Grids 69 Grids - Will this be enough for a lot of piggies?

Cavies4EverEver · Jul 27, 2015

My Nala is going to have her babies soon, and I bought 69 grids from walmart (6 storage cubes) If i can't find a suitible guinea pig owner to take a pair of babies, I will end up keeping them. I am not sure how many she will have, but I want them to be well taken care of.

Does anyone know if I will need more grids? I get them wednesday. Also how do you guys separate your girls and boys? Do you put them on multi level cages? Do you have two separate large cages? I have 4 bases for my cage which are 4x2 foot long each. They are a little heavy so I may have to buy coroplast for the tops if i Decide to make a seconds layer.. HELP!

Katie Vetter · Jul 27, 2015

Girls and boys should have completely seperate cages. Girls can stay with mom if you have a big enough cage, and a 2x4 grid should be enough for 2 or at maximum 3 females. Boy(s) need a different cage, and you can put a pair of them in a 2x4 grid. If you have a single boy and still have the dad, you may be able to introduce them when the baby is big enough. I can't imagine you having more than 3 or 4 babies, but even if you have more, 69 should be enough. A 2x4 cage will take 12 grids each, so you'll have enough for 5 cages

I wouldn't suggest stacking them, even with coroplast inbetween because it will reduce light and it will also be hard to interact with your pigs because you would have to unstack them every time you want to pet them or change their food.

pinky · Jul 27, 2015

Make sure you get the 9 space across grids. The Walmart near me sells the 8 and 5 spaces across ones.

wombats · Jul 27, 2015

Actually, two boars need a 2x5 cage or larger to be happy with one another (they are more territorial and need more space. Anything smaller and they often fight and have dominance issues), and 2 sows can be in a 2x4, but for every additional one they need 2x1 more, so 3 would be 2x5, 4 is a 2x6, and so on.

Try not to house more than two boars together in one cage as well. Some can get trios to work but the risk of them all not getting along is not worth it.

But with the huge amount of grids that you have you should have no trouble making a fine set up for them! Keep in mind if you want to stack them, you could make two 2x6s, one on top of the other, with one for two bosrs and the other for the sows. The sow's cage could have 2-4 piggies, so if she has girls they'll have plenty of space. And even if she has one little boy, you can always wait and have him fixed so he can stay with his mom. My only concern is I'm not sure how'd you'd make a support system for a stacked 2x6, as that's a lot of weight. I'm sure it can be done though.

Katie Vetter · Jul 27, 2015

I should have mentioned in my original reply that a 2x4 would be suitable for while they were still young. An expansion may very well be necessary when the babies are older. True, a 2x5 is the ideal space for two boars, but we do have to keep in mind that they only have 2x4 bases, and that often times pigs get along in a lot less. I know it wouldn't be the perfect set-up, but would we rather have two cages with two lonely pigs or one slightly to small cage with two companionable pigs? I'm upgrading my four boars, which live in seperate pairs, to slightly larger than 2x3s. They're rescues, and a petstore cage is all they have ever known, yet they get along with each other very well. So yes, while a 2x5 would be preffered, some people just can't. Owning six pigs in a house with my parents can be a struggle and honestly, im lucky that theyre letting me get c&c cages at all. If stacking the cages has to be an option, then there really can't be a lot of spare floor space to create that large of a cage. I didn't mean to turn this into an arguement, and I honestly don't mean it to sound that way. I just wanted to maybe throw some light onto other aspects. Keeping a lot of pigs can be hard work, and with babies I can't even imagine how both stressful and exciting that can be. Best of luck with the newborns!

wombats · Jul 27, 2015

Ah yes, good point! I didn't even think about that, thank you for reminding me. And yes--good luck with the babies, and keep us updated. I hope the birth goes well and the babies and Nala are healthy when all is said and done

Cavies4EverEver · Jul 28, 2015

Katie Vetter said:
Girls and boys should have completely seperate cages. Girls can stay with mom if you have a big enough cage, and a 2x4 grid should be enough for 2 or at maximum 3 females. Boy(s) need a different cage, and you can put a pair of them in a 2x4 grid. If you have a single boy and still have the dad, you may be able to introduce them when the baby is big enough. I can't imagine you having more than 3 or 4 babies, but even if you have more, 69 should be enough. A 2x4 cage will take 12 grids each, so you'll have enough for 5 cages I wouldn't suggest stacking them, even with coroplast inbetween because it will reduce light and it will also be hard to interact with your pigs because you would have to unstack them every time you want to pet them or change their food.

