C&C constructions are repulsive.

[Jennicat]

I agree. Look at my poor, hoarded piggies:

I can see how they are terribly abused in this hoarding situation. Clearly they can barely move, are living in squalor, and are starving to death. (They keep telling me the last part, anyway)

 

[zambonigirl]

Don't forget this one, Voodoojoint:

It's obviously slipped on the two pieces of poop by its feet, and just doesn't have the will to get back up again. It's obviously a display of Stockholm Syndrome.

 

[Myspoiltpiggies]

HAHA, this thread is hilarious.

I can't stand the discusting photographs though, why do you people force your piggies to suffer in such conditions?? You are all just mean animal hoarders. I can't talk though.. I have 13! I guess because I have this many I am automatically an animal hoarder too! Ahh such a shame... I should have just stuck with the 3 I once had. I guess I just hated guinea pigs so much that I had to get more and then get huge C&C cages for them. I'm such a bad owner.. why couldn't I have just kept them in petstore cages!? They don't want to move and exercise!! They are quite happy just sitting there in teeny prisons.

 

[smartorl]

For the original poster who is so skilled at research, have you ever taken a moment to truly learn of the needs and natural predisposition of your one and only pig? GP's are by nature communal herd animals. This is a trait that has carried over into domesticity. They establish their own heirarchy and the interactions within their little society is nothing short of amazing. It is far more cruel to keep a solo pig than it is to have more than one. Aside from being a "rescue", what are the conditions that caused you to keep him solo? Surely, it is more than just that he is a rescue. Under no terms can you convince me that any "human" dwelling is gp proof. There would be absolutely no cables, wires, computers, furniture, chemicals to clean with, beds....... Trust me working for a rescue vet, I see it all. Impacted intestines from ingesting wooded furniture, ingesting unknown toxins off of things they have chewed on, crushing accidental blows by humans, electrocution, I think you get the picture. I have custom made cages, personally, I choose to have a more modern look to go with my house but before I was able to afford what I wanted I used a partial C&C and partial homemade cage. The style of a cage is purely preference. C&C cages, while no one claims for them to be in an issue of Modern Home, are great for the purpose of providing a flexible, affordable home for our pets. You don't like them, no big deal, but is that something you need to broadcast that information along with links for hoarders. If you had done your homework, you would realize how uneducated and stupid you really sound. I am very sorry for your pig, it is a shame that your closemindedness got in the way. Now go ahead and do exactly what you decided to do before posting here, people like you aren't looking to gain information just spread "their version" of the way it is.

 

[FoolOnTheHill]

Teehee, I think the "horder pig" pics are great.
I think your free-range set up sounds wonderful. However, if I let my pigs run around like that the floorboards would be rotten and the carpets would be dyed brown with mushy poop! Some people have dogs, and releasing the pigs would be risking their lives. Instead, they latched onto Teresa's idea of a large, interesting and stimulating cage. The materials are cheap and easy to find for most people. Perhaps if you don't like the appearance of the grids you could copy the many people here who "theme" the cage around a hobby or place.

"The tone of the postings on this website tend to shout down petshop cages as if they were inherently evil rather than a reasonable solution to a practical problem."

Maybe I'm missing something here, but what is the practical problem you are talking about?
Your comments on people who have perhaps 10+ piggies are hoarders are laughable. Has it ever occured to you that these people are so kind they give up all this space in their own home to house their pets? Has it ever occured to you that, maybe, they like guinea pigs and therefore keep a few more than the average person? What your problem with people keeping their pets in large, comfortable cages is, I don't know. Why does it matter to you?

 

[bleachmiracle]

.
The impulse to excess concerns me. Granted a guinea pig is a social animal and needs company of its own kind but that means keeping two or three animals - not five, ten, fifteen or, heaven help us, even more. The impulse to keep so many animals seems to me one which should be resisted - unless you are a commercial breeder or intend to "farm" guinea pigs, neither of which suggests putting the guinea pig's interests first.

