Cage Let's see your cage Pictures please.

edica said:

Anyway, let me know what you think!

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Looks awesome! I would suggest getting a larger hay rack, the one you have doesn't look like it holds much, and you want to make sure your piggies always have a plentiful supply. Also, if they chew on that log thing at all, you should take it out. It's full of sugar, which is hard for guinea pigs to digest and should be very limited. It's okay to leave it if they don't chew on it though.

pigger123 said:

Looks awesome! I would suggest getting a larger hay rack, the one you have doesn't look like it holds much, and you want to make sure your piggies always have a plentiful supply. Also, if they chew on that log thing at all, you should take it out. It's full of sugar, which is hard for guinea pigs to digest and should be very limited. It's okay to leave it if they don't chew on it though.

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Thank you for the tips! I will limit their access to the chewable log. I switched up the cage a lot this weekend. I also added two hay trays upstairs, one doubles as a little castle looking hideaway.

Here's the updated cage:

front view (note for anyone looking for ramp material: I went to target and found a "utility rug" for $4.99. It's commercial/industrial type of carpet and the back part has grip to it. It's a good size to where I was able to just bend it over the ramp with binder clips and I removed the actual part you bend to clip it for a cleaner/safer look.) We also went to Lowes and got 2 fun pvc tunnels for them that they love! I am debating if this should stay in the cage or if I should place it in there sometimes. I feel like they could run better without it there).

back view (the edible log I used for ramp support).

side view

loft view with their hay trays they jump in and out of. Seems to double as a litter box so that has helped with cleanup. I also added a little tree trunk toy that I might add hay in just for fun. I had their daily greens up there, then took it downstairs for a bit so I could take pics of them in eating action as you see later on.

and there is Cavy and Callie snacking downstairs (my bf instead naming her Cavy the Cavy lol)!

edica said:

Thank you for the tips!

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One more tip! Those pellets are no good, unfortunately. You want plain pellets without any added bits. The best brand is KMS Hayloft, but Oxbow is also great.

pigger123 said:

One more tip! Those pellets are no good, unfortunately. You want plain pellets without any added bits. The best brand is KMS Hayloft, but Oxbow is also great.

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Oh yes -- a couple days ago I ordered 10 lbs of Pellets from KMS and 25 lbs of the 3rd cut Timothy that I can't wait for it to come in. I'm hoping they will love the 3rd cut since they don't touch any of the stems in their current hay. *Fingers crossed*

pigger123 said:

Looks awesome! I would suggest getting a larger hay rack, the one you have doesn't look like it holds much, and you want to make sure your piggies always have a plentiful supply. Also, if they chew on that log thing at all, you should take it out. It's full of sugar, which is hard for guinea pigs to digest and should be very limited. It's okay to leave it if they don't chew on it though.

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I made that same mistake with the log. I am still new at this all so I didn't even thing about checking things like that for sugar. I bought a stick tunnel also and just kinda thought of them both as things for play rather than food. It's amazing how much stuff they sell for Gpigs that they really shouldn't have. I put it out during open play time when they're running around and not chewing on things. I don't keep it in the cage or they end up chewing it. Gonna get rid of it I think now that I made a big tunnel thing for them and don't need it so much.

@edica as far as the fleece not being long enough?? It is always way to wide, so if you sew, I take some from the sides and sew along the bottom. Saves me a few bucks in fleece and then I dont have tons hanging over the sides as it hard to tuck all under.
Just a suggestion. But I think it looks great, it doesn't have to cover all the coroplast anyway

Here's my updated, new cage So proud of it!

Super cute, what an imagination you have!

I built my first C&C cage today. My piggies had been in a small wooden hutch that I converted to have 2 levels, but it was just way too small. I knew I had to make them a bigger cage.
I know it looks like it is outside, but it is a completely sheltered and walled pergola area with carpet on the floor and everything. There is just no space inside the house proper fora cage of any size, and out there they can have the most room available for them. It's up on a very sturdy table. The open areas on the top at each end are just the roof folded back, it does close and clip shut.
I had so much fun making it, and they seem to love it....zooming around as soon as I put them in. Ghost (the Abyssinian) had to sniff out where the food was first though. Nymeria was more interested in checking everything out. The front is double gridded and the sides and back have very high corflute because the girls are so tiny.
More toys and hidey holes are on their way. And more fleece.

bexta89 said:

I built my first C&C cage today.

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If that block thing in the third and fourth photos is an "edible" seed treat, they shouldn't have it. Nuts and seeds are not healthy for guinea pigs, and they can choke on them. Also, those blocks are typically held together with something sugary, which is hard for pigs to digest and not good for them.

Otherwise, your cage looks awesome and your babies are adorable!

My technical first step was a regular petstore cage, but that lasted one day. This is step one of C&C: 2X3 for Sir Pig before he had a buddy
Step 2 was making it into a 2X5 when I was able to get President Snow. The flooring was a cheap laminate before I could get coroplast. I rearranged the hideys each day for them to have new obstacle courses and ways to run around. Sir Pig loved it!
Step 3 was getting the coroplast and making a mini kitchen for the guys. They loved it!
Step four was changing to wire instead of plastic cubes because the plastic didn't hold up. This also introduced a newcomer to the herd, so I added a 2X2 extension to the 2X5.