Hello,
I should have clarified, The boys and girls will have separate cages I am actually thinking about stacking a 2x8 cage.. I just want to make sure i have enough room for them. I am not sure if I am going to have enough grids to do that though... I have 2 boars in the same cage now but they really dont get along so I was going to put them in separate sided (divide them) and when the babies are born and ready to separate I think that they would do better with a baby. One of my boars is not friendly but my other one is.. he isnt very bossy.

Cavies4EverEver · Jul 28, 2015

wombats said:
Ah yes, good point! I didn't even think about that, thank you for reminding me. And yes--good luck with the babies, and keep us updated. I hope the birth goes well and the babies and Nala are healthy when all is said and done

Thank you! She is laying down a lot.. I tried to check for dialation but she gets really pissy when i touch anything but her head. She is eating and drinking very very well. I just hope she has at least one girl so she is not lonley!

Cavies4EverEver · Jul 28, 2015

Katie Vetter said:
I should have mentioned in my original reply that a 2x4 would be suitable for while they were still young. An expansion may very well be necessary when the babies are older. True, a 2x5 is the ideal space for two boars, but we do have to keep in mind that they only have 2x4 bases, and that often times pigs get along in a lot less. I know it wouldn't be the perfect set-up, but would we rather have two cages with two lonely pigs or one slightly to small cage with two companionable pigs? I'm upgrading my four boars, which live in seperate pairs, to slightly larger than 2x3s. They're rescues, and a petstore cage is all they have ever known, yet they get along with each other very well. So yes, while a 2x5 would be preffered, some people just can't. Owning six pigs in a house with my parents can be a struggle and honestly, im lucky that theyre letting me get c&c cages at all. If stacking the cages has to be an option, then there really can't be a lot of spare floor space to create that large of a cage. I didn't mean to turn this into an arguement, and I honestly don't mean it to sound that way. I just wanted to maybe throw some light onto other aspects. Keeping a lot of pigs can be hard work, and with babies I can't even imagine how both stressful and exciting that can be. Best of luck with the newborns!

My thing is that I am not going to give someone guinea pigs unless they read up on it first.. I posted on my facebook if anyone is interested that they would need to research first.. i am not willing to give single guinea pigs (unless they already have a pig of course) and they would need to make sure they have a large cage and have done their research.. The likelyhood of people adopting my pigs is low, since i only have a handful of friends with experience.. and if thats the case, then I would rather take car of my own pigs than put them in the hands of someone who doesnt know what they are doing.

wombats · Jul 28, 2015

That's very responsible of you.

And oh my gosh, 2x8s?? That sounds fantastic! Now, you said you aren't sure if you'll have enough grids? Well, one 2x8 without a cover needs 20 grids. Two would be 40, and that leaves a whopping 29 grids left over! Now, if you stack them you'll need to put grids underneath the top one, and that's 16 more, leaving you with 13 extra grids.

I'm not sure how you'll be stacking them, but I'm sure that'll be fine if you use wood bars for support or some kind of equivalent. For such large cages I'm concerned just grids might make it wobble, but grids and wood bars should be perfect, and considering you'd still have 13 you could put the grids all along the back and sides like this cage (shown below) to give you enough room to reach in.

Again, my only other concern is support, but I'm sure someone out there knows more about that then I do.

69 Grids - Will this be enough for a lot of piggies?

Cavies4EverEver · Jul 28, 2015

wombats said:
That's very responsible of you.

And oh my gosh, 2x8s?? That sounds fantastic! Now, you said you aren't sure if you'll have enough grids? Well, one 2x8 without a cover needs 20 grids. Two would be 40, and that leaves a whopping 29 grids left over! Now, if you stack them you'll need to put grids underneath the top one, and that's 16 more, leaving you with 13 extra grids.

I'm not sure how you'll be stacking them, but I'm sure that'll be fine if you use wood bars for support or some kind of equivalent. For such large cages I'm concerned just grids might make it wobble, but grids and wood bars should be perfect, and considering you'd still have 13 you could put the grids all along the back and sides like this cage (shown below) to give you enough room to reach in. Again, my only other concern is support, but I'm sure someone out there knows more about that then I do.

I wont know until I get my grids tomorrow I have a friend helping me build the cage wednesday. The only part thats going to be confusing is how many boys/girls my little lady is going to have.

Cavies4EverEver · Jul 28, 2015

wombats said:
That's very responsible of you.

