Grid "hole" size safety

[Racquelle76]

Hello everyone. My storage cubes arrived yesterday and I was so excited! However when I got them out today I noticed that the 14"x14" cubes had a hole size of 1 1/2". Is that too large for my baby piggies? I plan on making the front and back wall 12" with the sides being 6" high. Are my grids safe for my babies?

By the way...HOLY COW!!!! Those grid connectors are a HUGE pan in the rear!! I get one side on there correctly and then all of the other sides are jacked up. I think I am just going to buy a ton of zip ties and not use the connectors or just use the connectors for the upper levels for safety...or is that even safer?

[MissJean]

Are they 9x9 squares? My square holes seem to be the same size, but I'm just guesstimating.

Cages still need to be baby proofed for newborns. You can use spare coroplast to make the walls higher so they can't squeeze through. Obviously this is a temporary thing. How old are your babies?

[Ithilgil]

They would definitely be able to squeeze through the grids. The holes in my grids are 1.5" and my 2-month-old guinea pig managed to squeeze herself through it. I'm just glad she didn't get stuck.

Luckily, that was the only time she seemed interested in escaping, but I make sure to keep an eye on her and her sister whenever I move them in a temporary cage during cage cleaning. That cage, as implied, is just temporarily made from my leftover grids, so it doesn't have anything lining it.

As for zip ties and connectors, I don't have enough connectors, so I use both for my cage. All the grids have at least 2 connectors at the bottom corners for support, and all the corner grids have at least 3 connectors (2 at the bottom corners and 1 at the top corner at the corner of the cage). I just zip tie the top corners of the side grids together.

For my temporary cage, I only connect the bottom of the grids and the corners of the cage with connectors. I don't bother with zip ties because I'm just going to take it apart later anyways.

[Racquelle76]

The babies will be 3 weeks old on Thursday, June 14. The grids are definately 14"x14" with the grid "holes" measuring at 1 1/2". I wasn't sure if the grid holes were supposed to be only 1" or if 1 1/2" was acceptable.

[lissie]

For babies up to 6 months, we recommend baby-proofing. Either overlapping the grids to make the holes smaller, or make coroplast at least 10" high. If you prefer 6" coroplast, you could put 10" high cardboard pieces between the coro and the grids.

1.5" grid holes are safe for adults.

Here's how the overlapped grids will look like.

[Racquelle76]

Okay, I will keep the cubes and just baby proof. Has anyone ever used a type of screen door screen in front of the cubes? I had contemplated using that so that they could get more ventilation. I just thought I would see if anyone has thought of that or has success or failure doing so.

Also, what do you guys prefer...connectors or zip ties to get the cage together?

[MissJean]

I like using both the connectors and zip ties. Sometimes you really have to jam the grid in the connectors, though. Mostly for aesthetic reasons. One of my cage corners has only zip ties, and it looks ghetto rigged.

[Raine59]

I use zip ties only and no connectors. I think it looks just fine and holds together way better than the connectors which are always falling off. Some people glue the connectors on but then if you want to rearrange your cage, you are stuck (no pun intended).

[ThePigAlchemist]

I use connectors for my corners, but I use zip ties on the rest of my cage. It works pretty well, and I like having the connectors to keep the corners at nice 90 degree angles. It's annoying when I have to lug the cage around because the connectors inevitably come off, but when the cage is staying in one place it works fine.

[Racquelle76]

I plan on stacking my cages in a similar manner as "skinnypigs1" from youtube. Basically I plan for the ground floor to be 2'x5', then a stacked layer (without piggies) above that and at the top it will be another 2'x5'. Do you think that the connectors on the bottom would provide a more stable base versus zip ties? I apologze for the constant questions, but I really want to get this right and I am a perfectionist to the core.

[PrincessAngel]

Do you think that the connectors on the bottom would provide a more stable base versus zip ties? I apologze for the constant questions, but I really want to get this right and I am a perfectionist to the core.

