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Cage Building a larger cage

Cheestachio

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I currently am housing 2 sibling guinea pigs in a 2x3 c&c cage. I understand this is too small for them, especially young male piggies. The room they stay in is very small and a bit crouded, so my only solution is to make a stacked cage. I am doing this now because there has been a few fighting incidents and i feel now i need to split them up, or at the very least give them more room. I would like to hear and see some design ideas for the cage. I only have 13 grids, so keep that in mind. Thanks to anyone who can help!
 

Novabean

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Adding a second story may help a little but they really need flat square footage, especially for two boars. U can check out the cages post, a lot of ideas there

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Cheestachio

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Yes, i understand that they need more flat square footage. My initial idea was to build another 2x3 cage on top of the current one and seperate them. I know that 2x3 is small but it is the minimum size for 1 pig, not 2. I will look at some of the other threads for some ideas
 

Novabean

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Yes, i understand that they need more flat square footage. My initial idea was to build another 2x3 cage on top of the current one and seperate them. I know that 2x3 is small but it is the minimum size for 1 pig, not 2. I will look at some of the other threads for some ideas
Got ya, didn't realize you were going to separate them

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Cheestachio

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No problem, I appreciate the help! :)
 

Guinea Pig Papa

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Separating the pigs would be even worse.
 

Cheestachio

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Why? And i know i should try and keep them together in a larger cage just considering flat square footage but i do not have the space. I just dont know what to do!
 

silverblood

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If the pigs aren't getting along then separating is less stressful and will stop further injuries from happening. There are plenty of guinea pigs in the world who just can't make friends and feel less stressed having their own space and just hearing and maybe seeing the other pig from a different cage. Do what feels safe and it will be OK. Hearing each other will help keep them from being lonely since they can't get along.

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CavyTV

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If you only have 13 grids, how are you able to make 2 2x3s? That requires 20 grids. And if the cages are stacked, the boys won't be able to get any interaction. They'll only be able to hear and smell each other. They might even be more stressed because they'll want to get to each other. The least you can make is a 2x4 with 13 grids. That is the minimum for 2 pigs, but for 2 boars a 2x5 is the least they should get.

Remember, if there is no blood shed you need to leave them alone and let them work it out. Unless there is blood, you shouldn't separate them. Perhaps they are entering puberty. Give them time. Let them work it out. Try and see what happens in a 2x4. Try a 2x5 if the 2x4 doesn't work. You can even have the stacked 2x3s (not sure how you'll make that with the amount of grids you have), just make a way for them to get from one level to another.
 

spy9doc

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You are severely limited with only 13 grids. If you can't afford a $21 box of grids, how in the world will you afford vet bills? Vet visits are not a matter of "if" they happen, but "when" they happen........and they will.

You have two threads about the same topic and I've given you a suggestion on your other thread.......post pics of the room where they are kept and be open to suggestions for rearranging the furniture and making room for a larger cage. There are hundreds of pics in the photo gallery of creative cages of all sizes and configuration. Spend some time there to get some ideas.
 

silverblood

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We don't know that they can't afford the grids and I really don't think we should assume. They mentioned that the pigs are fighting which means they might be trying to quickly come up with a solution. I also don't think that hearing each other will stress them more from different cages because so many people recommend letting pigs not getting along to see each other through grids or something. I do agree that rearranging furniture could really help. You probably have more room than you think and when you get the chance you can buy an extra box of grids and try a bigger cage. Do you have a spot for an L shaped cage? The cage doesn't have to be one straight line. You could shape it from the wall and make it bend in front of your bed or something. BTW, if you actually can't afford the grids, a good way to get a guinea pig fund started is use a cheap scrapbook and put a dollar or a five dollar bill in it every couple of weeks if you can. It'll build up faster than you think.

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spy9doc

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We don't know that they can't afford the grids and I really don't think we should assume.

No, but it does cause me to question priorities and a realistic view of the situation. I was only citing a possible example, not an absolute assumption. I have followed her entire story and parts of it show a lack of perspective. There are few "absolutes" where cavy care is concerned and we all have to be open to other opinions and possibilities.

Grids are around $21 a box through Sears and even less if you can find them at Goodwill or on Freecycle. As I have previously mentioned, there are hundreds of creative cage solutions in the gallery here on the Forum and some of them for little money. Also check out the "Show Me Your Cage" thread for others' ideas.
 

silverblood

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I can only go off what has been said in this post, and by that I have no reason to believe they can't afford more grids and no one else does either because money was never mentioned. I'm not sure why giving the number of grids you have to work with makes anyone question priorities or a realistic view of their situation. I think trying to come up with a solution is a realistic view to caring for pigs. I also stated another possibility which is that they are trying to separate fighting pigs quickly. I'd like to let you know that the way you cited a specific example, by assuming they can't afford grids or vet care, came off as accusatory which is why I said something in the first place. I normally wouldn't critique anyone on the internet but I just see so many accusations on this forum it makes me want to jump in. Wasn't trying to be rude, was trying to help.