Keeping excessive numbers of animals in domestic spaces seems unbalanced. I am sorry, I do not mean to offend but I must be honest, the phrase which comes to mind is "animal hoarding". And that is a form of animal abuse. I think keeping large numbers of animals in shoddy homemade accommodation is unhealthy - not just for the animals but also for the people involved and for the latter I am thinking psychological health more than physical health.

I think that you have gotten a very nice response from this group from the post that you have made. You have insulted them on the way they live and even how their homes look. No one told you you MUST use a c&c cage so why do you feel it's ok to insult an entire group of people who do? I just don't understand that.

As far as the hoarding goes, most people on this forum RESCUE pigs. It is not an easy process to get animals from a rescue and I do not believe that they would give away these pigs to "hoarders". There is a huge difference in owning a lot of animals and hoarding animals and I think you might need to do a little bit more research on the two.

 

[cavyinhawaii]

I love my pigs so much. I would rather them be happy than to have a beautiful cage. Is there such a thing as a beautiful cage? Mine is huge and we call it the palace.It looks fine to me. I have added a little material here and there. A few decorations have helpeed. My pigs love it, They run, jump,hop, popcorn and do all the things happy pigs do. They also have an extremely well balanced diet approved by my vet. I have 4 pigs by the way.
Becareful calling anyone a hoarder on this site. If you had read carefully into this site you would see the pictures of beautiful well cared for pigs.Lots and lots of pictures. Happy and well cared for, if you are worried about how your cage looks you may want to reconsider getting a pig. Get a cat they don't need a cage.

 

[PiggieMom]

I suggest you take a look at this website so you know what real hoarding is all about: Animal Hoarding

As long as people can care for the amount of animals they have, they have every right to have those animals. I personally have five guinea pigs. They're a lot of work for me and I know I can't do more than five currently. But others have different schedules or commitments than me. I have seen lovely groups of pigs, all well taken care for.

I have seen some cages in the galleries that I don't find eye pleasing. But everyone has different tastes. What is important is that they are suitable for the animal, aesthetics should be second.

And to add to the “hoarding” pictures:







I know, they’re awful.

 

[Debbie GP Love]

I love my C&C and my piggies do as well. It is a comfortable home environment that they know is their own. Every day I bring a new object of interest for them to explore. It is clean!! No one in our family has any objection to the appearance and in fact look forward every morning to greeting our family members. It's not clear to me why anyone would be so negative to those who love their piggies.

 

[smartorl]

Also, the classic definition of a hoarder in the eyes of the law, I am trying to find the statute now, is someone that takes in more animals than is sanitary, that takes in more animals that the environment can support, that are not able to see the dangerous living conditions for both themselves and the animals, also note that these people are often suffering from some sort of mental illness. Every hoarder situation I have ever seen or worked has had filthy, horrid living conditions, often filled with too small store boughten cages filled with feces, often the animals have free run of the place and have destroyed it, not quite what is seen in any of the photos.

 

[Lyndsay]

:sarcastic Hey guys maybe he is right.. they really are an eye sore... because you guys all know that we would make these cages the centre-pieces of our homes in some cases because they are ugly. Sometimes when I come to my bed room and look at the disgusting thing I have built in there to aid the life of my two pigs, I think that I could make it better by shoving them in a disgustingly small pet store cage. Makes all the sence to me... Maybe smaller is the new in thing... close quarters maybe helps guinea pigs by pumping them up, causing fights between companions, and lack of exercise must be a good thing. Getting angry over the colour of the coroplast, and cubes not matching in most cases with the room is all that much of a pain to look at...Not to mention how bad I feel for people who have cubes that are 4 different colours like mine... can you imagine how boring that must be for any pig or animal to look at?! Who can not stress over how miserable our pigs are when living in these awsome cages that are built for their health, and don't contain dangerous things for them to play with.

You know everyone we must be doing something wrong... I have an idea... lets all go back to using over priced store bought cages.

Congratulations everyone for seeing around the cages, even if they might not match our wall colour scheme. We are doing this for the bettering of our companions lives. Build on C&C Cagers!

 

[wolfie]

I love your different colored grids- they make me think of a rainbow!