I would use both connectors and zipties. I like to use the zipties because they keep the grids together if the connectors would be compromised (someone bumping into the cage hard). When I used connectors I always used zipties as well. Right now I am only using zipties and I think it looks much better, and the fact that when I build my cabinet to put under the cage I forgot to account for spacing of grids with connectors...sooo... I can't use connectors

[Racquelle76]

Thank you for your advise and experience in using both ties and connectors. Honestly I wish I had more room for my pigs so that I could build them a much more grand house. My best friend is an architect. I should ask him to help me build the Taj Mahal of pig cages!

[CavyMama]

Has anyone ever used a type of screen door screen in front of the cubes? I had contemplated using that so that they could get more ventilation.

To get more ventilation? Using the cubes alone will give the pigs plenty of ventilation. Aside from that, an open-top cage leaves plenty of open space for air. Am I understanding your question correctly? I would think a screen in front of the cubes would provide less ventilation as the squares are much smaller.

Also, what do you guys prefer...connectors or zip ties to get the cage together?

I like connectors for the cage itself. They provide a very sturdy structure and it's easier to get the coroplast back into the frame of the cage when putting on or taking off the fleece when it has connectors.

I like zip ties better for the introduction pen or for the pen the pigs go into when Im cleaning cages. They are easy to fold up and store.

[lissie]

I plan on stacking my cages in a similar manner as "skinnypigs1" from youtube. Basically I plan for the ground floor to be 2'x5', then a stacked layer (without piggies) above that and at the top it will be another 2'x5'. Do you think that the connectors on the bottom would provide a more stable base versus zip ties? I apologze for the constant questions, but I really want to get this right and I am a perfectionist to the core.

Grids are 14 inches. To make a 2x5 foot cage, you'll have to overlap or cut the grids. I hope you meant a 2x5 grids, which is 28 x 70 inches.
If you're copying skinnypigs's cages, she uses connectors and zip ties.


You can see more of her cages here:
skinnypigs Gallery - Guinea Pig Cage Photos

[Haymonster]

To get more ventilation? Using the cubes alone will give the pigs plenty of ventilation. Aside from that, an open-top cage leaves plenty of open space for air. Am I understanding your question correctly? I would think a screen in front of the cubes would provide less ventilation as the squares are much smaller.

I think the OP means more ventilation as opposed to putting coroplast or cardboard up the sides.

I like to use connectors and zipties. I know that the connectors can be a pain when putting it together (I just finished making my most recent cage) but they provide so much rigidity and stability. The zipties are then great to reinforce the connectors. As well as providing insurance for if a connector does snap off, they also make it less likely that a connector will snap off, as the grids are less likely to move.

I also thought I'd add my 2c re: the kind of design that you're wanting to build. First I'll say that many people have designs like that and love them and don't find a problem with them. They're a great way to use limited floor space by building up instead of taking up more floor space. My personal experience, though, was not so great. First, I found that it was very difficult to do things in the top cage, particularly reaching piggies to pick them up. This would be less of a problem if you're taller than me - I'm around 5'3"/5'4". Secondly, I found it difficult to get into the bottom cage to clean. You sort of have to kneel in front of it and stick your head in to get a proper reach. This was just my experience, though. As I said, many people have this sort of design and are happy with it. Also, no design is perfect, and I have problems with my current design too! Maybe I'm just hard to please . Also, one of the great things about C&C cages is that if you don't like what you built/get sick of it, you can always take it apart and start over!

[PeeweesPiggyPalace]

Thank you for your advise and experience in using both ties and connectors. Honestly I wish I had more room for my pigs so that I could build them a much more grand house. My best friend is an architect. I should ask him to help me build the Taj Mahal of pig cages!

I use the connectors and lots of zip ties.. My cage is very sturdy! The best tool to help get your connectors in place are a pair of pliers.. Saves your hands :-)