Second-time pig parent!

[Lychee]

Hi there! I'm Lychee.

I haven't owned guinea pigs in some years since I was a teenager living with my parents. We raised two over six years. The first was a retired kindergarten pet who was quite old when we adopted him. He lived his final, quiet year with us in relatively good health until the end. The vet couldn't tell how old he was, but I imagine being handled by children with constant stimulation in a tiny cage added a few years to him. The second was a purchase from Petco (back when I was less knowledgeable about rescues) - she lived for about five and a half years. Each was alone and though given plenty of love, I decided that the next time I had a piggy family, it would have more than one!

I adopted two sisters (1 year) from someone who could no longer take care of them. They were clearly well-loved given as they ended up being completely free with all their supplies in the hopes that I would give them more love! They are very sweet, although one is much more receptive to being handled than the other. I was intimidated by the C&C cages and bought a Midwest, although I am regretting that since the customizing aspect seems rather interesting. Perhaps in the future I will use them for add-ons if possible.My two girls love the Midwest (pending ramp and eating area setup) although their lofts limit the amount of popcorning they can do, so I am considering expanding it with a second cage. They're on Guineadad fleece liner but have a habit of ripping the edges out of place and burrowing underneath rather than in the actual pocket or the hideaways. I'm considering clips to keep them in place, but am open to suggestions!

I hope to learn a lot from this forum so that I can be the best guinea pig parent I can be!

 

[Lychee]

Thanks for the welcomes! Their names are Rosie and Raisin.

I actually used binder clips to try and pin up the pocket. They love it, but they seem super distracted by the fact the other corners anyway, especially the ones in shadowy corners. I layered the opposite end where the eating area will be with multiple towels in the hopes that they will be occupied with all the layers. I had also tried placing the food bowl, hut, etc in the corners which upset one of my piggies and she began sitting on top/angrily moving them. She won and ended up under the fleece again, lol.

The rebar sounds like a good idea. Maybe it is just that they need more fleece/layers. I love the Guineadad liner so far because it seems very high-quality, but frustrating given their prices. I invested in two but most of their pee has been underneath the actual liner! It is good smell-wise and clean-up has been comparatively simple, but maybe just because so much of it is beneath the layer and the absorbency isn't really being tested. Piggy Bedspreads does service Midwest cages, but the lining of the fleece looks like it would have the same issue. Once the other pieces of the cage come in, I can better navigate a solution for them.