Cavy Services

[TinaFabulous]

I had an idea last night, what If I used the guest room to make a little extra money? It would help spread the word about C&C, help me collect money for another pig (maybe a neutered male if I get enough money), and promote proper guinea pig care. I could start by building and selling custom C&C cages (once I get coroplast), and offer cavy sitting services where their pig stays in a 2x3 in my guest room and is givin cavy cousine, timothy hay, and veggies daily while they are gone and I could charge a certain amount for each day. People could see how happy their pig is in a 2x3 and learn more about pig care and housing just by having their pig here for a few days.

Maybe I could eventually put together starter kits for new guinea pig owners with care information, custom cage, and all the things needed to raise a healthy guinea pig. It hopefully could become a really small pigstore (NOT PETSTORE!) where people could come and get a reasonably priced cages and accessories locally.

What do you guys think?
Tina

[TinaFabulous]

I was thinking about $5-6 per day per pig and a small extra fee for a second pig in the same cage, they could bring their pigs favorite things from their cage, each day their pig would recieve a 2x3 cage (2pigs per cage max), floor time, fresh veggies, unlimited hay, a bowl of cavy cusine, and lap time. The cage would be thoughly cleaned out before and after a new pig uses the cage. And the owner would have to sign a document that we are not reliable for anything that goes wrong health or otherwise, that they will be charged the daily price +$2 for every aditional day past pick-up day and the pig will be rehomed or perminatly kept here if they haven't picked him up or contacted us 10 days after the set pick up day.

[TinaFabulous]

I will only add that because I'd be worried that nobody would come to pick up their guinea pig thinking we would take care of it forever

[critterlover]

Sounds like you have some wonderful ideas. I think making cages is a good idea since you can get the materials so cheap and will save people lots of time.

Just make sure you are charging enough at the beginning to cover your time. It's always much harder to raise your rates later than to lower them. Sounds like you'd be doing a lot or work for $5-6. Make sure this will cover the cost of the veggies and bedding and that you're getting at least minimum wage after the cost of food and bedding is subtracted. It's a good idea to get paid in advance too. I've had experience with tutoring etc. and if you don't get the money ahead of time, you might never get it. They'll say, oh, I don't have enough cash, I'll bring it later, then take the pig home and never pay you. I think even if someone is more than 10 days late, you'd
still legally have to give them their pig back.

Good luck with your new venture. I'm sure you'll do very well!

[TinaFabulous]

Ok, i was just wondering what I would do if you know, somebody droped their pig off here, paid for a certain amount of sitting, and never came back just to get rid of it... I couldn't keep it, so that's really my only worry

Ok thanks for the hints with charging, I will work on the prices a bit more, I guess they will have to cover the price of making a few sitting cates too so yup thats a good poing. Deffinatly, having them pay ahead of time is a great idea!!

What should I do if someone comes like a week late for their pig? Should add the extra days to the cost and a bit extra for taking up a cage when another pig could have used it?

[TinaFabulous]

cages* not crates sorry point* not poing haha

[critterlover]

Yeah, when making the cages, make sure to factor in not just the time you spent making the cages, but also the time you spent traveling and shopping to get the materials. Compared to a pet store cage, they'll be getting a bargain. You could also do cage accessories and make them optional for extra charges.

I don't know how long you would have to wait before giving their pig away if they never came back. Someone might come back after a month and their pig is gone and they'd be really mad. I can't imagine anyone doing this, but you never know. It's good that you're thinking of all these possibilities.

I think you're idea of a contract is really good. I agree, there should be some extra daily charge if they're late picking up a pig. You can explain to them that you might have to turn down a client who had a reservation if they pick their pig up late. Just have it all written out and have them sign it. You don't have to make a big thing of the contract, just have them casually sign it, but it will be very handy if anything goes wrong.

The starter kits seem a very good idea for making money. It won't cost you much to make, but will be very valuable to them. You could also include a spray bottle with
vinegar for cleaning or some other 'extras' in addition to the written material.

[cinn&sprinslave]

Good idea Tina!!!
Um I don't think you really have to worry about people leaving their piggs with you and not picking them up, because if they are trying to dump them then they are most likely not going to want to pay to have you petsit and then never come back for the pigg. But you never know.
And you should make them fill out a sheet with adress and phone number, and a contract.
And if they leave the pigg with you two weeks (just an example) over the arranged and payed time then you can adopt it out or give it to a rescue, or keep it etc.
You should also make them pay as soon as they leave their pigg with you, or make them pay half of the cost.

And don't make the starter kits ahead of time because the people may never buy them and then you have already spent the money to make them. I would suggest order forms for a starter kit, with a down payment before you buy any of the stuff.

Another worry is how do you know if these peoples piggies are healthy? I know with dog boarding they have to have their shot records, and last vet check dates etc, and they won't watch them if they appear sick. Ovbiously piggies don't have shot reccords, and sometimes you can't tell if they are sick.

You are going to want to raise you rates because 1) you are providing the cage 2)You are providing the veggies, hay, vitamin C, and pellets 3)You are providing 1 hidey house I hope, a water bottle, a food dish etc (It will be a hassel if you try to use their stuff because you may forget what supplies are theirs etc)
4) The bedding 5) Your time and space 6)floor time 7) General daily care


And also a lot of male pairs get hyper and start fighting when around female pairs, I think you could solve this if the females are on one side of the room and the males are on the other. Not really sure.

