Where to put the cage.

Still no reply, but I shall just ask another question...........I am SO happy as I have just found somewhere here in France where I can get the panels. Does 40 euros sound alright for 10 cubes (38 panels) + clips?

Please can someone tell me how many panels we need to support a one storey 4 by 2 cage........if I wasn't to put it directly on to a table? Also If I was to put it directly on to a table I am presuming that there is no need to put panels under the Coroplast - but I assume it is necessary when building upwards?

You can keep adding new cage questions to this thread. It will make it easier for everyone, including you to keep things contained.

They don't really NEED natural light, although I'm sure they would appreciate a bit of sun sometimes. If you give them floortime to run around in a room that gets sunshine, that would be good. I've never noticed that my crew has issues one way or the other with light, but I don't have a multi-level cage. As far as a calm place, I've actually found that the more they can be around people, the more social they get, and the more that you will enjoy them if you can walk by and give them a little pet or scoop one up for an impromptu cuddle from time to time.

I'm sure it's a habit, but I need to ask you to stop using the ...... so often in your posting. In most cases, you can start a new sentence or just use a comma.

Thank you for the reply, my thoughts for the calmer place were more to do with my toddler son. The hallway is a place that we are VERY often passing through, but not somewhere that my son plays alone with his toys - I did think it would be a safer area.

The ....... is a good way of making posting clearer, a lot of the posts I have read have been very clogged long paragraphs which are not at all easy to read. It is something that I learnt in English writing classes, therefore I presumed it was correct grammar. Not to worry, I shall stop using it if it bothers you.

If you go higher than 1 level, you will need to use the grids, or some other support under the next level for the coroplast flooring. I think some here have used a piece of plywood cut to size instead of grids, but we used grids and it worked well.

Underneath, I used grids as a support. I have a 3 living level 2x5 with storage underneath, all built with grids. For the bottom storage level, I used grids along the sides and backs, and in the middle for support. I left the front open so I can slide things in and out underneath.

Oh, and for support, I highly recommend 2-3 cable ties for each junction of grids if you are going higher. I use the ties and the connectors that came with the grids. The connectors really help stabilize the corners and also help greatly to keep the whole thing 'square' so it doesn't lean or sag.

Here's a picture of the lower storage section to help you see what I mean.

Have fun building your piggie castle!

https://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j59/arlee453/P6130056.jpg

Thanks katycavyNC, your cage is great. For what reason have you got the lighting inside? Is that something I need to think about also? It looks great but is it a necessity, or something I could add in the future if I decided to?

The storage boxes are great too, I am going to put those down on my list of things to get.

How do you get into your cage on the lower level? And for cleaning out, does it open up so that you can get out all the muck easily?

I have also seen that it appears that the guinea pigs have chewed at the coroplast, is this normal? Is it dangerous?

How many guinea pigs do you have in that cage? What is the actual floor space taken up, and how high does it go? I have spent the passed few days measuring various parts of the house, figuring out where I can make the biggest cage - my partner has started calling me a guinea pig with all the research I have been doing, he said I even talk about them in my sleep!

I am noticing that many people do not use shavings or paper etc as bedding, but they use some kind of carpet type material. Is this a good thing to do, as for me (who knows nothing) it appears a strange thing to put in an animal cage.

Lucy I feel that you need to start slowly and work your way up. You are trying to do too much at one time. There is no reason for a first time GP owner to have a multi-story cage. If you are getting 2 pigs then a 2 x 5 is plenty of room and a cage to be proud of.

You also can start with bedding (kiln/heat dried pine, aspen, Carefresh, and what other safe ones there are) and then switch to fleece. If you start with fleece and decide you don't like it, you have spent much money. Many folks on here use bedding and see no reason to switch. We all choose the bedding according to our lifestyles and pocketbooks.

My cage is on 3 tables. You can see it as well as the very first one I ever made in my gallery. I will tell you this, I am not satisfied with it. I want to redo it but I won't know until I get my other projects done around here. We have a sickness on this forum called Cage Fever. You will get it, I have no doubt, but for now, take it easy and stay simple.

My cage is in the dining room. I vacuum, watch TV, listen to the radio, wash dishes, and do laundry. The pigs are fine and even my chinchilla sleeps through it all.

