My first homemade cage!

Your gp is soo adorable! how many piggies do you have? If you only have one then you need to get anotherone asap, because guineapigs are social animals and need the company of there own kind, as you cant talk or be with them 24/7. I think its great that you build her a C&C cage, she must be very happy, but would be more happy if you got her a buddy??!!

We just go her a week ago. I'm still waiting for a reply from a rescue center in my area. The cage had to be built before they would let me adopt and they wanted to see pictures of it. She'll have a buddy very soon. Maybe even 2!

Angel is gorgeous, festara! And the cage is brilliant, well done.

Oh Angel is a sweetie. Glad to hear that you have built your cage. I bet Angel loves it.

Would love to see pictures of your cage. And thanks for sharing that picture of Angel with us. (What I could see of your daughter. She looks like a little Angel herself.)

festara using those kid's foam puzzle-pieces is brilliant! They look really cute as well, hehe.

I would just be concerned that if your guinea pig pees in the cage, with nothing to absorb the pee they would be walking/sitting in the dampness? As I don't believe that foam absorbs the liquids, but I may be wrong.

Ok your idea for the cage is good but I do need to make a few suggestions. First I agree with kimmee, even though they are very cushiony, you really need to have something down to absorb the urine (either aspen or fleece or a combination of things). Secondly, the food has colored bits in it. You'll want to get Angel a plain pellet food like Mazuri or Oxbow, etc...And the little chew toy with the nuts and seeds on it, can be a choking hazard to your piggie. Any thing with nuts and seeds can be a choking hazard. Good luck and I hope you can find Angel a buddy, she'll appreciate it.

If your getting more then just 1 other piggie your probably goin to need even more space. I had 3 piggers in a 2x3 (which yours seems close to the same size as) and the main issue was so much poo's everywhere and of course they would walk over it and it'd get all over there feet. Also it was kinda crowded with the 3 girls running about.

SpoiledlilPigs said:

If your getting more then just 1 other piggie your probably goin to need even more space. I had 3 piggers in a 2x3 (which yours seems close to the same size as) and the main issue was so much poo's everywhere and of course they would walk over it and it'd get all over there feet. Also it was kinda crowded with the 3 girls running about.

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This is a 2x4. Once we move it to a more permanent spot (right now it's in the middle of the livingroom), then we are adding a full second floor. According to the C&C instructions 2x4 is ok for 2 gp's and I think it's pretty darn big in there anyway.

Jenn, Angel actually uses the little plastic thing we put in the corner as a litter box with bedding in it. If she were to have an accident it's very easy to clean off the foam. I give her plain pellet food, but add a small handful of this mixed food because she goes nuts over it. Plus I add some small fresh carrot pieces and sometimes fresh pieces of apple. The hanging nut thing is something my husband bought for her. She really loves it and I see no problem with it. I don't leave it on the cage at night. It's only there when I'm around, just in case it starts to fall apart, so I can take it out quickly.

Being a mom of 3 young children really helps. I just treat her as if she was one of my babies and use the same common sense (and a watchful eye) as I do with my kids. I spend all day at home and she is always where we can see her.

ah, like most cage pictures it looks smaller then it actually is a 2x4 is fine my mistake.

Well, I'm happy to hear that Angel uses the potty to pee and poop in. I wish I could get my girls to do that. I have four potty areas and they do use these but they use the fleece as well.

As far as the nuts and seeds, I have three children as well and wouldn't consider giving them anything that they couldn't have including things like peanut butter, popcorn and such when they were babies. I've seen it posted over and over that piggies should not have any thing with nuts and seeds on them or in them. It is a choking hazard. I'm sorry but that's what I've been told so I choose not to do it. Plain pellets should be given. The apple bits and carrots are ok.

You wanted us to let you know what we think, so I did. I still think there should be something besides the kiddie foam puzzles down. Angel may use the potty really well but your new girl(s) may not know how to. Just a thought.

I gotta agree with everything JennG said. I was goin to post it but didnt wanna be rude. Not saying that JennG is being rude shes just simply stating whats been said over and over on this forum. Which ive also read a bunch about.

I also feel that the puzzel pieces, although they are a good idea, arnt sutable for there situation.

