Hopefully soon to be slave in Connecticut saying "Hi"

Hello,
My name is Charlene. I'm very excited to be a member of this group. Currently I am not a slave to any piggies...yet. I AM slave to 2 boys, 1 hubby, 1 dog, 1 cat, 3 ferrets, 1 bird. So let me tell you a little about us...unfortunately this will be a long post so I can cover as many things as possible.

My youngest son (10 years old) wants a pet of his own. He originally wanted a cat but because my oldest sons cat does have feline HIV that is not something I can do in good conscience. So we were going through a list of pets. He at first suggested a reptile (which I've had in the past and LOVE) but knowing him he is not a "lizard kind of kid" like me and my oldest son. So I suggested a guinea pig. He has been on the internet each night for about an hour each night learning what he could and taking notes in a special notebook marked "piggies" (very cute to watch!). He was the one to actually find this group. Knowing that he is 10 and is much to young to learn proper care I have also been doing my research and taking notes. Although this will be his pet I am not naive enough to think he can do this on his own and will need help both in monitoring food, health, cleaning responsibilities, etc. I wanted to outline my plan here and hopefully others could chime in on what I am lacking.

First of all I do know that the cat, dog and ferrets pose a risk to the piggies. I am now an expert at keeping different species of animals away from each other (except the cat and dog with their love/hate relationship). lol My bedroom and my youngest sons bedroom are in a finished basement. The cat and dog are both kept upstairs and do not come down here. My ferrets are kept in my bedroom because both the cat and especially the dog show too much interest in my ferrets. My bird is kept in the office because the cat, dog, and ferrets show too much interest in the bird. The piggies will be kept in my son's room thus keeping them from the cat, dog, bird, and ferrets.

Cage - So I am going to be building a C&C cage. 2x4 grids (with 9 squares). I saw someone post a link to Staples and I also found some at Bed, Bath, and Beyond that have the correct spacing. I am starting with a lower level and will eventually expand to an upper level too. I've been looking over all the cages and have a couple of questions. I want to put the cage up on maybe milk crates to get it up off the floor. If I do this do you think it would be stable enough? Do I need a bottom on the cage? Also I've been looking at the shelving for the top. How do you attach this? When I do add the upper level can I use this shelving as the base to put the coroplast on? I'm sure building this will be no problem once I get my last few questions worked out. When I built a viv for my waterdragon (RIP...I miss him :weepy it was 6'x5'x3' complete with heated pool and waterfall and took a year of planning. This should be much simplier if I could only wrap my head around it. Anywho....I digres. I've also heard and seen some ramps that were external to keep the living quarters more open. I liked this idea but wanted to know how to attach it and make it all secure. I don't want to learn the hard way (ie piggie gets hurt) that I goofed. I've seen some pics but if someone could give me some written pointers I would feel much more confident.

Bedding - haven't decided what to go with yet. Still reading various posts on this and trying to weigh pros and cons to each.

Food - planning to feed Oxbow Cavy Performance (hoping to get 2 younger piggies) and switching to Cavy Cuisine when they are over a year. Also 1 cup fruit/veggies per piggie....is this correct? Any suggestions on a normal "menu"? I know some fruits/veggies have more vitamin C than others so want to make sure I have this right. My oldest son (16) is into gardening and is starting an organic garden (in pots) for our new editions. He's even growing dandelions so we don't have to worry about pestacides from neighbors. Also Timothy Hay available at all times. About how much hay do they go through a month? Next to the enclosure I am going to post a log/checklist on a clip board to help my son monitor what they are eating and how to feed them properly. I already started the "never feed them this" list (ice burg lettuce, nuts, seeds, raw beans, rhubarb, potatoes, etc.) And would like to start a list of "extra good for them and should have (blank) times a day/week".

Supplement - Should I trust the diet is giving them vitamin C they need or should I start supplementing from day 1? I know it should be a human tablet cut up. NO supplements added to water.

Toys/hiddies - no GP ball. Got it. Tubes (big enough so they don't get stuck) is a plus (I have plenty because of the ferrets). Cozy sacks are nice (have bunches of those because of the ferrets too). TP and papertowel rolls cut open are fun. Paper bags (no plastic) allowed on the floor during supervised play time. Igloos and such are appreciated. Any other things your piggie finds extra fun that our little ones may like?

Breeders - Is anyone here a reputable breeder in the southeastern CT or RI area? Would like to get 2 female piggies maybe in late August or even September. I haven't seen any younger ones at the rescues within an hours driving distance. If it was me I would get the oldest one and love it for as long as possible but I can't because this is for my son. He's a very sensitive little boy and it would break his heart if shortly after receiving a piggie it passed from old age.

Any pointers or adivce is most welcome. Please be gentle.