Cage Cuddles and Buttercup's Newly Remodeled Cage !

[kathlaaron]

Woke up today with a sore throat, achy muscles and a headache...but will try and get those pictures of coro cubes that I made for their bunk beds tomorrow....if not tomorrow, by the end of the week.

For now, I am using 2 layers of disposable puppy pads (bad for the environment:guilty:, so will be getting some washable puppy pads instead soon) on top of 2 inches of carefresh.

I also have been giving serious consideration to purchasing say, 3, of those steel utensilno matter what bedding method I choose holders from bed, bath & beyond ( that bpatters loves and uses) and trying them out in their barn. It's just that they love burrowing and playing in their high piles of hay...but I do need to change it out twice a week, no matter what bedding method I choose, because they pee on the hay.

If I put their hay in a rack, utensil holder or some kind of dispenser that keeps most of the hay off the floor, it will save on hay, keep things neater, but at what price ? I don't know. I debate this matter over and over in my head all the time.

Except for a short time in the beginning, when they were little, my girls have always had big piles of hay to run through, jump in, and burrow in ....so a rack would be something new to them. Until bpatters came up with that idea of the metal utensil holder, that I really liked, I had never even, really... wanted a hay rack .

spy9doc--I am SURE you will do a fantastic job on your piggies cage...I really look forward to seeing it !! I remember you saying that you were going to use black edger binding around their cage and I just want to say, GOOD THINKING because I cannot wait to order my white binder edging from the guinea pig zone!

My girls really like chewing in the areas they can reach, that have the vinyl duct tape ! UGH. So...that is the first thing I will be ordering as soon as we can afford to. We spent a lot on the kids this Christmas, so we are just flat broke right now. Thankfully, the binder edging at GPZ is very cheap( .50 cents- for one 11 inch binder edge) and you can order just one or you can order as many as you need.

 

[mickey1007]

I am so sorry that you aren't feeling well Kath! I hope that you feel better soon. No hurry on the pics - unfortunately I'm a visual person and need to see things to help me understand how to construct them.

I too have debated about using hayracks, I even had a design in mind that I was going to implement until I read a post on GuineaLynx about a piggie that got stuck in the bend grid hay rack and died. I did some research on it and it appears to happen a lot more often than I thought it would. Since then I decided that I didn't want to take the risk with them - I'd rather clean the hay up off the fleece then take a chance that something like that would happen.

I have looked at the utensil holder that bpatters uses but my girls love to get their little noses in the hay too ... they love to jump in it, burrow in it and sit in it. Right now I just have the hay in big bins with nothing on the bottom they sit in the pee until I clean the bin out so that’s why I was wondering what you did. I do like the idea of washable puppy pads!! I think maybe I might do a combination of what you do now plus the utensil holders – still thinking about it.

I appreciate your response to my questions especially since you aren’t feeling well. Thank you very much!!

 

[kathlaaron]

Woke up today with a sore throat, achy muscles and a headache...but will try and get those pictures of coro cubes that I made for their bunk beds tomorrow....if not tomorrow, by the end of the week.

For now, I am using 2 layers of disposable puppy pads (bad for the environment:guilty:, so will be getting some washable puppy pads instead soon) on top of 2 inches of carefresh.

So sorry for the mixed up words ! :sad: I meant to say that for NOW, I use 2 layers of extra large, disposable puppy pads, underneath--2 inches of carefresh in their "Heavenly Hay Barn". I put in huge piles of Kleenmama's 3rd cut timothy hay, and huge piles of Kleenmama's bluegrass hay. They LOVE it. Still have not yet decided if I will purchase those nice metal utensil holders that Billie loves and uses...my girls just love their hay piles, you know ?!

mickey1007--Thank you so much for your kind words, it really means a lot ! I am so glad you love their cage, it surely was a "labour of love" for my girls....for it was a lot of work, but they are WELL worth it to me.

