Where People & Piggies Thrive

Newbie or Guinea Guru? Popcorn in!

Register for free to enjoy the full benefits.
Find out more about the NEW, drastically improved site and forum!

Register

C&C Alternatives Input on an idea i have

ajverret

Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Mar 9, 2017
Posts
18
Joined
Mar 9, 2017
Messages
18
My son has two pigs, they have a large store bought cage roughly 2ftx4ft and an attachable play yard. He is getting a bunk bed and instead of putting a mattress on the bottom bunk i'm building a cage.

Heres the idea, it will be all wood construction with vinyl flooring glued and corners sealed. i want it to be divided into two seperate areas, one for the sleeping and hiding area and the other for the play yard. Sleep area will have bedding on top of vinyl, my concern is in the play yard. In the current play yard they have no fleece or bedding they just climb out onto my wood floors and i havnt had an issue with messes, they seem to climb back into the trey with the bedding to potty and what not. So in the new cage i was thinking of leaving it with the bare vinyl flooring, the divider will be enough to keep the bedding in that area but low enough to use a ramp to get in and out of.

Any input is greatly appriciated, Thanks
 

CavyTV

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Mar 6, 2016
Posts
688
Joined
Mar 6, 2016
Messages
688
Sounds very creative :) Make sure the cage is large enough for 2 pigs. Ideally, females need at least a 2x5 (28in.x70in.) and males need at least a 2x6 (28in.x84in.). However, bigger is always better. During puberty (around 4-18 months) guinea pigs will try to estabish who the leader will be. This can involve on-going squabbling, mounting, chasing, nipping--all of the dominance behaviors. Space is usually the key to keep guinea pigs at peace. It's also not just the getting along part that matters; guinea pigs need a lot of room to run laps. The first cage you mentioned is not nearly enough for 2 pigs. It's only a little bigger than a 2x3, which is the minimum for one pig. As long as the cage is a proper size and it's safe, I see no problem with building it. The idea is great; I'm sure your son will love it!
 
Last edited:

ajverret

Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Mar 9, 2017
Posts
18
Joined
Mar 9, 2017
Messages
18
b05a197c549549df24d16794629ad998.jpg


Current set up, we don't use the fleece anymore

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk
 

ajverret

Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Mar 9, 2017
Posts
18
Joined
Mar 9, 2017
Messages
18
just looked up the actual size, its 36in x 18in, habitat only with the attached play yard it more than doubles its size
 

ajverret

Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Mar 9, 2017
Posts
18
Joined
Mar 9, 2017
Messages
18
I guess my main concern is the floor in the yard not having fleece, could this he an issue. The new can be will be around 12sq/ft

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk
 

lissie

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Jan 25, 2009
Posts
8,190
Joined
Jan 25, 2009
Messages
8,190
I think it would be too slippery for them to run laps.
 

ajverret

Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Mar 9, 2017
Posts
18
Joined
Mar 9, 2017
Messages
18
I thought about that, but i recently replaced the floors in my camper and the vinyl I used had a rubber texture. Kinda hard to explain but it wasn't like the normal slick smooth vinyl

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk
 

lissie

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Jan 25, 2009
Posts
8,190
Joined
Jan 25, 2009
Messages
8,190
You could try it out. If you notice them slipping, you can always add fleece later.
 

ajverret

Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Mar 9, 2017
Posts
18
Joined
Mar 9, 2017
Messages
18
Thanks. I'll give it a whirl

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk
 

bpatters

Moderator
Staff member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Posts
29,251
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Messages
29,251
I think the only flaw is the assumption that they'll have specific places to sleep and play. They'll pretty much do whatever they please, and there won't be much you can do about it. They may like your arrangement, they may not. Just be prepared to be flexible.
 

ajverret

Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Mar 9, 2017
Posts
18
Joined
Mar 9, 2017
Messages
18
It's going to arranged close to their current cage they seem to do well no matter what I put them in

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk
 

ajverret

Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Mar 9, 2017
Posts
18
Joined
Mar 9, 2017
Messages
18
Ok so I had to scratch the bunk bed idea. It's just not gonna work out. So I took his old bed frame and modified it to work.

It's gonna be a 2x5 panel cage, I wanted to do 2x6 but just didn't have to space
a200a80baf2a692c88bada5a4f85622b.jpg
115d757ff4d0f1d64369681f69ef9eae.jpg


Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk
 

bpatters

Moderator
Staff member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Posts
29,251
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Messages
29,251
That should work as long as you can get the bottom thoroughly waterproofed. If the urine soaks into the wood, it will become a moldy, stinking mess very quickly.

I do have a couple of suggestions. One is to raise the box up on legs so the cage is easier for you to clean and the pigs are closer to you. It will also let you store things underneath it. The second is to create drawers in that box -- that's an awful lot of wasted space, and the longer you have pigs, the more "stuff" you accumulate that has to be stored.
 

ajverret

Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Mar 9, 2017
Posts
18
Joined
Mar 9, 2017
Messages
18
I put vinyl flooring down as a liquid barrier. They do not use the bathroom anywhere but on the bedding in the cage they are in so I'm gonna leave it open

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk
 

ajverret

Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Mar 9, 2017
Posts
18
Joined
Mar 9, 2017
Messages
18
939d36656dba32682d4caa739ecfa0ff.jpg
ffde5f7c4eb6cda93b8d533ba0ceb55e.jpg


Semi complete. Have a few things I want to change but this will have to do for a couple weeks

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk
 

ajverret

Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Mar 9, 2017
Posts
18
Joined
Mar 9, 2017
Messages
18
48f36b3c0038e91c9d1259df3602d3ee.jpg
f46ecce3f3caab61f9c0ea57f9cd910b.jpg
fc304c390a25301b9f939a772859aeda.jpg


Pretty much finished, will add the wood pellets bedding and fleece when we use the rest of the paper bedding. Grabbed a gravity feeder, and a new hay rack. Hay rack is a little small, will figure something else out. So far so good

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk
 

ajverret

Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Mar 9, 2017
Posts
18
Joined
Mar 9, 2017
Messages
18
I'm gonna add a hard top and ramp to the houses to give then something else to do

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk
 

CavySpirit

Administrator
Staff member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Jan 3, 2004
Posts
6,979
Joined
Jan 3, 2004
Messages
6,979
Generally speaking:

Cages in a bedroom, not a good idea, lots of reasons. Lots of threads with plenty of arguing about it can be found. Health of your kids, top of the list.
Wooden cages, not a good idea. Has to be completely sealed. (any exposed wood, not good)
Grids inside the cage walls, not a good idea. Going to be a serious, uncleanable mess.
Fleece or normal bedding, definitely required.

Can't see any reason why you wouldn't make it easy on yourself and put a coroplast base inside the grids? Hugely safer and sanitary and infinitely easier to clean.

You should think of the wooden base as a lovely stand, not the cage itself. :)
 

ajverret

Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Mar 9, 2017
Posts
18
Joined
Mar 9, 2017
Messages
18
That's all it is, it's a stand. The vinyl floor is the liquid barrier. 2 days in and no mess outside of the bedding box

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk
 

ajverret

Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Mar 9, 2017
Posts
18
Joined
Mar 9, 2017
Messages
18
I scratched the idea of it going in the bedroom

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.
Top