wheeklink
Active Member
Cavy Slave
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2014
- Posts
- 32
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2014
- Messages
- 32
Mixed C&C/Midwest setup, boars that need to be separated; cats present & small space
Hi, everyone.
I have two lovely rescue boars. One older, one younger. We found quite soon that one was dominating the other and making his life miserable (bonding exercises undertaken by the rescue lady we got them from were unsuccessful, as one was keeping the other away from food and water, and he rapidly became depressed and dehydrated), so we got two Midwest cages. They socialize through a shared wall, but each has his own turf, and they like it that way. They get only minimal floor time due to having to lock the cats away when they are enjoying it, and the problem of them running around pooping in odd places, which with my arthritis and the requirement ALREADY to clean their cages every evening, causes us a bit of hassle. They both have very different personalities (think German and French). We find they don't run around enough in these Midwest cages, and need more everyday space, but being in a condo, we don't have much space on the floor. They are in the bedroom right now, which is sunny and peaceful. I'd love them to be in the living room, where they would get more attention, but the cats tend to view them as entertainment. Covers are a necessity due to the cats. I keep the cats out of "the pig room/bedroom" for the piggies' peace of mind, because they are naturally "on edge" if they think a paw will be thrust through the bars at them. I have obtained two 6-gridcube "sets" to expand their Midwest cages with.
Now I have some choices to make, and am soliciting ideas.
1) the Midwest canvas cage bottom has become too nasty, even with regular cleaning. Has anyone put this cage bottom in the washing machine with some serious detergent?
2) I want to create a hybrid Midwest/C&C living cage for the piggie boys (and they have to be SEPARATED, mind you!) despite only a rather long, narrow space in the bedroom that their cage setup can be created in. Everything will have to be covered due to the cats. Configuration ideas (urls to hybrid setups in small spaces)?
3) Would running tunnels under the bed make for more fun/space for them? Has anyone done this with the grids (creating tunnelways)? Or do you use throwaway large cardboard tubes for a project like this due to the fact that they'll poop them up? Where would you get these, if so?
4) Coroplast is 20 bucks a 4'x8' sheet here. That seems pretty standard. I guess you measure out how much you need and diagram it out on the sheets as a function of the surface area of the configuration you choose for the cage?
Anyhow, too many questions, but given this "serious design challenge", I am soliciting ideas! I'll post photos of anything if that'll help. I think going vertical would be a good idea, but I will need some kind of very long table, given that they can't share spaces...my head is all stuffed with "if I do this then what about this" kinds of questions. Help!
Hi, everyone.
I have two lovely rescue boars. One older, one younger. We found quite soon that one was dominating the other and making his life miserable (bonding exercises undertaken by the rescue lady we got them from were unsuccessful, as one was keeping the other away from food and water, and he rapidly became depressed and dehydrated), so we got two Midwest cages. They socialize through a shared wall, but each has his own turf, and they like it that way. They get only minimal floor time due to having to lock the cats away when they are enjoying it, and the problem of them running around pooping in odd places, which with my arthritis and the requirement ALREADY to clean their cages every evening, causes us a bit of hassle. They both have very different personalities (think German and French). We find they don't run around enough in these Midwest cages, and need more everyday space, but being in a condo, we don't have much space on the floor. They are in the bedroom right now, which is sunny and peaceful. I'd love them to be in the living room, where they would get more attention, but the cats tend to view them as entertainment. Covers are a necessity due to the cats. I keep the cats out of "the pig room/bedroom" for the piggies' peace of mind, because they are naturally "on edge" if they think a paw will be thrust through the bars at them. I have obtained two 6-gridcube "sets" to expand their Midwest cages with.
Now I have some choices to make, and am soliciting ideas.
1) the Midwest canvas cage bottom has become too nasty, even with regular cleaning. Has anyone put this cage bottom in the washing machine with some serious detergent?
2) I want to create a hybrid Midwest/C&C living cage for the piggie boys (and they have to be SEPARATED, mind you!) despite only a rather long, narrow space in the bedroom that their cage setup can be created in. Everything will have to be covered due to the cats. Configuration ideas (urls to hybrid setups in small spaces)?
3) Would running tunnels under the bed make for more fun/space for them? Has anyone done this with the grids (creating tunnelways)? Or do you use throwaway large cardboard tubes for a project like this due to the fact that they'll poop them up? Where would you get these, if so?
4) Coroplast is 20 bucks a 4'x8' sheet here. That seems pretty standard. I guess you measure out how much you need and diagram it out on the sheets as a function of the surface area of the configuration you choose for the cage?
Anyhow, too many questions, but given this "serious design challenge", I am soliciting ideas! I'll post photos of anything if that'll help. I think going vertical would be a good idea, but I will need some kind of very long table, given that they can't share spaces...my head is all stuffed with "if I do this then what about this" kinds of questions. Help!
