Frustrated The Final Straw

Cativision · Apr 26, 2016

I've had it. He has drawn me far past the line.

No matter what I do to modify the cage, Alabaster still finds his way out. I have tried everything.

Raises plexiglass-crawls under it.
Fills space underneath-jumps over it.
Puts grid barricade around cage- jumps over and pushes it to the side.
Puts MidWest grids around cage wrapped around the legs of the cage with steel wire- I have no idea.

No matter what I do, he always finds his way out. I have no idea what to do anymore. I only have a few more options-

-Put him in a separate cage.This isn't fair to him, I don't want to downgrade him. I really don't want to separate him from Hurley, and I don't have the space for another cage. Oh, and the constant bar chewing. That too.
-Give him back to the rescue. I dread this. I do not want to get rid of him, it's unfair on either end. It's not fair to him, and it breaks my heart just thinking about giving him back. I hope it doesn't have to be taken to this extent.

I would love to free-roam him in my bedroom, but I know my mom will not even let me think about doing that. She says it is unhygienic and disgusting having a guinea pig walk around your room, but I don't feel the same way. My mom doesn't understand that if I potty-train him it wouldn't be like that, but she won't have it.

I am sobbing in frustration, this has been stressing me out days on end.

Please help!

bpatters · Apr 26, 2016

Post a picture of your cage, maybe we can help.

About all you can do for the bar chewing is line the cage with plexiglass. Usually you don't have to do the whole cage. In my case, I only had to do the end next to the kitchen, where one of the chewed like mad when I was fixing their dinner.

Saylavi · Apr 26, 2016

First thing is first, take a breath. Can you show us a picture of your cage and what you have available to make a lid/walls?

Cativision · Apr 26, 2016

How do you post a picture?

Saylavi · Apr 26, 2016

"Go advanced"
"manage attachments"
Then select the photo, add it, and close the window

Omgitspink · Apr 26, 2016

It sounds like you don't have a lid on your cage? Is that correct?

Cativision · Apr 26, 2016

I hope this is good enough. I apologize for the messy area, I am not the...neatest person. By the way, the water bottles were being filled at the time so they are not present in the photos.

bpatters · Apr 26, 2016

The first thing I see is that you need to zip-tie the grids together.

The second is that the plexiglass walls aren't nearly high enough to keep a pig in -- walls need to be at least 14 inches if you've got a climber, and maybe 16 inches.

Can he get out of the bottom? If so, where is he getting out?

Have you looked at the cages in the photo galleries? Lots of good ideas in there.

Cativision · Apr 26, 2016

bpatters said:
The first thing I see is that you need to zip-tie the grids together.

The second is that the plexiglass walls aren't nearly high enough to keep a pig in -- walls need to be at least 14 inches if you've got a climber, and maybe 16 inches.

Can he get out of the bottom? If so, where is he getting out?

Have you looked at the cages in the photo galleries? Lots of good ideas in there.

They aren't grids, they are the grid part of the MidWest cage wrapped around the cage. Basically they are preassembled and already attached.

I do agree that the plexiglass walls need to be higher. However, I have no one able to fix the cage. My grandpa is on chemo, my grandma and mom just purely don't know how to do it, my dad is handicapped and my uncle just doesn't have the time and patience for it.

I fixed the issue of him getting out the bottom by blocking it with strong plastic. He has been pretty disinterested in crawling underneath since then.

I have looked at them, and they are absolutely wonderful, but I absolutely cannot get rid of this cage. This cage costed around $200-$400, and takes up half my bedroom. Escape-proofing this cage is the only decision I have here, because I can tell you now this cage won't be going anywhere anytime soon.

We are in a pretty tight situation here, aren't we?

Saylavi · Apr 26, 2016

I agree that the Midwest is fine, I use them on my cage. Could you maybe use a stapler to staple some netting to the top layer? ($10) (broken link removed)
or if you can access a drill and more plexi it isn't too difficult to add another strip of it, lowes will cut it for you when you purchase it and I could talk you through attaching it.

piggielover200 · Apr 26, 2016

maybe until you have enough money or have some way to fix the top you could just block the top off unless you are there to supervise. My only other solution would to find a way to purchase grids to put on the top. A box is 20$ at Bed Bath and Beyond and you get 19 grids I believe. You can use zip ties and figure out a way to attach it to the top row. I have DIY'ed many cages and I know it can be difficult when you aren't able to go out and buy what adults can. I think that if you truly look around your house you can find some way to make it work.

If you absolutely can't fix the cage and choose to return your pig I recommend you give up both. It is unfair to both pigs to separate them.

Best of Luck,
Piggielover200

Cativision · Apr 26, 2016

Saylavi said:
I agree that the Midwest is fine, I use them on my cage. Could you maybe use a stapler to staple some netting to the top layer? ($10) (broken link removed)
or if you can access a drill and more plexi it isn't too difficult to add another strip of it, lowes will cut it for you when you purchase it and I could talk you through attaching it.