 

[jdomans]

Well gee where do I fit in? I certainly don't care about the cleanliness of my home! I just spend time each day concocting new ways to keep it cleaner easier!!
Here is my former dining room:

I am still in the process of making the cage a garden theme. We will put that plastic flower bed fencing around and we have already bought cute things like small bird houses and tiny wind sock type flags to decorate with. Yes it is an eye sore for sure!!

Oh and heaven forbid that I have Laura's (CCC) mother's artwork on my wall and a portrait of my herd done by Laura at the far end! so horribly ugly they are.

 

[smartorl]

For shame, for shame lol.

 

[Lucy99]

I almost fell off my chair laughing about you guys being 'animal hoarders'. What is this person on? PLEASE!!!

 

[cookie_gal]

I notice gero2006 has not come back on to defend themselves....hasn't got a leg to stand on!

 

[zambonigirl]

I figured that he/she/it just stopped by to troll and try and raise our hackles, only to be laughed at, which must have been a direct blow to the most sensitive area of the ego. I especially love the "I don't mean to offend anyone", which is usually code meaning, "I really hope that you are all offended."

Good times. Good times.

 

[Lucy99]

Yeah it is true, this person can not be really serious. It is one thing to diss someone who is in the minority (me on french forums) but to literally go directly on to a rescue site and say those things???

Just thought, that name is VERY similar to one of the moderateurs (Kero) on one of the french forums. I did give out this site address so people could see how fantastic our cages all are - I wonder if it could be them? Very sad person if so, in fact still sad if not!

 

[muffin]

C&C cages are easy to clean, cheap and easy to make and can be made into any number of lovely designs. The concept of the cage has been inspiration for people who have gone on to build their own versions with different materials that look really beautiful and fit into their decorating scheme. I'm guessing that those of us who just use basic C&C materials like the way they look. As far as I'm concerned, when I took on my piggers I made a commitment to provide for their needs in any way I could. If that means a big cage in my home, fine, as long as they are happy. I can go out of my home environent at will to exercise, they can't.

I also think that pet store cages are always too small. Very few people can let their piggies roam free in their homes. This means that most piggies get out for playtime when it suits their owner, or when their owner is home. My pigs in their C&C can run around when they want to, and enjoy freedom and space within a safe area. Their 2x10 grid C&C on trestles cost in total about £20 more than the Tommy 120 rabbit cage, which is the biggest shop-bought cage I've seen to date, and far too small. When people on this site allegedly "shout down" pet store cages, it is because they are too small for the needs of guinea pigs. They need to be able to run, and they need good ventilation, both of which mean big cages.

I have to say that I have seen the C&C cage idea in variations online, some of the worst being where great ingenuity has been used as to designs which sadly do not provide much usable real floorspace. All the connecting tunnels and obstacles in the world cannot provide for the running space needs of guinea pigs in the same way as the good clear floor area in C&Cs.

It is not mandatory to have a C&C cage in order to be accepted on this site. It is encouraged that members have cages which meet the minimum recommended floorspace areas and health needs of their piggers. This is all in the interests of the piggies. I don't think animal hoarders have time to go on websites and talk about their 'pets', that's not how their minds work. I also think that the piggies cared for by members of this website are among the most spoiled I have ever come across! And why not? If you can give them great lives and luxury, then you should. Why would you ever deny them anything because it took a few extra minutes to clean up and looked a little odd to visitors? It's great that the original poster had the setup that they did, but the fact is that for most people's homes a pet store cage would mean a small cage that the occupants spent comparativley little time outside of.

At the end of the day, we chose to bring piggies into our homes and provide for them. They didn't get to choose us. Yes for many adopted piggies it's better than what they could have had, but why should we settle for giving them adequate provision, when they could have the best we can give them in everything?

 

[cookie_gal]

Yeah it is true, this person can not be really serious. It is one thing to diss someone who is in the minority (me on french forums) but to literally go directly on to a rescue site and say those things???

Just thought, that name is VERY similar to one of the moderateurs (Kero) on one of the french forums. I did give out this site address so people could see how fantastic our cages all are - I wonder if it could be them? Very sad person if so, in fact still sad if not!

I think you've hit the nail on the head!