C&C Hoping to switch from Midwestern to c and c cage

I mean yes I can afford the cage if there was a bit of a miscommunication

I'm using fleece and I love that my piggies stay clean and dry. I also notice that they can run and play easily on the fleece. I've had them on traditional bedding a couple of times and they have to kind of run/hop across it and if they sit where they peed it stays on them. As far as the cost of fleece it pays for itself quickly. You could easily spend $100+ a month on bedding.

Holy crud it's like looking in a mirror! I experienced the exact same thing. Bob was in a crummy pet store cage so I built him a c and c one. A day or two before it was complete, my mom forbid me from using in. Much arguing commences and eventually I prove to her Bob loves the bigger space and she learns to accept it. She still thinks it leaks though. Both her and my stepdad also forbid fleece for the same reason--which I completely agree is absolutely ridiculous! She actually made me throw out a yard of perfectly good fleece because I used it for bedding for a day. I actually ordered uhual lining at first, and she took it away from me because she forbid me from using it as bedding. She means well, but sometimes her stubborness is down-right aggrivating.

Now, I actually use wood pellets as bedding, (for the same reason as you--they're dirt cheap) although you're supposed to put fleece on them and they'll last a couple months but instead I have to pick out the poops from the pellets every morning and night and it's such a pain...if you can, just use fleece on pellets. For the single day I used it, it was magical.

I completely understand your pain though. Unfortunatly, I have very little advice when it comes to persuasion...my parents eventually just accepted Bob's new cage and I've learned not to push the boundries when it comes to his care, for now anyway. I wish you the best of luck, though....

@wombats Where do you get wood pellets? I'm in the Bay Area part of CA by the way. And what type of pellets would be best?

I wouldn't know where around there you could find them (I live on the east coast) but the two main kinds are ones used for horses as bedding (found in tractor stores or farm/pet supply stores like in my town) and some people have had luck finding them sold as stove pellets for warming houses in places like Lowe's or maybe Home Depot, but some say they aren't available all year and you need to find the ones without an accellerant in them, which might be on the stove ones so they burn better.

With any pellet, make sure it doesn't smell too strongly of pine, as the fumes can be harmful to guinea pigs. If it has no smell or a very faint smell, it should be just fine, but "airing it out" doesn't hurt, and if you put fleece on top (you really should--save yourself the misery of just wood pellets) that's mask some of the scent as well.

Maybe you could start by getting the C&C cage, but continuing to use wood/pellet bedding. I'm actually doing this now (although my cage is wood, it has a coroplast insert just like a C&C) and it's not too bad. It is a pain to pick the poops out. I'm using aspen and it does a decent job of absorbing urine. But I am scooping out what seems like a lot of bedding every day. I have not had any issue with it going through the cracks in the corners. Although I admit that I'm planning to switch to fleece over wood pellets soon.

Another thought, what if you used fleece and took your load of guinea pig laundry to a laundromat? Not sure if you are old enough to drive yourself or maybe you can walk to one?

I'm not old enough to drive, but there is a laundromat I can walk to...

If you're walking to a laundromat, I definitely recommend fleece over wood pellets. I am an adult who lives with a roommate because then I have the finances to do more fun things, but my roommate last year didn't quite understand the guinea pig fleece went in the washing machine and freaked out and banned it (she was also generally a sketchy human being, lying cheating etc.). So I had to trek across the complex to the complex laundry area. Fleece isn't that heavy to carry, but wet towels/uhaul etc. is heavy on a long walk. And I routinely lift 50 lbs buckets of sand, gravel and asphalt because that's what I study (yes I am a girl!).

You could also get a coroplast base for the Midwest cage, they sell them in the Cages Store... But if you really want the C&C then go for it!

You're right, the coroplast base for the Midwest seems perfect. However it is so expensive I might As well just get the C&C!! I think the main reason why my parents don't want me to get a C&C cage is because I just bought the Midwestern... Oh boy why is everything so COMPLICATED?!

Hahaha I understand. You could just buy and score your own sheet of coroplast though; I know the ones at the guineapigcages store are a lot more expensive. I know homedepot sells smaller sheets for $14, but I'm not sure if one is big enough to make a base with. You can also look for sign shops if there are any near you and ask if they sell coroplast. A good price for coroplast is $30 or less--anything more and it's a rip off.

Hopefully it all works out.

magicpiggie said:

@wombats Where do you get wood pellets? I'm in the Bay Area part of CA by the way. And what type of pellets would be best?

Click to expand...

I'm in Bay Area too. I buy wood pellets from OSH. 40lbs bag costs about $6.

I would make the switch. It will be a lot easier.

Pros and cons of C and C cages
PROS
Bigger and better for your piggie!
Easy to clean
Cheap
Expandable
Customizable (like different colors, sizes, etc)

CONS
Hard to find coroplast sometimes

I don't do stuff like teaching how to convince your parents. But the way I did it was to show how much of a difference it would make to the guinea pigs. And how wonderful it would be.


Fleece is very cheap, after you get started. All you need is for a 2X5, is about 2 yards, which is 20$ But you will also need a second pair so thats another 20$ (unless there is a sale at Joanns for 50% off which they are right now so I will calculate that way)
Or go to walmart and they have big fleece throws for cheap
So so far we have 20$ from Joanns
Get some old towels or U haul. U haul is about 8.00 each
So now we have 36$ Thats all you will need to buy for a LONG time.

Now, fleece pros and cons

Pros
Cheaper
Prettier
Soft on piggie feet
Customizable
Reusable

CONS
You will have to sweep up poops every day
You will need to do laundry

And how to convince parents to use fleece? Show them the price difference!

Thanks so much everyone! This is helping and my parents are definitely leaning towards saying yes! To fleece at least. But the C&C is definitely a work in progress!! Even my mom, who is anti rodent! Or at least, I hope they are leaning toward yes.

Yes but they don't care about the money because I am paying for everything.