C&C Concerns about possibility of escape

[Ichorous]

On recommendation I recently put together a C&C cage. 2X7, working out to a little more than 20 sq feet. Overall it's worked great (have 4 females). Overall I have been very please. I arranged the cage so they have plenty of room to run and do laps (which they seem to enjoy a lot).

The only concern I have is that last night I took one of the piggies out for some bonding time. She's very young, so she is on the small side. She is skittish so she immediately ran back to the cage and squeezed herself through the bars and got back in.

The good news is that i've had the cage for over a week now and none of them appear to have any desire to escape. No bar chewing, no signs of boredom; they have plenty of company and enrichment items.

Is this something I should be concerned about until they get a bit bigger and couldn't fit through the bars anymore?

Thanks for any help

 

[Guinea Pig Papa]

Definitely a cause for concern. If your pig understands that she can get through the bars, one day she will try it when she WILL be too big, and she'll get stuck. That can have disastrous consequences.

When I had baby boys (3 weeks old) I cut 6 inch high coroplast to go all the way around the inside of their pen (their cage already had 6 inch high coroplast) so that they couldn't get out. I used binder clips to secure it to the bars.

I left that coroplast there for the first 6 months of their lives, until I was sure they couldn't even get their heads stuck trying to get through.

 

[ItsaZoo]

Are you sure about the size of the grids on the panels? There should be 9 squares across and down on each grid. The squares should be no more than about 1.5 inches. Some new grids are only 8 squares across. The squares are large enough for small pigs to get their heads through and choke.

 

[bpatters]

You can either double up on the grids and offset them a little, or put cardboard or coroplast up the sides. I'd do at least eight inches rather than six.

 

[Ichorous]

Thanks all for the info. Yes, the bars and 9 squares across and down (1.5 inches). I think im going to go with the coroplast. Seems like the easiest safe way to go.