Upper Levels What's wrong?

Vanilla eXe · Sep 5, 2009

What's the beef you all have with upper levels? I've read a few posts where people have said upper levels don't count, and then there's the big deal about ramps taking up space, when they only really take up a small amount of space near the bottom that's too small for the piggie to climb under. I think having a second level would make the bottom level seem more favorable to them since they would be covered overhead, thus feeling more secure. Also, some people have significantly sized upper levels, so why shouldn't those count in the overall square footage of the cage? An upper level is a great way to make a bigger cage when you don't have much space to utilize in the first place. I don't have a second level, I'm just curious why it seems like most people here try to discourage it. I'd think anything you can do to convince people to make their pigs cage bigger would be a good thing, especially for those who either don't have the space or are reluctant to use it for Guinea Pigs.

juliaaa · Sep 5, 2009

People don't really discourage upper levels. We just try to make it clear that they don't really count as floor space because most, but as you said, not all, upper levels are fairly small. The point of us not exactly rejoicing upper levels is so the less informed people who come to this site don't think it's ok to have 2x2 cage just so long as they have a 1x2 upper level. If you have the appropriate sized cage, then yeah, upper levels are great, but they're more for us than the piggies because most piggies would just want the larger space to run.

rabbitsncavyluv · Sep 5, 2009

Guinea pigs need room to run laps. Usually the ramps take up floor space for them to be able to do this. The upper levels don't add to the cage space because it is not flat land.

My pigs hide under the ramp or covered loft so it made them less secure.

Vanilla eXe · Sep 5, 2009

That really doesn't make much sense. A lot of ramps are added in such a way that they aren't really in the way of running space anymore than a toy or food dish would be. Also, the ramp it's self is room to run, and just because it's not flat space doesn't make it any less of a workout to run on. Does running up or down a ramp cause them to gain calories rather than lose them? I can understand the concern when people have a smaller upper level, but I wouldn't really call those a level, more of a loft.

Also, how did it make them less secure? Does that mean adding a hidey hole or pigloo makes them less secure because they hide in it? They are prey animals, and they like cover. If they have it, they will utilize it and utilizing it doesn't make them less secure. Being able to hide actually makes them feel less stressed, and we all know that stress is a bad thing.

Paula · Sep 5, 2009

Upper levels aren't discouraged, they just don't count toward the space requirement for the cage.

Sometimes people think they can add levels to count toward the overall cage space and it really doesn't work that way with pigs. Pigs aren't climbers and so it's more important for them to have adequate space on the first level than to have multiple levels, because they may or may not use them.

If you want to build a mansion for your pigs with several levels, that's great, but the most important thing is making sure that you've met the space requirements for that first level because it may be the only one the pigs ever use. They are not chinchillas or rats or other animals that generally like to climb.

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Upper Levels What's wrong?

Vanilla eXe

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juliaaa

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rabbitsncavyluv

Well-known Member

Vanilla eXe

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Paula

Pigaholic Extraordinaire

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