Sorry, wouldn't allow me to upload this in the previous post. They practically have only one hidey in the other side, and a tube. They use that side for running around, and the 2X2 for sleeping. I'll be doing a second floor very soon!

Looks so fun! I bet they love it.

Inle_Rabbit said:

After sometime we added a third guinea pig (who we no longer have) and expanded the cage up ward. It was about this time as well that my 2-year-old became tall enough to reach inside the C&C and pester the guinea pigs. So this new fully enclosed model came to be:



The cage was changed many times after this trying to get the 3rd guinea pig to get along with the resident two but after it became apparent he just would not we rehomed him and settled on this new 2x5 cage arrangement:



For Christmas my son got another guinea pig Buddy and the cage stayed the same. Buddy has a very easy going personality and didn't need any help getting along with Ben and Eddy.



In February I brought home Bacon. For the first 3 weeks all four got along great in the 2x5 C&C but after awhile they started to fight and I expanded the cage again to what we have now! A mammoth 2x7 with two hay loft areas. Lots of tunnels and hideys in this cage! The guinea pigs love it and we have not had a serous guinea pig fight since. I normally have fleece in the cage but we went out of town this past weekend and used wood chips so it was easier on the pet sitter.

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I LOVE the progression of piggies and cages. It makes me nervous though. My son got a guinea pig for his birthday in August and my daughter was jealous and of course our piggie needed a companion so the next day we got a second (I didn't know about adopting piggies then). I found a c&c cage on craigslist right away and it was single level 2x3 and came with 2 sets of fleece flippers and other cage accessories. Great deal. But then I started searching this forum and decided that we needed to expand so now its 2x4 with a loft and storage underneath to keep it high so that our dog isn't tempted to explore inside the cage. My husband made a joke that we should put another loft on the other side and connect the two with a ramp. A lightbulb clicked in my head. My daughter asked if we could get a third piggie for Christmas and I said no but secretly I want one. I just bought a sewing machine and started making more fleece flippers for our expanded areas and also some cuddle sacks. Now I am addicted to sewing for the guinea pigs. :crazy: I don't even mind all of the cleaning too much. Much easier than taking apart the dwarf hamster's cage. And my son PROMISED he would be the one to take care of them. They are in his room but I want them in the living room so that I can enjoy them more. But I feel they are safer in his room with our dog.

I was finally able to expand my cage to a size I'm comfortable with. My two girls were in a 2x3 with a 2x1 loft but are now in a 2x3.5 with a 2x4 upper level. I put a kitchen in the upper level, which does cut into the floor space a bit, but I think they appreciate the extra room anyway. The cage is in a very awkward spot for dog- and child-proofing reasons and sits on top of a high table, so I wasn't able to separate the two levels with an extra row of grids. I built the front of the bottom level to swing open instead, so I can slide the coroplast out to clean it or retrieve pigs as necessary. Believe it or not, this is a far easier system than trying to climb a step ladder and reach under the loft to clean their old cage. Any suggestions for safe lighting options for the bottom level would be appreciated. Right now I'm just looking at it as one giant hiding place, but obviously it would be nice if it weren't dark all the time. I only just got the new cage put together, so finding enough fleece to cover it all, building some tunnels and replacements for the pigloos, sewing an extra hay bag, clipping the ends of those nine thousand zipties, and generally prettying things up are next on the list. I was also finally able to invest in enough grids and extra uhaul pads to make a large playpen for floor time, which makes clean-up so much easier than just letting them loose in a closed room. Hopefully it will mean happier guinea pigs!



All's well that ends with vegetables.

New cage (first floor ramp covering has since been replaced, as seen in next pictures)

First floor is 4x5. Second floor is 2x5. Third floor is odd-shaped, 1x3 then 1x5 then 1x2.

Two more pictures.

Can't wait till our other fleece flippers arrive, which will cover all three floors.

@PipNSqueak Wow, that is a huge cage! How many lucky pigs do you have in there? And how do you clean it?!

pigger123 said:

@PipNSqueak Wow, that is a huge cage! How many lucky pigs do you have in there? And how do you clean it?!

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Thanks! We currently have two Peruvian sisters, but we are going to adopt two more from our local rescue. Not all of the grids are zip-tied together; some have straps that allow us to easily get into the cage for cleaning. I think you can see a strap in some of the pictures.

We just added a Tupperware kitchen with Carefresh bedding. We also have a new hay bag and a new feeder for their pellets. Cleanup is much easier since they do most of their pees and poops in the kitchen. Does anyone else think the Carefresh stinks?? We also have new fleece flippers which we have had for less than a week. We have flipped them once and washed them once but for the first time since we've had them, the room stinks when we walk in???

Our 3 year old named all 3 of them. We have Shady, Shorty (the black one), and Shadow (the baby).