Do you have to use Coroplast? Any alternatives?

Try this: https://www.guineapigcages.com/where.htm

This gives you a list where other people have found their C&C supplies.
I know some people have used other times like wood or linoleum instead of the coroplast. I guess it depends where you live if there are alot of places nearby. Usually it doesn't cost too much, $10-20 for a 4'x8' sheet.

Thanks! And also:
:?: What does the coroplast do?
:?: Can you use blankets or towels instead of bedding?

Coroplast keeps the bedding in and provides a stable base on top of the grids. One of my cages is on the floor and I don't have coroplast in that one, just a large tarpaulin sheet
https://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j4/maisiepaisie/DSCF3246.jpg
Coroplast does make it easier to clean though and I will be getting some when I finish building the new cage

You can use linolieum (sp?) as an alternative, I believe.

As far as towels, you can use them as an alternative to bedding, but it's best to use 3 layers of protection.

For instance, I use a mattress pad (that I cut up to fit inside the coroplast), 2 towels (cheap thick ones that I got from Big Lots for 8 bucks each, they're also REALLY long), and a layer of fleece that I got from Joanne Fabric.

The towels and fleece are so thick that the urine doesn't even get as far as the mattress pad. All of the urine soaks up in the towels that I have laid down.

I have 2 extra changes of fleece and 2 more towels so that I don't have to keep washing and changing out the fleece/towels every time. That way whenever I go to wash the used and dirty ones, I already have a clean change of fleece and towels ready to go down.

I change out the fleece every week, every Sunday in fact, and I spot clean 2 times a day with a hand vaccuum to get the poop. It works great. The only way to clean the fleece and towels of urine is to wash them in fragrance free detergent with no fabric softener.
You also have to wash the fleece SEVERAL times to make it absorb the urine. You can test it by putting water on it. If the fleece doesn't absorb the urine, it will sit on top and get the piggy's bottom all wet and dirty. So it's important to make the fleece wick properly (or absorb properly). I love the fleece, I am glad I don't use that gross bedding, plus the spot cleaning only takes about 5 minutes or less to do and I have a 2x4 CC cage with a 1x2 loft. It's easier and cheaper than bedding.

I am currently using lino right now... (I couldn't find coro at a decent price anywhere near me ) and I love it! It is probably the best alternative if you can't get coro in my opinion. It is really easy to clean, and very sturdy ... the only difficulty I had with it was getting it to fit in the cage... The cutting and the measuring was a BIG pain in my you-know-where ...

OSUCavies said:

2 towels (cheap thick ones that I got from Big Lots for 8 bucks each, they're also REALLY long)

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I got my towels from Big Lots too for $5 each and they are huge. My main area is 28x56 and the towel is bigger than that. I looked on the tag and they came from a Holiday Inn Select and they are nice and thick. I was only using one under my fleece and that was working fine, but this time I put 2 under the fleece and now I see my boys sprawled out all the time. It must be more compfy.

I did have to wash my fleece 8 times before it would wick the water. I also have 2 sets and bought more fleece to have some different patterns. I use a little broom and dustpan to clean the poos. I only do it once a day, at night when I give the veggies for the night. While they are eating, I sweep poos, add pellets, check the water and fill up the hay. Takes about 5 minutes max.

As for alternatives to corplast, really anything that you can form to the cage walls and is waterproof will work. Shower curtains, painter's drop cloths, linoleum, tarps, waterproof mattress cover, or even trash bags (I have some super large/thick ones that would work). Look around and see what you already have, use your imagination. That is the great thing about these cages, they are only limited by your imagination.

Happy creating.

TX_2_Pigs said:

I got my towels from Big Lots too for $5 each and they are huge. My main area is 28x56 and the towel is bigger than that. I looked on the tag and they came from a Holiday Inn Select and they are nice and thick. I was only using one under my fleece and that was working fine, but this time I put 2 under the fleece and now I see my boys sprawled out all the time. It must be more compfy.

Click to expand...

Yeah I bought a total of four towels so I could have an extra change, and with those 2 towels under the fleece, NOTHING has absorbed into the mattress pad, yet. So that makes me happy.

I also got my mattress pad from Big Lots for 10 bucks. It was a King size that I cut up. I though it was a pretty decent deal.

I spend way too much time and money at Big Lots! LOL

I adopted (no money exchanged) a Pekingese from one of our clients and she set me up with 10 cloth hospital bedpads. I use disposable pee pee pads for both my pekes so I started using the cloth hospital pads under my pigs 2x3 C&C cage. It worked awesome for soaking up pee. When I get her coroplast cut, I will still use them under the fleece.

Thanks for all the help! My dad built a cage today. It isn't
"exactly" a C&C cage, but it's a good cage I think.

I think your dad gets an A+ for a super job. Do you have a place for hay and vegi's?

Yes. I put the hay in a bowl in the little tote box to the side. And give them veggies in a cup.

It looks terrific, and so big too! I think you'll likely going to have some issues with using carpet for bedding(--if that is what you are using...hard to tell from the picture). Very few pigs ever learn to use a litter box. Carpet harbors bacteria from the poo, and will disintegrate eventually as the urine turns to ammonia which destroys the glues. The glues can also emit chemicals as well. Even if it's outdoor style, it is going to be impossible to disinfect. This is one of the reasons why people use Carefresh or Aspen or fleece or pads for bedding.

You need to be able to to wash and disinfect the pigs "strata" (aka bedding) to keep pigs from getting respiratory infections or worse the dreaded "bumblefoot" which is a fungal foot infection that is nearly impossible to cure. Pigs walking on wet bedding or floors or sitting in wet areas and breathing in ammonia fumes or bacteria build-up

This is another reason why coroplast or linoleum is a preferred base. Once the bedding is removed, you can wipe down the "substrata" (aka floor base) with vinegar to disinfect.

Your going to have so much fun 'tweaking' it to get it just right as the weeks go along. I'm sure you'll find all these things out though as you go along.

I love to try new ways of doing stuff with my own cage. The best part about using cubes is the ability to reconfigure cages without additional costs.

Perfect! Your dad get's an A+ from me too!!!