Cage Single Level; Kitchen/Potty area

Here are my boys. I've been calling them "Toothless" and "Nightfury" cuz their color reminds me of the dragons and I thought the names were cute. But they've been renamed by the rescue to be Hugo (Boss) and Ralph (Lauren)



And here's their "Curtain"
Baby boy seems to really like it, as that's usually where he's hiding. Big boy is usually in his pigloo.

I would just put a little potty box under their curtain.
I don't use a kitchen area as my pigs were pretty indifferent.
I wanted to say I just adopted a little piggy from OCCH and I want to thank you for being a foster pig parent! There are so many amazing piggies and you're doing such an amazing thing by caring for them! If I lived in Cali I'd try to foster for OCCH too, but regretabely I'm out of room hehe

With 2 pigs in a 2x3 it's going to get stinky kinda quick. For maximum odor control, if you like the scent of pine wood then I would do a 1x2 kitchen with pine pellets in it. That will really help with the smell and will give you another 2 days between cage cleaning time. Especially as the baby gets bigger. You can use a large plastic cat litter box or a large rubbermaid box or build a box out of coroplast (or order a cavy cafe from the cage store! https://www.guineapigcagesstore.com/cavy-cafe-kitchen#.UqoGn6VSFhA -Make sure they know your cage doesn't use connectors so that it fits properly)

If you use a rubbermaid or cat litter box you can either cut an opening for them to come and go (make it like 2" or so from the bottom so that it keeps the litter in) You can use fiddlesticks (https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_...words=fiddlesticks+pet&ie=UTF8&qid=1386874611 ) and shape it into a ramp to go up and over the edge. That will keep most of the mess in. I prefer that my kitchen goes all the way across the side of the cage so that they don't hang out in the little nook if there is leftover space. I want them to make in the kitchen so if you can find a plastic box that goes all the way across it will maximize your space and make cleaning easier for you.

You can build a fleece forest over the kitchen area or use the curtain you have. Also, if you lift or cut it and clip it so it doesn't reach the bottom of the cage it will stay cleaner for longer.

BTW, if you did want to add a second level you could do a patio. It won't take up any more space than you already have.

This is a 2x4 cage but it's the same idea. a 1x2 kitchen on the bottom and a 1x2 patio above.

I hang fleece forest in the kitchen to encourage them to go in there and it also helps hide the mess!

I have a 2 x 4 with a 2 x 1 coroplast kitchen area on a single level. Honestly, it works beautifully for keeping wastes in one place, and there is a bit of added odor control with carefresh. The only unfortunate side is that he often pulls bedding onto the fleece, which can be a big pain to clean up.

@Traysea
I really like that patio idea. How did you make the little ramp? Also, for the kitchen area below, is that just coroplast, then trimmed down on the side where the pigs would go in? And are those just support bars from the site store in there like under the patio?

Sorry for so many questions!

Gosh, those are such cuties!

I agree with someone who mentioned doing a patio... they're awesome in that they fit right into your existing C&C, so you're not really going up another grid level if you don't have the space. That's what I originally had when I had just my one boy, but when I got my second, I extended the cage and now use the patio on the floor level as a kitchen until I can get a bigger coroplast base. They seem to do a majority of their pottying in the kitchen, though I'll always find little piles in their favorite areas. But I have literally sat here (their cage is next to the couch) and watched them get up from laying down or come out of their snuggle sack, run into the kitchen, and do their little thing where they kind of back up one little step and begin to pee. Then they'll get some hay or something and run back into the rest of the cage. They are SUCH smart little animals! I feel like a kitchen area keeps the rest of the cage less messy and a little fresher between washings!