Have you decided how many cages you are going to make? And what your limit is for how many you will care for?

I think this is a really awesome idea Tina, I hope it works out great for you!

[TinaFabulous]

I also ment I would have to factore in the costs of cages for the petsitting cages I'll need to make into costs of sitting

I was thinking about accessories too, as well as starter kits. I'll probably get them from www.critterstore.com any suggestions on getting accessories elsewhere? The extras is a great idea, I hadent even though of including vinigar/spray bottle, that's a really inexpensive way to add on to the kit, thanks!

I think the contract will include something saying if they are a month or more late we may have to move the guinea pig to another cage, and it is understood that your pig may share a cage with one or more pigs during that time.

I don't know what I'll do about the possiblilty of people trying to leaving a pig here.

Yup the contract wouldnt be a big deal, just a handy piece of paper that says we arnt reliable for any /illness during/after his stay here. So if something like of natural cause/illness comes up It wont be our fault. And something stating the max time we can keep him/her here past pick up date. That no pig will leave here without it's care being paid in full (so if their late they pay the rest). Not sure what we are allowed to do if they reach the max though. We are not responsible for keeping it in the same cage past pick up date but will be staying here for the same cost plus an extra amount each day.

wow didnt know it would get this complicated! haha, im working on shopping for the kits and accessories right now

[TinaFabulous]

ya cinn, im just worried they will pay for a days worth and then never come back, who knows some people may want to dump um in a place that will care for it

great idea, i will work on the contract, I havent picked a amount of time before adopting out yet though, I will have them pay for how long they expect to be gone before they leave, and pay for any extra days when they get back which costs will be ^ed if I had to cancel on someone else

Good idea, I was planning on making a list of the contents and then ordering, but down payments is a great idea cinn!

ya heath was one worry of mine, would seperate cages work better than devided cages in keeping viruses from spreading? I will deffanitly clean everything out well once a pig leaves, but yes sense there is no shots for a pig I will need something in the contract that says we arnt reliable for s or health issues while here or aftewards.

Yup hidy house water food bowl and possibly a hayrack will be in each sitter cage. I found pigloos pretty cheap online and i will probably get one of those for each cage.

I'm not so sure I should give these pigs floortime, it might get really complicated having each out at a different time... Maybe I could just give floortime for pigs staying a week or more and have them pay an extra amount, how much do you guys think?

The females on one side and males on another is a great idea, but what about altered pigs?

Havent decided on how many cages/pigs Ill take, its going to probably be awhile till the space is even ready so im just planning ahead.

Divided cages or seperate cages, which do you think? I was thinking I could do a wall or two with 3 cube wide cage so i could just section off 2 cubes length for each pig im sitting, what do you guys think?

[TinaFabulous]

I still dont want to carge too much though, how much do you guys think I should charge for pig sitting?

[cinn&sprinslave]

Floor time for piggs staying more than 6 days with you, is what I would do. Otherwise any less than six days don't bother.
I would do separate cages, definantly not divided cages. Maybe some cages stacked/built on top of one another like this > http://www.cavycages.com/photos/showphoto.php?photo=755&password=&sort=1&cat=512&p age=2
It will help prevent any sick cavies from spreading stuff to the other piggs.

The price thing is hard, but if it were me I would charge $8 for one pigg a day, or for a pair $15 or $14 a day.(I don't know what your area (town or city) is like at all, for Thanks Giving I pigg sitted a few pigs and I charged $15 a for a pair unless it was for a friend then I did it for free, because I used my rescue cages, and my supplies.) And maybe if they are paying to have the cavy stay any longer than a week give them a discount. Like only $6 a day per pig after the first week, $12 a pair.

[TinaFabulous]

wow thats an awesome cage, I love it, but it would probably take me forever to make ... I wonder how you clean teh top cage haha

wow I could make alot of extra money from this couldnt I? Well if its successful anyway. Thanks for the pricing and cage ideas cinn, they were very helpful

[TinaFabulous]

should I include a playpen in the starter kit? What kind should I include? Does anyone know of any cheap playpens?

[TinaFabulous]

Do you guys think I should include carefresh, or aspen in the starter kit?

Also what cheap supplies can I use to make a few playpens for the long term piggies?

[cinn&sprinslave]

Well you can use grids put together with cable ties for a play pen. > http://www.cavycages.com/photos/showphoto.php?photo=1350&password=&sort=1&cat=515& page=2
In the kits I don't know what to suggest for a play pen (which is used for floor time usually) because people on here say it should be bigger than the cage if the pen is being used for floor time.The play pen pictured below is only $9.99 at Walmart. But it is way to small for floor time. It is even smaller than the CC cages.
> http://www.cavycages.com/photos/showphoto.php?photo=1054&password=&sort=1&cat=515& page=1

In the kits I would include aspen.

Ideas for kits-
Cage
Water Bottle
Food dish
Hut
Bedding
Food
Hay
Play Pen
^Just a general kit, of course they (the buyers) will have to go out and buy some other stuff but this covers the basics.

[TinaFabulous]

I'm starting to think I will do pig sitting first before I get into selling stuff