont use fleece so I really don't know how much bedding is, I can guess its ALOT because I was using alot when I tried using shavings after I first built my cage.

I would try to find a place to squeeze in a 2x4, if you cant do that, then get a 2x3.5

If it's going to be on the ground I wouldn't even use coro, its just an extra hassle. But if you're using bedding then coro would keep the bedding inside the cage and not all over the place.

[akstrohm]

I still recommend the coroplast, regardless of the use of a stand. It will keep poop and hay in the cage. And it is water proof and can be easily wiped down.

[Dichotomy83]

Originally Posted by Sugar&Ellie

For fleece bedding, you would only have to do the fleece laundry with the rest of your laundry so there would be no extra cost.

Just my $0.02, but I wouldnt wash piggy fleece in with my clothes. But you can do a separate load, or handwash and hang dry.

[Sugar&Ellie]

yeah don't wash with the laundry. I meant you can do a load of fleece at the same time as the rest of your laundry. You wouldn't have to be spending more money on a load every 2 days or something.

If you're really worried about the cost, I say do what Dichotomy said, hang dry and hand wash.

[wheekypigs]

The purchased ones only have enough grids to form a border around the coroplast, if I'm not mistaken. If you're putting it on a table or a floor, you don't really need grids underneath. Coroplast holds its shape.

This video may suggest otherwise:
YouTube - Why Your C&C Guinea Pig Cage May Need a Bottom

[fridzalone]

I'm a college student too. And I rent a room too, but I hand wash my fleece. It's a lot easier than use wood shavings.

I used to use wood shavings and I need around 20l-25l for 60 X 120 cm. Its bigger than yours, but maybe it gives you picture on how much will you spent.

[PikaTot]

Wow, guys! Thank you for all of this information. I definitely will be switching to fleece eventually. This month my investment will be the cage though so hopefully in December I'll have enough money to save up for fleece. I did hear you have to wash it at least 3 times when you do wash it though.. is this true? and how often do you guys change your fleece? Once a week or more?

I have two sows, by the way. I'll definitely get a 2x3.5 and I'm considering a 2x4 but I really don't think that will fit anywhere in my apartment. I'm getting a bigger apartment for next year so I can just get some more coroplast and expand then. They do get tons of floor time all around the guinea-pig proofed apartment :]

[fridzalone]

You need to wash it 3 times when you wash it for the first time. After that, you can do it once. I change my fleece usually every 7-10 days, but with your cage I think you need to change it every 4 days because it will get dirty faster than the bigger one.

[PikaTot]

Ok well that's good news. I can manage that at the laundromat weekly. How many changes of fleece would you all recommend?

[PikaTot]

Just wanted to let you guys know that you convinced me to get a 2x4. It'll be on the floor for now. But I'm also going fleece shopping on Sunday and I'm so excited. Thanks again for all of your help.

[PikaTot]

I wanted to show everyone my finished cage. I ordered the 2x4 from Sue and got some fleece for bedding since everyone here swears by it. I'm also using the Zorb as a middle layer, so I'll se how that goes and report my results on the Zorb thread.







The huts are and sleeping bag are from Jen's Custom Crafts & Pika and Tater Tot just love them.

[EvelynsCavies]

Very nice and those huts are adorable! What size are they? I think they'd be perfect for my pigs but don't know if I should get the regular or large size !?

[Fudgenrolo]

It looks great! Am sure your piggies will be very happy! Lovely cage xx

[PikaTot]

I just got the regular-sized huts. My piggies don't ever share, but they do both fit in one (they are under a year old though still, so I don't know if two of your pigs would fit). They also have removable pads so I don't have to wash the entire bed so frequently, I just take the removable pad out and replace it with another one. They're a little bit pricey, but completely worth the money because they're so well-made and 10% of all proceeds go to a gp rescue!

& thanks everyone, for approving of their cage! I'm open to any suggestions to make it better too!

[Matt Ceja]

Looks good!