Size Size vs location

heather81 · May 1, 2016

We have 2 boars that we rescued several months back, one from the animal shelter, the other from the local rescue. We have a small house with limited area to put a larger cage. I had guinea pig in High School (back in the 90's) so I did some research prior to getting them. We started out with a 2x3 and then expanded it to a 2x4 with 1x4 loft prior to adopting our second piggy. Originally the cage was in my son's room (who doesn't even sleep in there) and we would put them in a playpen in the living room during the day. A few times they just stayed in their cage all day and then sometimes they would never go back to their cage and just stay in the living room. I then decided it would be better to move their cage to the living room so they would be in an area we were constantly in and not forgotten in a bedroom. The downside to moving them is that the only place we could put a cage would only allow a 2x3, not the 2x4 they had been in. I noticed a lot more bickering from them and was able to make enough space to expand it to a 2x3.5 and then later added a 1x3.5 loft which they love. In moving them to the living room they get SO much more attention. We still give them floor time as well. My question is, is it better to keep them in the living room where we have them, even if we can't have a bigger cage for them, or keep them in a separate room with a larger cage (I have to see how much room I could take up in my other sons room, possibly 2x5?)?

(This is their current cage before a few changes were made)

heather81 · May 1, 2016

The problem is this is the only usable wall in the room without purchasing new furniture. To the left of the cage is the front door and I built the cage so the door would just clear it so as not to knock it when it opens and it extends until the opening to the right of it for the hall. Just next to that is our entertainment center which you can see the end of just next to the cage in the picture and it takes up the entire wall. The rest of the wall space is a sectional couch that extends from the front door, to the corner, along the opposite wall and ends a foot shy of our bedroom door. The only other place besides there without a major purchase is in one of our boys bedrooms, but they're only in there to grab clothes or a toy. I have thought about making it into a stacked 2x3 with ramp to give them a little more room or making it extend 1 grid wide to the wall behind the door, but we were afraid something might happen to them or the cage when someone opens the door if they weren't careful. I have looked at 1,000s of different photos to try and come up with the best solution, but we just don't have the space in the main part of the house without getting rid of furniture (I tried to convince my husband to get rid up the entertainment center and put them under the tv).

lissie · May 1, 2016

Try this (broken link removed). It lets you adjust the clearings. (broken link removed)

If that works for you, it will allow you to expand the cage at the current location.

Is a 3 grid deep cage an option? If you can't go longer, you could make it deeper.

heather81 · May 6, 2016

This is the area I have to work with if I keep them in the living room.

barbaramudge · May 7, 2016

Could you set the sectional so the back comes out into the room so the back would be facing the door? Then move the tv stuff to the corner/wall where the short end of the sectional was and but the cage on the current tv wall? I drew a pic but don't laugh...lol

lunarminx · May 7, 2016

You do not have a coffee table, can you put the cage where a coffee table would go? Make it one level and take the stand away. you can leave the stand where the cage is now and add a top to it and still use the storage under it. Never mind about the top, I see its a tables and not made of grids. You could make it a 2x5 maybe in that area?

heather81 · May 7, 2016

Thanks for the ideas. It sounds like it is definitely more important to have them out and part of the family. The stand is made out of grids and is on casters to move for easy cleaning. We have a coffee table, it's just not in the frame of the picture. I can measure to see if we could rearrange things, but the sectional is so large I think it would span to the cage and not leave a walkway if we were to turn it and the open space in front of the cage is where we set up the playpen for floor time and it'seems also where my kids play.

barbaramudge · May 7, 2016

Good luck @heather81! Our living room is weird and small too so I feel your pain

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

heather81 · Jun 1, 2016

This was my solution for now:

I made an opening in one of the grids and attached a ramp that goes to a large pen in the middle of our living room. If we need the floor space I can remove the ramp and floor pen and clip an extra grid over the opening. It adds an extra 16 Sq ft if I make it a square and an extra 23 sq ft if I add 2 grids to make it easier to get in the storage (as in the picture above).

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Size Size vs location

heather81

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heather81

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lissie

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heather81

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barbaramudge

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heather81

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heather81

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