And oh my gosh, 2x8s?? That sounds fantastic! Now, you said you aren't sure if you'll have enough grids? Well, one 2x8 without a cover needs 20 grids. Two would be 40, and that leaves a whopping 29 grids left over! Now, if you stack them you'll need to put grids underneath the top one, and that's 16 more, leaving you with 13 extra grids.

another question.. I already have a base for the bottom 2x8... will 1 piece of coroplast work for the top 2x8?

wombats · Jul 28, 2015

Hmm, probably not. One sheet of coroplast (4' x 8') is enough for a 2x6, so you'll probably need two. You can just tape the two together with clear packing tape and you wouldn't notice the difference.

wombats · Jul 28, 2015

And don't worry about how many she'll have just yet.

a 2x8 is a really big space, and that can house up to 6 guinea pigs comfortably, so I'm sure you can make it work! You're likely to have plenty of room for the babies, and with such a big size you can always seperate one into two 2x4s or a 2x3 and a 2x5 in case you have to seperate the babies or for any other reason. I'm sure you can figure it out, but for now we won't know until they're born! Just set up the 2x8s or whatever size you decide upon when you can, and you can go from there. I'm sure they'll be born any day now, so now it's just the waiting game. I hope all goes well with the babies when they are born. And as a random word of advice, use pliers to connect the grids to the connectors (its really tough otherwise) and make sure you use plenty of zipties to reinforce the connections. They're really cheao but make a world of a difference when it comes to stability.

Oh! And when the babies are born make sure you baby proof the cage with some cardboard or something so they don't fall through the grids. Just put the cardboard behind the coroplast/base and make it high enough that they can't climb over and get stuck, and remove it when they're big enough.

Cavies4EverEver · Jul 28, 2015

wombats said:
And don't worry about how many she'll have just yet. a 2x8 is a really big space....

I cannot wait to see them.. Dad is a full agouti.. mom is all wite except for her orage head.. I am so excited to see what they will look like.

Dad has ruby eyes.. and mom has regular dark eyes... I am just wondering who has the more dominate traits.. I am playinga game with my roomate and guessing how many babes are on her belly.. We both thing 2 or 3.. she is big but not that big..

Click to expand...

wombats · Jul 28, 2015

Then even if she has 3 I'm sure you'll have no trouble sorting out space for them.

And wow, I'm sure they're going to be very beautiful little babies! You'll have to post pictures when they're born, I can't wait to see them, I just hope it all goes well.

Cavies4EverEver · Jul 28, 2015

wombats said:
Then even if she has 3 I'm sure you'll have no trouble sorting out space for them. And wow, I'm sure they're going to be very beautiful little babies! You'll have to post pictures when they're born, I can't wait to see them, I just hope it all goes well.

Me too, the only thing that scares me is that when i adopted her she just had a litter of pups... she only had 3.. the scariest part is that this is her second pregnancy, which is my fault becuase I didn't know lilo was a boy.. (which is why his name is lilo) I just hope she will be okay.. She is my baby.. she is the friendliest sweetest thing.. if something happened to her I would cry

wombats · Jul 28, 2015

I understand...I'm worried about her too, but I didn't feel it was right of me to say so, as I know you already know the risks. I hope she and her babies come through and live long, happy and healthy lives with you. It's wonderful that you've already decided to spend so much space and money on these guinea pigs (because if you got the same grids I did, they're fairly pricey, at least I think so!) and that makes me really happy to see.

Cavies4EverEver · Jul 28, 2015

wombats said:
I understand...I'm worried about her too, but I didn't feel it was right of me to say so, as I know you already know the risks. I hope she and her babies come through and live long, happy and healthy lives with you. It's wonderful that you've already decided to spend so much space and money on these guinea pigs (because if you got the same grids I did, they're fairly pricey, at least I think so!) and that makes me really happy to see.

Ifound out that my grids are coming early! YAY! So today during my lunch break i moved my momma in the bathroom with her stuff so I could do my cage layout.

I am going to do a 2 layer 4x2 in case i have 2 pairs of boars, when they are older i will move them to a 5x2

Mom and babes will have an L Shape, one side is 6x2 and the other side is 4x2 but they will wont have any separate walls so technically they will have a lot of space to run arround. I just need to go to walmart now and buy a shower curtain for the edges and more fleece blankets (thats what i use now) they are only like 3 dollars a blanket.. I also need to think of some cuddly stuff for them, they have houses made of card board (thats just what they like) Any ideas of what else should go on the inside?

Cavies4EverEver · Jul 29, 2015

This is my cage... it's not a very large photo.. but this is what i ended up doing.. (the grids were larger than expected)

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