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Midwest Temporary Midwest Guinea Pig Cage ?

lisa325

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As most of you know we lost our darling boy Luigi recently, and although it's still very raw, we know Mario needs a new friend. We are planning on getting a new baby within the next few weeks, we're not sure which one yet but I will post when it's all settled.
My question is, do you think it will be a good idea to put the baby in a temporary Midwest cage alongside Mario's bigger C & C cage just until they become accustomed to each other. I plan on cutting a piece of coroplast to fit the bottom of the Midwest to strengthen it and also to stop any staining. After a couple of weeks I will try the tried and trusted method of introducing them on thoroughly cleaned neutral ground, for several hours, and then if all goes well, housing them together in the thoroughly cleaned bigger C & C cage.
Also, do you think the bar spacing on the Midwest is safe for a little one? for those who don't know, it's not cubed, it's vertical spaced bars. I got the cage on Ebay for $25 with free shipping, so it's always something I can store for future use if need be.

Our sweet Luigi is resting at the bottom of our garden now, I'm going to plant pansies all around him. We're waiting on his memorial stone to arrive so we can complete his remembrance garden.

Wish me luck!!
 

Bovinpig

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Hi Lisa325,

This is just coming from me as I had mine in 1 Midwest Cage which is approx 2x4 which would be fine for him until you combined the two in the bigger cage

As an owner of Midwest which are connectable in various forms we got our pig at 6 weeks old and her head did not fit between the vertical bars and never had a problem with them
We too cut coroplast to fit inside the canvas of the Midwest which works perfect but snug fit and there is enough room we noticed in 1 Midwest, we now combined two together so its approx 4x4 without a divider between and with 1 there was enough room at the time for a small cat pan for kitchen area, large tunnel, hammock with enough room to run and popcorn

Good luck with your upcoming new pig and my condolences for your Luigi and what your doing to remember him is lovely
 

Beatrix187

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I think you could do that, but you still would have to quarantine them.
 

sallyvh

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Personally I wouldn't house them side by side. If you are doing quarantine, they should be in completely separate areas of the house. Once you are finished quarantine (if you are doing one) I would intro them immediately.
 

bpatters

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What's the point of putting them side by side in separate cages? If you're going to quarantine, the pigs need to be in separate rooms to keep illnesses from passing between them. If you're going to put them next to each other, there's no point in having them in separate cages -- you might as well go ahead and introduce them.

Here's how to do the introductions: https://guinea-pigs.livejournal.com/3002707.html. Letting them live next to each other won't do anything to help the process.
 

lisa325

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My logic behind this whole process (right or wrong), is that the new pig is going to be a 4 week old baby, and I figured keeping him alongside Mario for a while will help him to adjust to the new sites and sounds of the household, before throwing him in at the deep end, so to speak. It would also help Mario to adjust to there being a new pig around. The rescue has told me there is no need to quarantine as the babies were born there and show no signs of health problems, otherwise I wouldn't even think about putting them in the same room straight off of the bat.
After about a week I was going to do introductions the correct way on clean, neutral territory.
I have seen other people do it this way with a simple divider down the middle of the cage ( with great success), but I don't want to disrupt Mario's space until I'm finally ready for them to live together. Also, it will give the new little guy plenty of space in the Midwest to run and discover.
Is my idea way off? I just want the new baby to feel safe and secure.
 

Soecara

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Personally if I am introducing a very young guinea pig to an older guinea pig I do it as soon as possible. At such a young age it is much more stressful for them to be alone, particularly when they are also in a new environment, than it is to go through introductions. The short stress of introductions makes settling in smoother and less stressful as they have another guinea pig to take comfort in and can follow their lead.

Having them see each other beforehand won't do anything to help introductions and it can cause the guinea pigs to start chewing the bars to try and get to each other.
 

bpatters

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Exactly, [MENTION=24757]Soecara[/MENTION]. Many people break quarantine for lonely babies. His age is even more of a reason to go ahead and introduce them rather than waiting.
 

lisa325

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Thank you guys so much :) I'm not going to say I'm not nervous about the situation, and I know it's not going to be all sunshine and roses, but I will follow your advice, grit my teeth, and stick it out :).
 

lisa325

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@ spy9doc.....Actually we already have a couple of heavily pregnant teddy sows we're waiting on to deliver. I've also put a deposit on the most adorable little silver/white agouti boar who will be ready to come home with us in less than 2 weeks. We are waiting to see what colors the teddies put out, but I have the feeling that we may go for the agouti, he's just so darn cute and they're hard to come by over here.
What do you think? 17548956_10208001622070740_1201700955_o.jpg17571347_10208002917343121_867529833_o.jpg
 

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Shieme

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I plan on cutting a piece of coroplast to fit the bottom of the Midwest to strengthen it and also to stop any staining.

oooo, good idea. Just got a Midwest cage because I suck at making a decent c&c cage. I have a pup in it, she's fine. How old will your new addition be? Also a young boar and older boar would be fine. I only read your post, I haven't read the others because like I said I just got the cage. And I don't like how flimsy the bottom is. Thanks!

my girls love the extra room. I thought they would miss the upper level I made in the old cage but they don't! I'm looking at expanding as soon as I get a room cleaned out. Gosh, I'm sorry. Off topic.
 

lisa325

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Sorry, I have been MIA for a while so have only just seen your post. I have 3 sows (well they're my moms actually ) She ended up joining 2 midwest cages together and cut a length of coroplast to fit snugly in the bottom. It has been great so far, nothing has gotten through to the base of the cage, so it all stays nice and clean, no staining whatsoever :).
 
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