Question about Cage Base

[Catherine Spark]

Another question!

Would an acceptable alternative to a C & C cage base be to line the floor directly with, say, a washable bed mat or water proof cot sheet, and then a couple of layers of fleece on top?

In other words, is it dangerous to simply line and fence off a area of the room using the storage cube systems, and keep the guinea pigs there rather than use a cage system as such?

Or is the correx/coroplast base essential to prevent contact between guinea pigs and base of the wire cube storage system grids?

[madelineelaine]

well if the cage is on the floor, you don't need a grid base. You can use a water proofing material of some sort, then put towels, then fleece. You need something between the waterproofing and fleece. If you wan't a grid base, however, then I would put something on top of the grids, then the water proofing, towels and fleece. The only reason coroplast is a popular choice is because it's water proof. You could easily use a stif cardboard instead, but it would need to be covered with something water proof, such as a shower curtain or crib mat.

[Ithilgil]

I don't use coroplast or a grid base. I simply tie a vinyl table cloth to the grids and layer towels and fleece on top of it. Of course, because the cage doesn't have a solid base, I have to place it on the ground.

[Catherine Spark]

Hi, thanks for the answers here I meant the whole thing would be on the floor, the storage cube system grids would comprise the enclosure's perimeter, and the floor within the enclosure would simply be lined. I didn't mean I wanted the floor to be gridded - sorry if I worded that badly! Ithilgil, that sounds very like what I had in mind - a lined floor and gridded perimieters, without a coroplast/correx tray - is that what you meant?

I like the idea of putting a shower curtain underneath as the waterproof base. I could do that, or have an oil cloth. Or actually...would bin liners be ok if it was absolutely covered? I could have bin liners, then towelling, then fleece.

[bpatters]

Or is the correx/coroplast base essential to prevent contact between guinea pigs and base of the wire cube storage system grids?

Your guinea pigs will get plenty of contact with the grids if they're like mine -- mine chew the heck out of the bars. You don't want their feet on a wire cage bottom, but the solid bottom can easily be the floor with some sort of absorbent covering over it to absorb the urine.

[Ithilgil]

Ithilgil, that sounds very like what I had in mind - a lined floor and gridded perimieters, without a coroplast/correx tray - is that what you meant?

Mines basically like this

fleece
towel
vinyl table cloth
carpet/floor

The table cloth is tied to the perimeter grids in a way that it covers a part of the grids on the inside of the cage, to keep my girls from biting the grids and to keep everything - i.e. poo and hay - inside of the cage.

Like this:


As you can see, the longer side has more table cloth lining it while the shorter side doesn't. The shorter side only has three grid holes in height covered. Fortunately, my girls don't attempt to bite the grids or climb over it, even though they could reach the grids.