question from new cavy owner

I have an open cage set up w/ three girls and none of them have escaped. I think as long as you don't have any other animals or small kids that can get to them. They should be fine. AND as long as you don't have intact females and males who try to get to one another you should be fine.

Thanks for the tips. I don't have any small kids or other animals, so I should be all set. I was surprised by how many pictures of open cages I saw here. I appreciate your response very much.

No problem. Welcome to a great forum. You'll learn alot from these guys. Good luck and post anymore questions that you have.

Does everyone out there agree that cavy cages don't need covers?

We don't have a cover on ours. We currently have four boars. They like to stand on their back legs and have their noses at the top of the cage, especially if they hear or see food coming. I believe, correct me if I'm wrong, that in order for a cavy to get over something they have to be able to get the upper half of their body over it. That's why I make sure that all hidey houses are in the middle of the cage. That way too they are not in the way when they run laps.

Guinea pigs usually don't find a good reason to escape their nice spacious and safe cages. Occasionally you might find a jumper pig but even Rolo who will leap over the playpen to get to other areas of the house won't jump out of her cage. Unless you have males and females near each other or babies just seperated from mom they don't bother escaping their cage. While it can be quite common for males to find their way in with females it's also very rare for a guinea pig to escape it's cage for no obvious reason.

Guinea pig do not climb well. As long as it is about 12" high they can't get out.

Thank you everyone who responded. I appreciate all the input I can get. I want to make sure we're giving the girls a happy and safe home.

99% of the time a cover is not needed on the cages if there are no outside animal concerns like dogs or cats. Occationally someone gets a "climber" that will actually scale the sides and get out but it is actually very rare.

I do not have a cover on mine. The only place I have a piece of wire shelving to cover the top is where I have a rigid hidy house that they can clinb on and without a cover over that area they could possibly climb or fall out of the cage.

I would never say they can't get out more like they don't want to or it's just too much work. Some of the escapes I've had during floortime when they really wanted to go see what's over there were quite amazing. I had one some how clear a solid 1 1/2ft board while we were trying to put her back in her cage. She jumped, scrambled, caught the top edge with her feet, and was gone. Rolo frequently jumped over a 10" playpen and then the added 4" extension. Snickers also jumped over the 10" playpen but found 14" was a bit too much work to get her fat butt over so she stood on her hind legs and yelled at us and Rolo who was enjoying freedom. It's now a 20" high playpen. I've heard plenty of stories of boys appearing in girls cages over 14" sides. I also had 2 boys jump all the way up a full set of stairs and the guinea pig book said they can't jump. I've never had a guinea pig leave a c&c cage. Only climb/jump over grids used to block off floortime areas. I guess it's just not worth the effort.

I just played it safe and made my sides 16" tall. That way I do not have to worry about it. I also keep the pigloo under the part of the cage that has a lid (from the loft). That way they do not jump off of it! They should be fine. :0)

Not had a problem with my girls. I was careful to put houses and things they like to stand on in places where there is a roof above them. I was worried about them falling off the second level so i cut and carefully filed a cube grid to make 3 square high walls. This way they can't fall off accidentally but it is still easy to take the correx out to clean. Also the cage is on a table and has a loft so my nosey piggies can always see what is going on. I think that makes them less likely to try and escape.