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Cage and piggie help?

Piggies&Kinz

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Well, first off, please don't get super mad at me.

Okay, so the cage I have for my pig is a pet store cage. I really can't afford a bigger cage right now, but my piggie gets floor time quite often; I take him out sometimes and my dad says he takes him out while I'm at school. What kind of cage should I get him that would be big enough? I don't have the time to build a C&C cage other wise I totally would.

Now I only have one piggie. My other piggie passed away last year. My dad says we give our current pig enough attention and we don't need another. I kind of don't want another...I'm fine with having just one, but I know my piggie would definitely like a friend. But, with the cage I have now, another piggie isn't really do-able. What should I do?
 

OSUCavies

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To be honest with you, the CC cages are not THAT time consuming. For first-timers they can be, but all you need to do is set aside one afternoon to sit down and do it.

I bought all of the supplies before hand.

I think a good option would be to find what you need to build one. One week get the coroplast, another get the zip ties and grids. Etc. Then after you have everything you need, set aside about 4 hours in one afternoon (preferably with your dad, he might actually like doing something like that!)

If you're just looking at sticking with one piggy for now, a 2x3 cage that sits on the floor would not be that difficult to make.

I strongly encourage you to reconsider a CC cage. They are SOOO much less expensive than a petstore cage. You end up spending 100 bucks on a small piece of plastic with wires on it. When you can spend that much on a large CC cage with fleece!

I understand that you might not be ready to take on a CC cage, but for your loner pig, at least do him/her a favor and give him/her somewhere nice to stay like a CC cage since they are all by themselves.

PS Sorry to hear about the loss of your other piggy.

But do keep considering CC cages. They can seem overwhelming at first, but as you can see with the other members, our pigs (not to mention us) are very satisfied.

I would not encourage you to spend all that money on a store bought cage. It's just not worth it at all!
 

pigsforlife

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It didnt take me more than 30 minutes to put together everything from scratch. It really doesnt take long. It is cheap to, $15 for a sheet of corflute that made their cage with bits left over, plus $24 for a 16 pack of grids.

Pigs are social creatures and are better in groups of 2 or more, but you do need an adequate cage otherwise they will fight. For 2 girls this is a 7.5sq ft cage, and for 2 boys a 10.5sq ft cage.

Perhaps this article will help https://www.cavyspirit.com/sociallife.htm
 

Abbie

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How wonderful of you to know that your cage is too small especially for 2 piggies. That is a very mature decision that you have made one I never would of made in my school days.

I live in FL and my 2X4 2 story covered cage cost me a total of $44 dollars to put together and once I got the gist of it only about 1 hour to put together. The cage is the size of one that should it had been store bought would have cost me well over $200. So as you can see a very affordable way to give your piggie a great environment that is better than store bought as you can customize and change the look as often as you like. You do not need fancy store bought hidey holes ... pvc piping (cheap at your local home depot or ace hardware) ... shoe boxes, soda boxes, fleece from the dollar store. Look around the site at all the photos for inexpensive or no cost ideas. You can even incorporate your store bought cage into building a new one so you don't lose out the costs of what you already have. Stores to check for different items are dollar and thrift stores. Garage sales. Anything is possible just get creative and be sure it is safe for your piggy. Any questions be sure to ask. Every one here is very helpful. If you want more details on the grids and coroplast just ask on the site or feel free to send me a message. Hope this helps in your decision on how to give your little one a better habitat! Good Luck to you!
 

pigsforlife

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The cage is the size of one that should it had been store bought would have cost me well over $200.

I doubt you could even find a petstore cage the size of a 2x4. Really, a C&C cage is cheaper and bigger than any petstore cage you could find.
 

clotho

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I agree that it really doesn't take that much time to make a C&C cage. Just read over all the directions and have everything ready ahead of time so you know what to do.

Also, you can buy a kit from this site with the coroplast already cut - but it will cost you more than buying the materials and doing it yourself because of shipping costs. It's an option though if you honestly dont' think you can do it yourself.

If you don't want another guinea pig, then you shouldn't get one. Just love on the one you have and make his life the best you possibly can. The cycle of piggies has to end somewhere if you don't want to keep having more and more piggies.
 

Astrantia

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A simple 2x3 C&C cage can be put together in 20 minutes (including zip ties). The first time I made one, that is how long it took me. At first I just used tarp covered with newspaper and towels for bedding.
 
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