I am much sicker than I was yesterday,:weepy: and I believe for the first time in a loooong time, I also have a UTI. Sigh. I have been sick in bed all day long...and I am surely going back to bed really soon. Just wanted to check my emails real quick first. So if you pray...would appreciate a few sent to heaven for me tonight...it is my 11 year old daughter's winter vacation, and I DON'T WANT TO BE SICK !! Argggh. She deserves some fun....and I just am too sick to do much, poor tweetie...she is such a good girl too. mickey1007, did you see my christmas photo's of my two children ? It is on Hhbean's thread, "Christmas Photo's".

I am very visual too....believe me, as soon as I feel better, I will take photo's of their cube coroplast bunk beds...hopefully by Friday.

 

[pinky]

What a wonderful, interactive mansion! My favorite part is the barn. It's a work of art!

 

[kathlaaron]

Here are the pictures of their cube coroplast bunk beds, and what they look like.




Below is what their bunk bed made from grids looks like, before I put in their cube coro boxes.


Hope these pictures help explain how I made them ! Buttercup was so cute today, when I went in to take out their coro bunk beds, Buttercup of course, was in one of them and I had to scoot her out. When I came back with clean bunk beds and fleece, she popcorned several times and could barely wait to hop back in ! lol She was so adorable about it ! These bunk beds with mini pillow pets sure are a huge hit with my sweet girls !!

 

[kathlaaron]

Kathlaaron....thanks for the pics. My new coroplast was finally ready today. Now I have a different question........I know you made your ramps by threading something through the coroplast and bending it to the desired shape? Can you please post in a bit more detail and describe the construction?

Thanks a bunch!

You BETCHA !

Materials you will need:

* Strong wire cutter
* Straight strong wire- the bottom straight piece of a wire hanger worked the best for me.
* Obviously, coroplast...(which you have)
* Velcro
* Some kind of durable door mat with rubber underneath, carpet on top
* Wide clear packing tape
* Binder edging ( which you have)
* Decent strong scissors
* Measuring tape
* Pen/Marker
* Razorblade cutter

Measure out the height, width, and length you want for your ramp. My ramps had 5 1/2 inch sides, with a 5 1/2 inch base. I needed the length of the ramps to be about 25 inches long.

Then I used a pen and ruler and marked where I would need to score, then scored the three pieces of coroplast. BEFORE bending, thread through all three pieces using the wire you had bought. I used different wires for each ramp. First, I wanted to use something I might have, so I looked around for any wire hangers that I might still have , and used the bottom straight wire only, for one ramp. Since I didn't have enough wire hangers to use, I had to go and buy some other wire to use.

Bought some "floral" wire from Joanne Fabric's store, which was just "ok" but had to use twice as much, because it wasn't nearly as strong as the wire hangers, and they were much thinner. Then you just thread it through the squarish holes in the coroplast, through all three pieces. For good gripping power, and easy clean wear and tear...I cut up a door mat and velcroed that to the bottom piece.

I used that wide "industrial strength" type of velcro too. Then you just bend the sides up and you have a nice firm and steady ramp ! I highly suggest using your black binder edging on the sides and bottom of your ramp, for many piggies like to chew the sides, especially on the top and on the bottom !!

One last thing: I also make a long strip that I attach with strong clear mail packing tape to the ramp on the top, so that I can just slide that long piece underneath your "loft, bridge, whatnot" for a good secure attachment, that you can easily remove for cleaning, without much ado.

If any of this is unclear, just ask ! Good luck with your cage and I look forward to seeing it's completion !

 

[kathlaaron]

Two items aren't clear to me: (1) the quote above; and (2) how is the velcro used? Also, on my previously constructed ramp, I used stair tread material positioned transversely to give them traction. I had planned to zip tie the ramp to the loft, but am certainly open to other ideas.

Thanks for your time! lol

No Problem !

1. You know how you need 3 individual coro pieces ? Two pieces to construct the sides, and then you have one piece which is the bottom- that they run up and down on --well the bottom piece I attach another, slightly slimmer long piece not more than say, an extra 8 inches to the end of your ramp ( which would be the end you connect to the loft, bridge ect.) so you can just slide that underneath the loft.

It makes taking off and cleaning the ramp thoroughly ( than just the daily vacuuming) much much easier. I got the idea from where I originally purchased my C&C cage from the GPZ. I ordered the 6x2 open cage with the 2x2 loft. It came with an awesome ramp. Here is the link and photo.

