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Cage Ginger's New Cage! :D

HurricaneKatt

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This was the cage she started in, and has lived in most of her life



This was the new cage her previous owners bought before giving her to me. Still way too small, but at least better... I added everything in it, she didn't even have a hidey hole.



NOW her new cage! :D Still a little on the small side for a pair of pigs (she needs a friend), but it's a ton better than what she had. :)



I found a little bookshelf on CL for $15. I took the shelves out, turned it on it's back, and added wheels to make it easier to move around. Then I bought a $2 plastic shower curtain from Wal-Mart and lined the bookshelf with it. We used a staple gun to tack it down, and then I duct taped the edges for good measure, I used colored tape so it added a little decoration too. ;)





I bought a little hanging basket from Home-Depot and stretched out the hanging hooks so they fit over the edge. Then I used a hammer to push it down nice and tight. Now she has a place for her water bottles, and for a toy to hang. :)



Then we added the bedding and toys! I covered everything up in towels and beds and fleece and toys so that hopefully she would only pee in her litter box. So far so good! :D *knocks on wood*



The little colorful spot just to the right of the litter box is where I put a wall hook to hang toys from. :)
 

HurricaneKatt

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For good measure I made a lid using some hardware cloth I already had.





It slides over the water bottles.



and the hooks



Ginger checking out her new digs...



happy-dance.gif
I now have one very happy, spoiled piggy!
 

theguineapigguy

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Thats so creative! I really like it, maybe this could be an option for people who can't get grids in their country? It seems like a good idea to me!
 

CanadianComforts

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When I saw the cat in the photo I was worried but adding the mesh will help him/her from grabbing at your piggie. I do worry about one thing. If the cat was to lay on top of the mesh, surely it would sag wont it?
 

theguineapigguy

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When I saw the cat in the photo I was worried but adding the mesh will help him/her from grabbing at your piggie. I do worry about one thing. If the cat was to lay on top of the mesh, surely it would sag wont it?
Hardware cloth is pretty strong honestly, I'm pretty sure it wouldn't sag much. But hey you never know I guess...
 

CanadianComforts

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I just think with my cat, who is 14lbs that would not hold him and he'd be "in" the cage. But who knows.
 

HurricaneKatt

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The cat is not allowed in that room very often, but even so Hardware cloth is pretty sturdy. It might sag some, but it won't just suddenly cave in unless it was a pretty sudden and hard force, like if say I came up and stomped on it. lol I would think that you would notice any sagging starting to happen, and then you could just straighten it back out... I can definitely see where the concern would be for someone who had the cage more accessible to their cat(s). Ginger is in my critter play room. I keep the door shut most of the time. I have my mouse, hamster, and snake in there too. I'd hate for Mylo (the cat) to hop onto the snake cage and either get burned or knock a heat lamp down and burn or catch something on fire. He is only allowed in when I am home and can monitor him. He loves the room though! haha He really likes just sitting and watching Ginger and the mouse. I have all of my ferrets' toys in there too (it's primarily their play room) which of course Mylo loves to play with. :p
 

HurricaneKatt

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ETA: for someone who might want to do a similar cage I have suggestions.
One is if you want to add wheels, you will need small wooden blocks. You have to attach the blocks from the inside of the cage BEFORE lining it with plastic. (The board on the back is too thin to screw up into, and drilling it will make holes in the plastic). Then the wheels can be attached to the blocks.

For the plastic lining, I used a $2 shower curtain from Wal-Mart. I would suggest a higher quality one if you can. As we started stapling it we found it ripped pretty easily where the staples are if we weren't careful. A Thicker plastic would be more durable.

When stapling the lining down, have a hammer handy. The staples don't always go in all the way, and you don't want them sticking out where they could hurt a piggy. Hammer them in the rest of the way.

The duct tape helped a lot on the edges. You could also fold the plastic over and staple it around the outside of the cage, but I thought the green tape was prettier.

If you can find a cheap bookshelf on CL it is super easy to make a cage this way - you could certainly use a much bigger bookshelf and do the same thing. I would consider adding a support bar or two on the bottom (from outside of the cage) to keep the bottom from sagging if you use a longer shelf and have multiple pigs.

Before you start stapling, make sure the staples are the correct length so they won't poke through the other side of the board. I used 13mm staples, they were perfect.
 
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