It's not uncommon for guinea pigs to choke on seeds and it's very unhealthy for him. Those mixes generally contain ethoxyquin which is a cancer causing preservative that guinea pigs have been proven sensitive to. It also has all sorts of artificial colors and possibly sweeteners. Along with animal and corn products. Mixes almost always contain at least a few of these unhealthy ingredients and often more. At the least you will have a fat unhealthy guinea pig. At the most you could have a dead guinea pig. Take a look at the ingredients list and then at this page https://guinealynx.info/pellets.html.
Pellet mixes are junk food. Using some of Jenn's example it's like feeding a kid candybars and potato chips at every meal. Yea, they like it but it can be dangerous for their health. Pellet mixes not only have junk food ingredients but can have some dangerous ones as well like the ethoxyquin.

aqh88 said:

It's not uncommon for guinea pigs to choke on seeds and it's very unhealthy for him. Those mixes generally contain ethoxyquin which is a cancer causing preservative that guinea pigs have been proven sensitive to. It also has all sorts of artificial colors and possibly sweeteners. Along with animal and corn products. Mixes almost always contain at least a few of these unhealthy ingredients and often more. At the least you will have a fat unhealthy guinea pig. At the most you could have a dead guinea pig. Take a look at the ingredients list and then at this page https://guinealynx.info/pellets.html.
Pellet mixes are junk food. Using some of Jenn's example it's like feeding a kid candybars and potato chips at every meal. Yea, they like it but it can be dangerous for their health. Pellet mixes not only have junk food ingredients but can have some dangerous ones as well like the ethoxyquin.

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I do understand everyone's concern about the mix. I do only give her a tiny amount and it's more for a snack than for a meal. She gets her pellets, veggies and some fruits and plenty of hay, but she really loves the nuts. So I just give her a little taste everyday. None of it is very big. What you see in the picture is the veggies pieces I had just put in.

As for the puzzle pieces, I did buy a big roll of fleece (the same as under the loft) and I'll probably put that on top of the mats.

Thanks for the back up guys. Festara-We're not trying to be rude but we're trying to educate you. I hope you don't take this personally just constructive critism (sp?) Sorry major brain fart.

1 piece or 1 cup it's still ruining her good diet and introducing her to something that could potentially kill her either by choking or from the unhealthy ingredients. Plenty of small animals have suddenly developed things like tumors or mysteriously died when given just a handful of junk mix temporarily while their owner was out of high quality food. I used to talk to alot of people with hamsters and gerbils that died from those mixes and guinea pigs are even more sensitive to some of the ingredients. My sister's hamsters always had tumors, arthritis, diabetes, and other health problems when on those cheap mixes. The same companies make the guinea pig mixes as the hamster mixes and they actually have similar ingredients. Especially the cheapest ones like hartz and kaytee. Personally no matter how much they like it it's not a risk I'm willing to take with my own animals.

A wee bit off topic...
Years ago, (in the dark-ages) I actually had one of my boys get a sunflower seed stuck on his front teeth. At first I didn't know what was wrong with him. He was just running around his cage, and when he would stop he would move his mouth strangely.

I picked him up and saw that the seed was stuck on his two front teeth. I tried to get the thing off, but was so concerned that I was going to pull out his front teeth. I was in tears.

I must have been praying pretty loud, cause the seed came off.
Never, ever again did we put any seeds in their food.

This occurred when it was thought that "pet stores" had correct knowledge, and that packaging with a cavy on the front meant that it was OK to give to your guinea pig.

Live and learn, huh?

The same thing happened to Tarzan when he was just a little baby. He kept swinging his head back and forth against the cage. I thought he was having a seizure, but there was a seed stuck in his front teeth. I also had to take them out of Spaz's teeth a few times. It's scary, I can't imagine what would have happened if the coked on it instead.

fourbwabbys isn't it awful that some pet food companies would actually place harmful food in their products.

I am so thankful for sites like this where we can get *good* information from truly knowledgeable individuals.

Is it OK to give cavies creamy peanut-butter on something?


Like smear just a tad on an apple or carrot or something, for flavour? I have never given a guinea pig peanut-butter, but I'm curious if it's really bad for them... I doubt creamy would be a choking hazard, as long as it isn't too much plain peanut butter (hence the spreading it on an apple, which is really watery).