Where People & Piggies Thrive

Newbie or Guinea Guru? Popcorn in!

Register for free to enjoy the full benefits.
Find out more about the NEW, drastically improved site and forum!

Register

The Ugliest Cage Ever

VoodooJoint

Cavy Champion, Previous Forum Moderator!
Cavy Slave
Joined
Sep 5, 2004
Posts
8,865
Joined
Sep 5, 2004
Messages
8,865
I have a dirty little secret. I have the ugliest cage ever. I wouldn't put pictures up before because it's hideous. I have finally gotten brave enough to post some though. Mostly because of how much my girls love their new addition.

On the other hand I am remarkably proud of my cage as it is made with 100% recycled materials. The only items in or on the cage that were bought new (other then food, bedding and hay) is the pigloo, the water bottle and the zip ties to hold it all together. Even the Guinea Pigs in the cage were used as they were rescues.

I am lucky that we have an organization near me called "The Green Project". This place sells used and leftover building materials super cheap as I way to keep them from ending up in landfills. For anyone with an imagination this place is a goldmine.

The base of the cage is an old metal pan from a Giant Breed Dog's collapsable kennel. It measures a little over 34" x 52". The bars are made from reused wire shelving. The corroplast sides (to hold the bedding in) are old political and promotional signs. You can't see it well, but in the picture of Dilly (tri-colored) in the hay loft the corroplast behind her says "Support the Arts 2006"...Dilly is such a hippie beatnik!

The newly added loft area is a piece of second hand MDF board (a super dense but thin and strong particle board). To protect the GPs from chewing on the board and to protect the board from pee I covered it with leftover vinyl peal and stick tiles from when I did my kitchen floor.

The ramp is a corrugated plastic drainage tube that I picked up at The Green Project. The pigs LOVE that tube.

Second hand accesories in the cage are a 4" PVC pipe and a cube panel bent into a U with thrift store fabric over it. The cuddle pouch in the loft is a mix of an old pair of my husband's jeans and my daughter's old sweatshirt. I still have a small plastic tub that I'm not sure if it will become a hidey house or a hay rack.

Total cost to build my cage, add the loft and the second hand accesories = $6.35.

Guinea Pigs loving their home no matter how ugly it is = priceless
 
Last edited:

Lost_Soul

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Mar 14, 2005
Posts
186
Joined
Mar 14, 2005
Messages
186
its great!!!! Hay as long as the piggers are happy thats all that matters...And its not that ugly;) And a lot of bang for your buck is always good!!!:D
 

Myspoiltpiggies

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Apr 16, 2005
Posts
1,440
Joined
Apr 16, 2005
Messages
1,440
That looks like fun! It doesn't look like an ugly cage at all to me!!.. and what a bargain for the materials!
 

Sabriel

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Mar 13, 2005
Posts
2,435
Joined
Mar 13, 2005
Messages
2,435
If you really want to pretty up the cage (even though I don't think it's ugly) go to Walmart or Toys R Us and buy those childrens' room decorations that can be peeled off and stuck onto whatever surface. You know the Disney/Cartoon ones. Buy whatever is on sale or tickles your fancy. It's not something you can get used, but it'll make you feel better :)

The only reason I have the My Little Pony Cage is because my husband had to go to Toys R Us to get another Rubic's cube (he goes through at least one a year) I saw the decorations on sale and I had just "won" a My Little Pony plushie when we went to the Playdium for my birthday. I just went from there.

I love 80s toons :)
 

Slap Maxwell

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Mar 1, 2005
Posts
4,880
Joined
Mar 1, 2005
Messages
4,880
Voodoo! I love it! It makes it so appealing that it cost you under $7! It looks great and the pigs look so happy!
 

widallas

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
May 3, 2005
Posts
119
Joined
May 3, 2005
Messages
119
I think your cage is awesome! Personally, I'm a functionality-kinda-girl -- as long as it works and the pigs are happy, I'm good. I can't do decorated -- more stuff to clean and keep track of, and I'm knee-deep in that as it is! Kudos to you for going green with the cage. I feel ashamed of myself for not even looking for recycled materials before building. You've inspired me to finally build that compost bin I've been thinking about for weeks....
 

Plummie

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Jan 27, 2005
Posts
319
Joined
Jan 27, 2005
Messages
319
It looks fantastic! I've seen MUCH uglier cages before. *wink* Great job!!
 

VoodooJoint

Cavy Champion, Previous Forum Moderator!
Cavy Slave
Joined
Sep 5, 2004
Posts
8,865
Joined
Sep 5, 2004
Messages
8,865
It's actually uglier in person. It photographs better then I expected. I told my kids they can stick stickers on the outside so soon I should have a Harry Potter, Shrek, My Little Pony, and so on theme.

My friend was over yestererday. A while ago I placed two male Guinea Pigs I rescued with him and his kids. He jumped right in to help me finish the loft. He was really impressed with the cage even though he built a large C&C type cage for the pigs I placed with him (a requirement I have).

His wife is a park ranger and is really into reuse/recycle. He can't wait to bring her over to see the cage either. In fact I have a feeling I may be drafted to build a recycled material cage at the Education Center she runs for the occational animal visitors they have for the kids....My 2 Southern Box Turtles sometimes visit with the kids for a day there...a big C&C cage would be great to have. Not only would the animals have a comfy place to hang out, the cage itself would be an education both in recycling and proper animal caging/care.
 