(broken link removed)

Look closely at the top the the ramp...it has an extending little flap that goes underneath the upper loft. Well I found out, that if I made that flap a little longer, and my sides a little higher ( Buttercup is a jumper !:sad it would work even better for me, and it did !

2. Velcro. I used velcro to attach the door mat rug, that I cut into strips to put on their ramp for good traction and durability. Also, I have used velcro and tape both for attaching things, and prefer for the most part to use velcro....but sometimes I use wide mailing tape instead. Depends what I have on hand too...for velcro can be expensive.

If you don't plan on removing the ramp, zip tying works just fine ! Stair tread ( where did you find some ?) would work perfectly for traction too ! My old ramp from the GPZ lasted only 6 months before I had to remove it for good, so I wanted to construct their ramps to be a little more durable and long lasting.

The carpet tread on the old one was pretty thin, so that's why I looked for a rubber backed heavy door mat with berber like carpeting, that has tread lines. We shall see, how long these "homemade" ramps last... Hope that helps and good luck !!

 

[kathlaaron]

You know, I had never noticed that flap on the end. Just curious......why did you not use velcro there rather than tape? I think the industrial strength would hold well enough.

Well at the top, where I made the flap longer( attached permanently with strong, clear, wide mailing tape to the ramp, could use zip ties, or glue, but the tape works well enough, and keeps it nice and flat too.

And I don't need to use velcro or tape to attach the whole ramp to the loft, because of the extra long flap underneath provides the stability needed, and makes it so easy to take off/ put back on, when cleaning the cage (or the ramp itself- more thoroughly). Do you get what I mean ? :crazy:

Seriously, if you would like me to show you some step by step photo's, I could try and make another similar ramp over the weekend if you want....just let me know soon, like by tomorrow morning, ok ? I really don't mind helping out...really.

One Last Note: I just wanted to caution you against using vinyl duct tape in areas they can reach easily, because my girls have developed a "taste for duct tape" unfortunately :sad:, so I have been trying to do my best in covering those areas now, with fleece. Can't leave them plain with just coro, because they like chewing on coroplast too.

The 2 support posts I made out of coro ( underneath their tunnel forest bridge) I used white vinyl duct tape. UGH. Surprise, surprise...they have been really chewing at those support poles, which is very bad for them. So I have wrapped the poles in fleece, which has successfully deterred my "Determined Diva's" from chewing in "Duct Tape Oblivion" !! Keeping these piggie queens safe is a full time job ! Heheeheelol

 

[Little Mommy]

Love the barn and the pillow pets!! Very cute. I think I'm going to get my girls a pillow pet...I got them a small bed from the pet store but they don't seem to like it very much....plus the pillow pet is much nicer to look at! Great job.

 

[jacoby]

Wow! lucky piggles

 

[kathlaaron]

I really appreciate the offer, but no need to go to the extra effort. I'm quite clear on everything with the exception of what keeps the ramp attached to the loft? Are you simply wedging the flap extension between the grid and the coroplast "box" to keep it in place?

Yes. I just slide it underneath. I make the "flap" longer by another 6-8 inches, which keeps it in place even better, providing even more stability.

 

[HappyHopperz]

Wow.... That is the best cage I have seen by far! I just have enough room for a 2 x 10, so I'll have to keep your design in mind! Absolutely LOVE the hay barn, a suggestion is that you could have some hay for them to dig and play in on the floor, and have some cleaner, accident free, hay in a hay rack, or I use a "Hay Ball" that mounts on the grids as a hay dispenser. I did buy it from PetSmart, but it works wonderfully well! If you'd like, I can get you the link off the PetSmart site. One more thing, how many grids high (including the ramp) total is the cage? I was just wondering, as the wall that I plan to build my 2 x 10 has the obstacle of a couple windows. Anyways, ahh-some job!


One more thing, I forgot to add, about how many grids was used to construct this cage?

 

[kathlaaron]

Spy9doc, that stair tread should work beautifully !