My mom is strongly against me using any type of hardware equipment, the most she will let me use is a manual screwdriver, a staple gun and some wire cutters. I have no idea why she is so strong against me using equipment (considering I am one of the most cautious and delicate people you will meet) so it isn't even worth it to ask.

I thought the top layer was fine, but I suppose it can always use some more protection. I have some extra steel mesh from making my hamster cage, so I can use that. My only concern is how to access the inside of the cage to clean and feed the pigs with the mesh on.

bpatters · Apr 26, 2016

If you get a box of grids and some zip ties, you can put them inside the plexiglass on the top. Or you can screw them to the outside of the plexiglass, but you'll have to leave "doors" that are joined with something like a carabiner clip rather than the zip ties. You can open them to get to the back of the cage to clean it.

Fay · Apr 26, 2016

I don't know how old you are but you could consider going around the neighborhood (if it's a relatively safe area) and offer doing chores for people in exchange for a dollar, sell lemonade, or maybe a newspaper round. You could also negotiate with your parents about doing extra chores in exchange for extra money for a cage. If you also get an allowance, also put that towards saving up for a C&C cage. Then just remove that table because it looks really hard to clean and get into and obviously the plexiglass makes it really unsafe. Your pig can jump out easily and hurt himself. The table cage also looks very hard to alter so whenever you need to make a change like you're experiencing now it will be a huge undertaking. A C&C style cage is super flexible.

You can find C&C grids and coroplast for pretty cheap in various places, we can help you find materials. I mean I would suggest making the cage yourself but obviously that's going to be an issue with the limited tools at your disposal. Do you maybe have friends whose family seem really nice? You could always consider talking to them about the issue of crafting a cage and maybe they'd be happy to help? Or if you have art class in school where you get to work with tools maybe ask the teacher of that class if they'd help? Either way, I wouldn't let them on the top level for now because it looks dangerous, they should be fine on the bottom level while you find a solution. There are many ways you could resolve this without giving up on them. Just have to start getting creative, ask for help, or find a way to earn a bit of money.

Saylavi · Apr 26, 2016

That's the beauty of staples, take them out and put them back, or else even zip tie the mesh to the cage.

Cativision · Apr 27, 2016

Fay said:
I don't know how old you are but you could consider going around the neighborhood (if it's a relatively safe area) and offer doing chores for people in exchange for a dollar, sell lemonade, or maybe a newspaper round. You could also negotiate with your parents about doing extra chores in exchange for extra money for a cage. If you also get an allowance, also put that towards saving up for a C&C cage. Then just remove that table because it looks really hard to clean and get into and obviously the plexiglass makes it really unsafe. Your pig can jump out easily and hurt himself. The table cage also looks very hard to alter so whenever you need to make a change like you're experiencing now it will be a huge undertaking. A C&C style cage is super flexible.

You can find C&C grids and coroplast for pretty cheap in various places, we can help you find materials. I mean I would suggest making the cage yourself but obviously that's going to be an issue with the limited tools at your disposal. Do you maybe have friends whose family seem really nice? You could always consider talking to them about the issue of crafting a cage and maybe they'd be happy to help? Or if you have art class in school where you get to work with tools maybe ask the teacher of that class if they'd help? Either way, I wouldn't let them on the top level for now because it looks dangerous, they should be fine on the bottom level while you find a solution. There are many ways you could resolve this without giving up on them. Just have to start getting creative, ask for help, or find a way to earn a bit of money.

I absolutely cannot get rid of this cage, I can only modify it to fit their needs. This cage costed $200-$400 to make, and it's GIGANTIC. It's 80x30 inches (a bit larger than a 2x6 C&C). My room is in the attic with a lot of stairs, and my grandpa and uncle put lots of time and effort into this cage. I can tell you right now that this cage won't be going anywhere. I had this cage custom-built to fit into my room, where the walls are slanted in all ways (since I literally live right under the roof) and have a lack of straight walls to put it up against. With C&Cs, I don't have the room to put them anywhere. Basically, this cage will be with me for a long time.

Unless I can /somehow/ convince my uncle to help me modify this cage, I'm a bit stuck here.

lissie · Apr 27, 2016

Make a flip down door for the cage. I've posted this video before in your older thread.
https://youtu.be/rNtjSlx6wuE

Cativision · Apr 27, 2016

lissie said:
Make a flip down door for the cage. I've posted this video before in your older thread.
https://youtu.be/rNtjSlx6wuE

AH! Thank you! I have been looking for this! I saw it and it works perfectly with my cage. With a little convincing, a think I can get my uncle to do this for me.

pigger123 · Apr 27, 2016

You can also make a flip down door out of grids. It wouldn't look as fancy, but it would be cheaper and easier and you could probably do it yourself.

Cativision · Apr 27, 2016

pigger123 said:
You can also make a flip down door out of grids. It wouldn't look as fancy, but it would be cheaper and easier and you could probably do it yourself.View attachment 79251

Even better! I just don't know how to attach it considering the front of my cage is just wood and plexiglass and has no grips to attach it to.

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