upper level - PVC ramps?

[homeschoolmama]

My husband came home from work & turned our balcony idea into a very safe 1x2 spot. He pointed out that it'd be easier to get into the bottom level this way, and that 2x5 is plenty large enough for 2 piggies & they don't NEED the extra space anyway.

He then took a peek around this site looking at ramps, and really liked the idea of the PVC tubing running along the outside of the cage. It would not take away from their ground-level floorspace, and there wouldn't be any way for them to fall/jump off of it.

We're considering getting the 6" tubing and using the dremel & zip-ties to secure it, and are wondering if:

1. the piggies would really use this - they do love to run through tubes on the ground, but this is on a slope & we don't know if that makes a difference
2. they need anything inside it to keep them from slipping back down
and 3. there are any easy ways to get it cleaned out when the piggies make a mess inside of it.

Also, we're thinking that 1/2" holes drilled along the sides & top at even intervals would help keep them well-ventilated. Does anyone have any idea how frequent these should be? Would every 6" be good, or should we just riddle the thing with holes?

Oh yes... and do we need to add a coroplast "dish" to their upper level, or would just a bottom be enough? We want them to be able to see into the living room better, but not at the expense of having our sofa yucked up.

Thanks so much!!!

[Percy's Mom]

IF they are already used to the tubes, then I would think the PVC ramp would be perfect for them. As far as the coroplast on the second level, I would definitely make it a "dish". Even if you use fleece bedding, the dish or box would contain piggy poos and pee if they spray or aren't litter trained.

[aqh88]

You could try just a 1-2" edge so they can easily see out but droppings can't easily fall through the grids.
It would probably depend exactly how steep the pvc tunnel is as to how much traction they'd need inside it. I'm not really sure what you could use. The pvc probably won't need much cleaning unless you put a material inside for traction that gets easily dirty. Guinea pigs don't pee or poop on ramps much. If it gets dirty I'd just remove it and spray water down it.

[Percy's Mom]

I asked Ly this same question about the PVC being slippery in the following thread.
http://cavycages.com/forum/showthrea...719#post123719

[VoodooJoint]

I avoided the whole "lining it to keep the GPs from slipping" by using black corrugated garden drainage tubing. They even make it with holes in it but I used the plain.

The corrugation makes steps the GPs can use easily with no slipping, it's cheap and my GPs love it.

Look in my gallery to see pictures of it in use.

I'm not saying that PVC pipe isn't good. It looks great! I just try to use recycled products whenever possible and my local recycle center had the drainage tube available, but not PVC pipe in a wide enough dimention.

[Ly&Pigs]

My pvc pipe was recycled. My dad had extra laying in his backyard so he cut it for me for my ramps and my tunnels. I love VJ's black corrugated ramp.

[homeschoolmama]

Ohhh, thank you!!! I would love to use the black tubing, but I'm afraid Mr. Pigg's rear end might get stuck. But he's used to the 6" tubing, as we use it for floor time. Does the black tubing happen to come in 6" as well??? That would be sooo perfect! I had no idea that they wouldnt leave their little gifties in the tunnel, they are anything but litter trained, and I thought they'd leave them everywhere! Spraying it down sounds perfect though; simple & fool-proof

I think we'll make the 2" box... sounds like the best idea, since they can still see out alright, but our sofa should be safe then.

We've had another brainstorm... it'll take us a few weeks to finish it, but we're going to turn the entire piggie cage & their table into a castle! My husband is really getting into it! So they'll still have their 2x5 on the bottom, but on each end they'll have a 1x2 "turret" to play in above that. Like this:

[].......[]
[][][][][]

Another thing we found that we really liked was the idea of a "hay room." We're thinking that might be a cool idea to add underneath one of their turrets... they love to play in their hay, but right now they only get a huge mountain of it during floor-time. They would LOVE this!

And I'm going to finally get off my tush & make their table a cover. (we've been using an old bedsheet) Gonna use some leftover brocade, and a navy velvet with some gold braid & tassels. Since our living room has a medieval theme, this should be awesome! I'm just wondering now if we should spring for new mesh walls... that'd be sooo cool, but I don't want to sacrifice visibility for aesthetics. Gonna talk to DH about that one & see what he thinks

Wow, we haven't had this much fun with our piggies since we first brought Junior home... almost a year ago!

[Ly&Pigs]

I had no idea that they wouldnt leave their little gifties in the tunnel, they are anything but litter trained

Mine leave poos on the ramps all the time now. Most fall to the bottom and so when I go to spot clean there is a nice pile of poos at the bottom of the ramp waiting for me.

but right now they only get a huge mountain of it during floor-time.

They need unlimited hay 24/7, not just during floortime.

[homeschoolmama]

They need unlimited hay 24/7, not just during floortime.

Oh gosh, I'm sorry... that wasn't very clear of me. They have two hayracks in their cage which are always kept full. I meant they only get a big pile of hay to play in during floortime. No, I would never restrict the main part of their diet to a few hours a day!

[Ly&Pigs]

Thank you for clarifying that. I didn't mean to assume, but you weren't very clear in your statement.

[Sabriel]

Since I use fleece and will never go back to bedding and I was short on coro for my rebuild (kinda on the fly, since it was a sudden idea that removing the boys' view of the girls would calm them down) I only put 3" wall of 3 sides of the coro tray. The back and sides have a 3" tray but the front does not. I just squeeked by with the amount of coro I had.

But it looks nice and works well. Nobody sprays out the front and nobody poops near the wall. It allows more light in (a must for a multi level cage), lets me see all the pigs better and lets the boys have access to the floor with the opening of a door. They all love it. Especially short little Lina.

[jdomans]

With a bit of imagination you could somehow slip some of those tub rubber sticker things in the pipe to help with traction.

[Cavykid14]

Ok be sure to drill plenty of holes and make sure its the biggest piping you can get because If its small your never going to see them again (They won't come out) and if your conserned about them not getting air just cut 1/4 of it off the top and then they will be able to look up and breath. If the tube is to big then they might not use it but for a ramp I just took a board and clipped down a towel on it and they love it.