For the ramp I bent a grid into a U shape. Originally I was going to do a 2 grid long ramp but it wasn't necessary. All of my pigs can walk up the ramp no problem because the patio is so low at around 7" (1/2 way up a grid) the incline is easy on them. I buy my coroplast from the cage store. They do such a nice job cutting and scoring it, it is well worth the extra money. I didn't buy the full patio set from the cage store. I already had the wonder bars and wanted the grid ramp not a coroplast ramp so I just bought the base:

https://www.guineapigcagesstore.com/loft-coro-narrow-outset#.UqsIvKVSFhA

I cut down the front corner a couple of inches so I could see my pigs in there. When you have a lid on your cage it makes it harder to see them. So I cut it down and then added the binder spines: https://www.guineapigcagesstore.com/candc-edging#.UqsI_aVSFhA

The kitchen was also from the cage store and it's called a Cavy Cafe: https://www.guineapigcagesstore.com/cavy-cafe-kitchen#.UqsJHaVSFhA
Check out the photo. The front part folds over and has a cut out for them so the lip in the middle is lower but the edges are all finished off in the front so it's smooth. The flap is held down by velcro so you can pop it open and clean it. Although the velco it came with is not very strong, it pops open and bedding gets stuck to it. It's a super easy fix, I just use my stronger velcro I buy at Target. It comes in 4' rolls in black and white.

I'm copy and pasting my instructions from a previous post ( #9 on this thread: https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/94791-Size )

This is what I did for the patio support and ramp:

My kitchen, my patio and my support bars are all removable for easy access. My ramp flips up out of the way as well.

I started out with two bars that run across the cage to support the patio (in my case I used wonder bars from the cage store https://www.guineapigcagesstore.com/candc-wonder-bars#.UqsMLaVSFhA ). You can also use wood dowels, long strips of wood, or two broom handles. Something stiff that fits inside your grids or if you are handy you can cut it to size and add hooks to the ends to hook onto the grids.

On top of the support bars I laid a grid to hold the ramp. The grid is attached only on the right side of the cage with tie wraps so it swings up. I cable tied my bent grid ramp to that grid.







My support bars are removable and so is the kitchen tray underneath.

My patio is 7" from the floor. My pigs have no problem using a one grid long ramp to get up the 7" incline. If you want to make the incline even less you can cable tietwo bent grids together.

To bend the grids: Hold your grid so that the wires are facing UP. (laying on top of the outer frame) if you do it the other way, the wires can pop off when you bend. Most people step on the grids to bend them. Bend them slowly. I just bent it with my hands and pushed against my stomach. The hardest part of bending it is just getting the outer framework bent. The inner ones bend really easily. I counted down 3 squares and started bending one side then the other.

Once both grids (or how ever long you want the ramp to be) is bent, overlap the grids by 1-2 squares and cable tiethem together in several spots to secure. If you already cut the door in your patio make sure you attach the ramp so they line up. I like to put my ramp a little away from the wall so they can run around the ramp.

OK so now you should have the support grid (or grids) attached to the side of your cage and it can swing up like in my photos. Now you can cable tiethe ramp frame to the support grid.

You can do several things with the ramp.
1. Add a full coroplast frame inside your ramp to protect them from the grids (you can cut and score your coroplast to make a liner or cut 3separate pieces and cable tiethem to each side).
2. add just a coroplast floor and then cover the ramp with fleece, carpet runner, rubber carpet runner, or leave it bare and attach popcicle sticks (or other items) to the coroplast floor for traction.
3. Use towels, several layers of fleece or other fabric to line the bare grid.

PiggieAngels said:

@Traysea
I really like that patio idea. How did you make the little ramp? Also, for the kitchen area below, is that just coroplast, then trimmed down on the side where the pigs would go in? And are those just support bars from the site store in there like under the patio?

Sorry for so many questions!

Click to expand...

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who gave me opinions, ideas, and advice!

I also wanted to give everyone an update that my boys are being adopted! They're gong to their new home today and I couldn't be happier for these boys. I'll be getting 2 new foster boys later in the day.

So once again, thanks everyone! I'm currently on the hunt for more grids/cubes, so I really hope to redo the cage soon!

You guys rock!

That's great news!!