Grids I have target grids (8x8)! And opinions on new cage set up?

LucidCavies · Jan 21, 2015

Okay, so I have had my 3x4 c&c cage for a while now. The cage was originally (and still is) made of target grids.

I saw an article a month or two back regarding the dangers of having grid from target and it worried me a bit. I got my second pig and covered all exposed areas with tautly held towels and all was well. Once the baby got big enough I removed the toweling and never had issues. Even when I adopted my baby from the local gp rescue, they used the same grids as myself and the owner of the rescue is very cavy-savvy, so I never thought much of it. The only reason I am especially concerned now is because i am removing the coro from my cage and there will be no "lip" to cover the grids. I am done with my coro and the amount of money I've spent on it just for it to not work properly is just absurd. I currently use coro with a rubber matting over it so there is no leaking from the seams. On top of that I have petco paper pellet bedding and then fleece on top of that. It takes forever to clean and it just isnt for me. I decided that I am going to take the bottom off of the cage all together and put down a shower curtain topped with u-haul padding and fleece.

Okay hold on. Opinions?

would what I have planned work well...I swear i'm 2.5 seconds away from pulling out my hair.

My issue is that I won't have that couple of inches of coro covering the grids, the cage will be sitting on top of the fleece. (habitual burrower)
Is it gonna work out?

bpatters · Jan 21, 2015

No, it won't work. Pigs shouldn't be housed on wire. You can clip the fleece to the coro or the cage.

aqh88 · Jan 21, 2015

Duct tape makes coro plenty waterproof. I don't have any of the 8x8 grids so I don't know the size of the gaps. Several others seem to consider them unsafe. It might be worth investing in proper sized grids if you don't have enough grids to double them up. You can offset a panel so the bars cross the middle of the gap of the other panel.

LucidCavies · Jan 21, 2015

they wouldn't be...

It would be my floor, shower curtain, and uhaul padding and fleece. No wire bottom. just sides @bpatters

sorry for the confusion

LucidCavies · Jan 21, 2015

@aqh88 they are 1 3/4 inches by 1 3/4 inches as apposed to 1.5 x 1.5 right? Thanks for the input!

bpatters · Jan 21, 2015

Sorry. I misunderstood your comment about the cage sitting on top of the fleece. You just meant the edges, not the whole floor, right?

LucidCavies · Jan 21, 2015

no worries! yeah

the best way I can describe it is like a play pen set up... but more durable. The wonderful ladies at (broken link removed) are my "cage-spiration." I don't want to use their pictures without asking though... @bpatters

also, sorry if I came off snippy, It wasn't my intention

pinky · Jan 21, 2015

Are you saying you have 8x8 space grids on the sides with no coroplast? It's dangerous for any age guinea pigs and I would either overlap them or cover them somehow.

LucidCavies · Jan 21, 2015

@pinky I don't right now, but I am considering doing so. It wouldnt be that big of a deal for me to salvage some coro just for the edges

LucidCavies · Jan 21, 2015

*** EPIPHANY***
I'm so happy, I also just realized i'll have all of those extra girds from the bottom annnddd I have some extra space so I'm most likely gonna bump out the cage to a 3x5 or 3x6. I know it would be the matter of only 14-28 inches. But put into perspective, a 2x3 is a cage itself, that being said, I feel like a 2x3 or 1x3 extention would make a world of a difference

oldnewie · Jan 21, 2015

Why not clip the fleece up the sides, as @bpatters suggests? That will effectively cover the sides & stop your piggies from burrowing. You could maybe provide, say, a bundle of fleece either as a piece or strips they could use to burrow in?
My cage was made from 2 playpens set up on 2 tables; tarp & a sheet of heavy plastic for the floor, going about 5" up the sides, then the bedding.
If you want your cage to actually sit on the shower curtain & fleece instead, sheets of the coro attached around the inside should be fine & you could still provide something for burrowing if you want.
Expanding is a great idea, good on you!

oldnewie · Jan 21, 2015

I've just been looking at the cavicollective site - it's really neat! Haven't seen it before & should have before posting a reply. The see through acrylic is even better than using coro etc., & now I understand bringing the fleece up the sides doesn't stop determined little burrowers!

LucidCavies · Jan 21, 2015

@oldnewie Thanks for your reply! I actually have over 25 binder clips clipping the fleece to the coro but I have one pig who finds a two-three inch gap or so between two clips and will pull until the other clips around it come off or he just pulls and pulls until the fleece slips through the clips. I honestly don't understand how he has the strength to do so... But he does lol
I have set out loose fleece blankets and he ignores them. My first thought was maybe he didn't have enough hideys and he just wanted to hide somewhere, but they have at least three igloos/hideys in the cage at any given moment.

As annoying as it is, you have to admire their persistence, right?

I'm so excited about expanding! I'm also considering maybe a secnd level hay room? i don't know, just a thought

AmberCalzone · Jan 21, 2015

As someone who has done the whole.... floor + protective layer + towels + fleece, thing... I personally, STRONGLY suggest AT LEAST having coroplast for the sides if not for the entire bottom of the cage.

Poos will get out of the cage. Poos will be everywhere. You can spot clean the cage 2+ times a day, and sweep the room multiple times a day, and you will STILL find random poos all over the room.... LONG after the pigs are gone. Trust me.

I definitely suggest having some sort of lip to the cage.

I'm confused on why you want to scrape the coroplast? What about it isn't working?

LucidCavies · Jan 21, 2015

@AmberCalzone Yes, I will Definitely make some form of a lip.

The coro isn't working because I had to buy it in small measurements and it had a lot of seams, I taped them all with duct tape but they just tore open. Pee started seeping through on to my hard wood floors and thats when I decided that coro is just not worth it.

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Grids I have target grids (8x8)! And opinions on new cage set up?

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