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spy9doc

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I think you may be the one who is assuming......you are interpreting what I said in your own way, not in the way that I meant it. I have been on this forum a l-o-n-g time and have learned not to make assumptions because everyone's situation is different. The OP is new to the forum and to guinea pig care. You will find that newbies often benefit from the knowledge that those of us who are more experienced can sometimes provide. I think that if you go back and look at the history of my posts, I am infinitely helpful to most and rarely criticize anyone unless I feel the situation warrants it.

How about we just agree to drop the subject? It's not worth having any conflict.
 

CavyTV

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We do not even know what kind of "fighting" she witnessed. It could be actual attacks or just rumblestrutting. We can't assume because the owner did not specify what she saw.
 

silverblood

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See, the only thing I meant by anything is that the OP never said anything about money and I felt it was worth mentioning that nothing was ever said about affording anything. You asked that how they could afford vet care without being able to afford grids, but how did you know they couldn't afford grids. That's all I meant, and even added in the end in case I was wrong how they could save up money. But in response I get this long message about absolute assumptions and realistic views of the situation. Never mentioned anything about that and see no reason you should have either. And I see no reason now that there should be any mention of conflict over advice I felt like sharing. I also see no reason to state your authority by telling me how long you've been on the forum. I've been browsing this forum for a very long time also and I only said anything because there is a ton of instances where the longer standing members really assume things and end up saying things that have nothing to do with the original post and mention how much more experience they have and it does come off as accusatory and rude. I told you it came off that way because I already know how helpful you are on many posts and I thought you'd want to know if you accidentally came off in a bad way. Just because you've been helpful a lot before doesn't mean you're not being rude now and because I figured you didn't mean to seam that way I mentioned how we shouldn't assume. Just to let you know though, it doesn't matter at all how you meant what you said, it matters how the person listening takes it and though I tried to just nicely say something in the beginning I'm being told more things that have nothing to do with the things I said. I never said anything about new members not needing new information, I never said anything about you not being helpful on other posts, I never doubted how long you've been on the forum. Ive gotten to where I don't even want to be apart of this forum because the longer standing members always respond this way when people try to give them advice on how they handle things and when they only want answers for the questions they asked instead of being interrogated about stuff they never mentioned. I would never have been this upset if you hadn't acted like no one could perceive the things you said as rude or wrong. And the problem is that no matter what I say you will only respond telling me how wrong I am over me pointing out one thing I felt shouldn't have been said. Anyway, I'll drop it. But you really should consider that sometimes the administration on this forum, including you do assume sometimes and you do mess up. I still can't figure out how "I have thirteen grids" means I can't afford more grids, but I do highly regret offering my own advice even though I do still think you were assuming things in your original post. Again, was never trying to be rude, I was only trying to be helpful and somehow that turned into me being told I was interpreting your post incorrectly.

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silverblood

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BTW, to me, when my advice is turned down, it Is worth it to me to pursue that.

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silverblood

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We do not even know what kind of "fighting" she witnessed. It could be actual attacks or just rumblestrutting. We can't assume because the owner did not specify what she saw.
I agree. If they aren't fighting horribly there's no real need to separate them. The OP mentioned separating so I thought they must be fighting bad, but they also mentioned trying more space so maybe they aren't. I hope they aren't causing injury because with a little more space they could probably be a happy pair. You mentioned that hearing and smelling from different cages might cause more stress. I've always heard people saying that pigs who don't get along can still socialize in different cages with grids separating them. Is that not true? I don't want to be spreading misinformation.

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CavyTV

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Yes, but keep in mind that the OP may not know any better and may be wanting to separate due to normal dominance behaviors. Guinea pigs who don't get along can certainly socialize through smell, sight, and hearing but from what I've experienced my two boys chewed at the cage bars nonstop because they wanted to get to each other. I wasn't even separating them for the same reason; I was attempting to do a split-cage bonding method. However, after the constant bar chewing and shoving their noses through the gaps of the grids I decided the stress and chaos was not worth it so I ended up going with the traditional "neutral area" introduction. Of course, all piggies are different so perhaps the OP's guinea pigs will not be as driven as mine.
 

Cheestachio

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I apologize for not being on recently, I was having some issues with my internet. It seems i missed quite a bit! Just felt I needed to mention that I appreciate any suggestions and all help I can get. I also am sorry if I was not very specific and caused some confusion. Money is not an issue at all, the size cage I have is completely due to the space I have to work with. I believe it is worth mentioning that I do not live on my own and the room they are currently living in is indeed my own bedroom. I have found that the only way due to the amount of stuff I have and the layout of the room that I will have to get rid of my dresser entirely and try and work with my tiny closet! Haha worthy sacrifice for my baby boys. As for their fighting, i have seem typical dominance acts like mounting, chasing, etc. What got me worried what that one of them physically bit a hole in his brothers ear. I panicked a bit because there was some blood, but mostly because THERE WAS A HOLE IN MY BABY BOYS EAR :eek:hmy: I know that ear biting is common, however i was not certain if it was serious enough. I thought it better safe than sorry and to ask the knowledgable people of this forum. As you can probably expect from getting rid of a dresser, i will have more space and will expand the cage to at least a 2x4 and possibly a 2x5. I suppose I will work out what to do after that if plan A fails!
 
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