Penny and Callie

[Caligo]

My fiance and I have two girls, Penny and Callie, short for Penelope and Calliope. We got them from a local, family-run pet store. Before you start telling me of the foibles and dangers of pet stores, let me say there are no pig rescues around here that I know of. The one animal shelter in town barely survives, and has cats and dogs only. I'm not entirely sold on this "pet stores are evil" thing, but I'm always willing to do my own research as well as ask for suggestions and advice, taken with a grain of salt.

They are currently in a too-small cage, and I'm saving up to remedy that. I hope to place my order for a C&C in two weeks, when my big paycheck comes in. I'm actually rather excited about it, as I have some ideas about storage. I only wish I could find the materials in town, so I wouldn't have to wait for shipping! But no one sells coroplast anywhere within even 50 miles, that I could find in my searching.

Our girls are sweet. Callie is a black and white, an Abby, a little bolder than her sister. Penny is brown and white, probably part silky. She's shy, and likes to run into her pigloo a lot.

They love hay, celery, carrots, apples, and parsley and cilantro! When they hear a bag rustling, they think it's treat time! Penny is very grabby when it comes to treats. She likes anything leafy. Callie likes apples a whole lot, and it's funny to hear her scraping her teeth on the apple flesh.

The girls are getting used to baths, and being outside when it's nice. The other day, our power went out, so everyone got to go outside. The piggies, the ratties (they belong to a friend who's here for a couple months), and the birds. The rats and the birds got to sit in the shade, with a spray-bottle rain, while the pigs ran around in the grass. And eating the grass, of course. It's so funny to see them lounging around.

Anywho, that's my intro. I've never really had small pets before, when I was younger; we only had a cat, so I'm learning. We did have one case of mites, that I treated with ivermectin, thanks to guinealynx.com. There was a feed store somewhat nearby, so I was able to get them treated fairly quickly once I realized what it was. The trick was getting them to swallow it! Cough, splutter. :yuck: Poor girls.

 

[Susan9608]

Welcome to the forum.

I'm not entirely sold on this "pet stores are evil" thing

You may not be sold on this "thing" but the majority of members here are. Please keep that in mind, should you ever decide to add to your guinea pig family.

We look forward to seeing pictures of your girls.

 

[Caligo]

Oh, I understand. I suppose I was trying to imply that I like to do my own research, see things for myself, as I have never been one to go only with what I'm told.

As soon as my friend's web-isp stops acting up, I should have pictures.

 

[Ly&Pigs]

Welcome to Cavy Cages.

But no one sells coroplast anywhere within even 50 miles, that I could find in my searching.

You can find coroplast at print shops too. I checked the yellow pages for your area and there are several printing companies. Call around to the different ones and get quotes on how much a 4'x8' sheet will cost.

As far as veggies, are the ones listed above all you are feeding? If so then try giving them some leafy lettuces (any but iceburg) and bell pepper daily.

 

[jdomans]

If there are signs in your town then someone has coroplast. Like Ly said, check the yellow pages under sign shops. Make sure to tell them you are making a cage so they don't think you are a DIY sign maker and charge you more. I am sure Tuscaloosa has a Target ot BBand B etc. for the grids.

I just went to your yellow pages through Yahoo and you have a Fastsigns in your town. Start there.

 

[Caligo]

I've called the sign places; no one seems to have coroplast that I can have. There's even a paper place not one block from me, but they didn't have it either. I spent a very frustrating afternoon calling everyone. :weepy: I do believe I've seen the cubes somewhere around here; that's not the problem, the coroplast is. We do have a sparsley stocked Target, and a Walmart, but that's pretty much it. It's actually really sad, even the Books a Million here is kinda small, and the guinea pig books were older, and not very good. Thank goodness for guinealynx!

The veggies I listed are their favorites. They also get romaine, fruits when in season, and I tried bell peppers. They didn't like them. But I'm tellin ya, they love that parsley and cilantro. They mouthed at the oranges, nibbled the melon, and I don't know what they did with the couple grapes I gave em. Whatever fresh stuff I eat, they usually get a bit of as well. Sometimes I just have to leave off on the new stuff for a little bit, then try it again, repeating the process with a little wait in between. That's how I got them to like most of the stuff they eat now. Picky girls.

I can't find a good pellet food around here; all of it is that alfalfa based junk. But I'm not really sure where I can order good stuff without paying an arm and a leg. And the one feed store that I know of didn't have hay in an obvious place; maybe it's by request or special order... hmm.

 

[Caligo]

Course, if all else fails, I'll just order the coroplast online, and get the cubes here. I'm wanting to try and make the cage with a stand, in the style of the kind that's in the galleries that has the coroplast "drawers" for storage. i really liked that one.

 

[jdomans]

Ok girl, trying to save you some money etc. My son has my altas right now. How far is the next city? do you ever go shopping in another city. My daughter lives in Statesboro but shops here in Savannah. Just a thought.

 

[jdomans]

I just called Flora Sign Co. and they will sell you coroplast for $19.08 a sheet. That includes the tax I think. The number is 205- 553-2424 3708 University Blvd E Tuscaloosa, AL.

 

[Caligo]

The next big city is Birmingham, about an hour away. I can only make that trip once every couple weeks, to see my dad; it takes nearly half a tank of gas, and that's a big hit on my pocketbook. T_T Then again, Birmingham is full of PetCos and PetSmarts.

Flora Sign Co? Ok! I'll have to go hunting them down soon, but I'll probably still have to wait till my next paycheck in roughly two weeks. I'm currently sitting on $33, after bills, gas, and food for everyone (including the piggies, of course).

 

[jdomans]

Just give them a call tomorrow as a follow up on YOUR call today! I told them that they would hear from ME tomorrow. LOL

 

[JennG]

Welcome to the forum. Man, I wish I could get coroplast for that cheap. Mine usually costs me around $25 for a 4x8 sheet. Good luck, it's worth the money.

 

[Caligo]

I just called Flora Sign Co. and they will sell you coroplast for $19.08 a sheet. That includes the tax I think. The number is 205- 553-2424 3708 University Blvd E Tuscaloosa, AL.

For a 2x4 cage, how big a sheet do I need?

I may have answered my own question... 68"x39" for the cage, and the sheets are 4 feet by 8 feet? So one sheet should do it?

 

[jdomans]

That gives you what you need for the sides etc. Read that page about cutting the coro over and over. I figured the base of the coro and then added to all four sides. So you need 68 x39. Add say 4 inches all around (if using fleece) and that gives you 76x 47. Hope this helps. If they are going up against a wall, you should make the coro along the wall side/s about 10 inches. Get out a piece of plain paper, draw a rectangle and label it 68 x 39. Then make dotted lines adding what you want to each side. It helps. I do it each time.

 

[Caligo]

I figured I'd treat it about the same as I would when sewing, use paper as a mock-up. Thanks.