P.S. I never thought you meant sandpaper...I kind of knew what you meant, though I thought it would be carpeted. Not being carpeted, I think is a good idea...because they are less likely to pee on a "rubberized tread", and I would think it would be much easier to keep clean, too !

 

[ChristieB]

awesome! Very impressive and I bet they love it!

 

[kathlaaron]

awesome! Very impressive and I bet they love it!

Yes, they really do !! For the first time, in a long long time, my girl Cuddles:heart: has been doing some serious zoomies up their ramp through their "forest tunnel bridge" down the ramp on the other side, through their "Heavenly Hay Barn" door and down the length of their cage and back up and around again, JUST LIKE I HAD ENVISIONED them doing ! So I am THRILLED to pieces with this set up for them.

Even though Cuddles is not "chubby" at all for a piggie, it is still really good excercise for her, and keeps her heart and everything else, healthy...which is WHY I went to such great lengths to make a bigger cage, with a fun bridge to run up and down and through.

Now my other sweetie Buttercup:heart: has someone to play "chase" with and so on....For quite awhile Cuddles could be bothered to run laps,,so I am so glad to see her finally doing so. Buttercup has ALWAYS done zoomies and so on, every day, in fact.

I could NOT believe it was "Cuddles" that first did the wrap around zoomies, and not my very physical, Olympian jumper and runner....Madame, "Buttercup" ! Now both my lovely piggie queens do big zoomies.....hip hip HOORAY !!

I also would like to point out something else about this new cage design, my Big " E " configuration. This is by far the biggest cage that my girls have ever had, and it is VERY EASY to keep clean, and it STAYS clean longer, too !

 

[Roxymarie365]

This cage is absolutely amazing! It makes me want to make my cage a theme too! I have purple coroplast so I'm not very sure what theme I could do with that I love your cage so much! Piggies are so fun to make cages for! They must be in piggy haven! AWESOME cage!

 

[kathlaaron]

It makes me want to make my cage a theme too! I have purple coroplast so I'm not very sure what theme I could do with that

How about a "Winnie the Pooh" theme ? On their old first cage, I had bought some Winnie the Pooh fleece and a few small stuffed piglets....here is a picture.

(broken link removed)

Thank you so much for your kind comments, it means a lot !

 

[bubbles101]

I love the pillow pet idea!!lol

 

[Roxymarie365]

How about a "Winnie the Pooh" theme ? On their old first cage, I had bought some Winnie the Pooh fleece and a few small stuffed piglets....here is a picture.

(broken link removed)

Thank you so much for your kind comments, it means a lot !

OMG that's adorable! You are so creative! It would be a good theme for me because I have both a boy (neutered) and 2 girls so it wouldn't be too on the girly side It also looks like you're backside of the coroplast is 12inches high (Just like mine). Did you make a fleece line or just kind wrap it around on the outside? I've been looking around for a liner that would fit my cage and I was wondering if you knew anyone that would make one for a 2x5 with a 12inch back height. Thanks so much for the idea. Your SUPER creative!

 

[kathlaaron]

It also looks like you're backside of the coroplast is 12inches high (Just like mine). Did you make a fleece line or just kind wrap it around on the outside? I've been looking around for a liner that would fit my cage and I was wondering if you knew anyone that would make one for a 2x5 with a 12inch back height.

On their old cage when I had the 12 inch back side, I just made sure that I had 3 yards of fleece, (so that I had enough width) that I could tuck like 6 inches of their fleece behind the high 12 inch back side. I never used or bought any liners. I just could not afford it, but would of loved to have purchased some too !

I used 2 layers of u-haul furniture pads underneath 1 layer of anti-pill fleece. In highly used areas, like in corners, and underneath their hidey's or cozy's, I put another square scrap of u-haul furniture pad, and fleece in those areas, then changed those out during the week if needed. Here is a picture of an example of what I mean.

(broken link removed)




This above is my girl Buttercup, see the green fleece underneath their wooden hidey ? You can also almost make out the grey u-haul furniture pad underneath.

I know there are many sites where you can purchase cage fleece liners....I have to go now, but later I will try and find some of those sites for you, if you would like !