Slap Maxwell

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Mar 1, 2005
Posts
4,880
Joined
Mar 1, 2005
Messages
4,880
Sounds like a very nice idea. I didn't know you did a little rescue work, congrats on that!
 

VoodooJoint

Cavy Champion, Previous Forum Moderator!
Cavy Slave
Joined
Sep 5, 2004
Posts
8,865
Joined
Sep 5, 2004
Messages
8,865
Yup...I rescue everything and anything. We have a constant stream of half dead and cast-off animals coming through the house...dogs, cats, birds, reptiles/turtles, small and furry, domestic and wild, even fish.

I am always short on space and have had to cut back on seeking out animals to save...enough find their way to me without me looking for them. I still find time to go undercover to track down the dog fighting rings and animal abusers and gather evidence for the authorities to use against them...while it's personally dangerous at least usually I'm not bring those animals home with me...although a few bad cases *somehow* managed to cut their chains and get into my backyard while waiting for transport to another rescue facility...really I have NO idea how that could have happened.
 

Teria

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Jan 10, 2005
Posts
731
Joined
Jan 10, 2005
Messages
731
Wow. I'm pretty sure most pigs imprisoned in a storebought cage would be very happy to live in your hideous recycled cage! *G* Not hideous at all, I think it's great. And your rescue activities left me speechless. Good thing I can still type.
 

Emily F.

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Jun 26, 2004
Posts
618
Joined
Jun 26, 2004
Messages
618
That's not an ugly cage. You used resourceful materials.
 

Denise

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Aug 10, 2004
Posts
899
Joined
Aug 10, 2004
Messages
899
VERY IMPRESSIVE! I wish we all could use our imaginations more and become more creative with recycling materials.
 
Faunn
  • Post hidden due to user being banned.

Ly&Pigs

Cavy Champion, Previous Forum Moderator
Cavy Slave
Joined
Dec 5, 2004
Posts
20,516
Joined
Dec 5, 2004
Messages
20,516
I am very impressed. I think it's a wonderful cage and I am sure Baby Elly would agree with me. She would love living there. Maybe this thread will make more people aware that they can make a cage out of recycled materials.

While my cage is grids and mostly new coroplast, I do have a 1x2 hay box made from an old political sign and I have another small used sign that I use to cover part of the loft bottom and my dad had some leftover 4" pvc pipe that was made into tunnels and ramps. I wish I had a place like The Green Project here because I would be there looking for stuff for the piggers quite often.
 

Sabriel

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Mar 13, 2005
Posts
2,435
Joined
Mar 13, 2005
Messages
2,435
My pigs favourite toys were rescued from the trash at work. I found a lovely cardboard tube that is sooo big around that I'll never need to cut a slit in it. My cat can walk through it. Kero loves it and spends lots of time chilling out in his tube. And if it gets icky I'll just liberate another one from work.

They also love to chew on (and pee on) the chunky cardboard spacers from work. They hold rolls of food grade plastic in place so they don't roll off the stack they put them in. I cut them up and make piggie chairs out of them.

I told my co-workers how much cardboard tubes and such cost at the pet store. They almost fell over with shock. Now some of my friends at work put aside things as they are found for the pigs.
 

guineagurl

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Feb 2, 2005
Posts
587
Joined
Feb 2, 2005
Messages
587
Amazing! That wire shelving you have as the side's is great and what a bargain, I saw that stuff in the hardware store a few weeks ago for $45 a pce so you did well!~
I think it looks great! A dirty little secret , DOUBT IT! hehehe.
 

citronsoul

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Jul 16, 2004
Posts
903
Joined
Jul 16, 2004
Messages
903
I think it looks great! And it's a fantastic way to show how you can recycle resources. When you consider how many people worry about the cost of the cage when getting guinea pigs, this is a great example of how to save a bit of money.

As long as the guinea pigs are happy & have room, it's perfect.
 

suzy_99

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Jan 16, 2005
Posts
404
Joined
Jan 16, 2005
Messages
404
I felt the same way about my cage when I first made it. I bought the cubes new, but I used an old political sign as the base. It didn't look as nice as some of the ones of here, but that didn't matter anymore after I saw how much my piggies liked it. I think you cage is great and its so wonderful that you were able to be so resourseful. It just shows that you don't have to spend an arm and a leg to provide your piggies with the best possible care.
 

Cherryrosed

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Mar 24, 2005
Posts
258
Joined
Mar 24, 2005
Messages
258
WOW! I am just now building a C&C cage due to a lack of funding earlier. Maybe I should have just gone to the dump! (Not really, the dumps around here are nasty.) From now on I will be on the look out for recycleable material at garage sales and second had stores though. Thanks for sharing. By the way, I don't think your cage is ugly either.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.

Similar threads

A
Replies
5
Views
375
iggy
failur3byh3art
Replies
1
Views
167
Guinea Pig Papa
Guinea Pig Papa
KirbyFan8910
Replies
3
Views
580
ItsaZoo
ItsaZoo
Squiggles
Replies
11
Views
2K
Squiggles
Squiggles
ScottishPiggyMum
Liners Cage Lining
Replies
1
Views
487
bpatters
bpatters
Top