I like to know other people opinions on all aspects before making my own, hence why I will be asking questions that make it sound like I will be running out and buying a million or so panels to have myself the biggest cage ever to be seen.

I am not actually like that, and I do intend to just start off with the one storey basic cage, but I would like the storage space underneath - I just like to know the options for the future.

I also don't intend to even start looking for piggies to adopt until October. Which gives me plenty of time to figure out exactly what I am doing before doing it - if that makes sense. Also to have my piggie home all well and trully set up before they get there. I certainly am not someone that buys (nor adopts) on impulse - except my pony, but then I already had other horses and know full well how to look after them!

They don't really NEED natural light

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I have always been under the impression that they did need some natural sunlight for the production of Vitamin D like us humans do. I am gonna have to go digging around gl now.

We have a sickness on this forum called Cage Fever.

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Beware, this is a highly contagious disease! I've had it many times myself and am starting to get it again.

The material you see in cages is not carpeting but it's material called fleece. If you do a forum search, you can find tons of threads on fleece and how it's used. I started using fleece when I was a cavy newbie and upon rare occasion, I will use a different bedding in the cage, like if I go out of town for a few days. That's just to make it easier on my dad and brother who take care of my herd when I am gone.

Well I just did some measuring and I see no way to change a thing around. I would not be able to open Buddy's cage door! That won't do at all. I still have time to ponder and measure over and over (as if the room will grow) while I sew other things. If I was going to go from a horseshoe to an L, I didn't want to sewing my new fleece toether!!

Ly&Pigs said:

I have always been under the impression that they did need some natural sunlight for the production of Vitamin D like us humans do. I am gonna have to go digging around gl now.

I will use a different bedding in the cage, like if I go out of town for a few days. That's just to make it easier on my dad and brother who take care of my herd when I am gone.

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For the light, I would intend for them to come into the lounge during the day - maybe have a run in there. But the cage in the hallway would be their 'real' home. I can have the doors open, that way they would have natural light, it is just so that I would be able to give them a rest from my 15 month old son by closing the door.

For the bedding, does this mean that the fleece is harder to maintain? Now that I know it is called fleece I will do a search through the forum like you said - thanks.

Fleece is what I call "high maintenance" bedding. It must be spot cleaned daily to keep it looking nice. Fleece also has to have something very absorbable underneath it because it wicks moisture away. But if you have the time and willingness to use fleece, in my opinion, it's the best bedding there is and it's healthy. I've used it for a long time now and I hate shavings and other beddings as they get stuck in the girls hair, leaves them with wet bellies and my girls don't like other beddings either.

So either do a search or go to the bedding and hay forum section and dig around in there.

You're probably right about the vitamin D Ly. I hadn't even thought of that.

The reason I brought it up PM is because I have a Vitamin D deficiency myself. My doctor put me on D supplements and told me to get plenty of sunlight.

Just ordered my first 10 cubes. They were on offer, so rather than wait for the price to go up I bought my first lot - no harm in setting the cage up well in advance now is there!

I have also found the shop where I will be buying all my food and hay - they don't sell pets, just pet food! I can also get all kinds of accessories, including the hamacs and tubes etc, but for that I will wait until I have the cage set up.

Oh I am so excited to start copying you guys in building my first cage.......I can't imagine how excited I will be when I find two little piggies to adopt.

I get the grids tomorrow. I have already drawn out my design, so I know what I intend to do with them. And yes I have kept simple, and it will be only one storey, but hopefully on a cube stand rather on a table - just depends if I am capable of making a good sturdy cage to start with.

Lucy get yourself a pack of cable ties/zip ties to add extra strength. You will feel better using them to reinforce the grid connectors.

jdomans said:

Lucy get yourself a pack of cable ties/zip ties to add extra strength. You will feel better using them to reinforce the grid connectors.

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OK thanks, will do - I am off to the shops later, so shall check out the choice. Anything I should know or are they bog standard?

buy a BIG pack of ties if you are building a multi-level cage - I had to go back 2x for more ties.

Have some pliers and a hammer with you when you're building the cage. It's easier to connect the connectors with them.