C&C Alternatives Cage recommendation when C&C cage is too wide

[sheldon]

Hi, new to the forum, just got my daughter a female cavy, was recommended and purchased a cage that is too small, however, I have a space limitation as I need to place whatever cage I end up with on an Ikea storage case that is approx. 18" wide x 38" long.

I can deal with some drape -over in width and length, but I would like to limit the size of the cage to no more than 22-24" wide by no more than 40-42" long. I don't care about height other than to keep our pet in the cage, and I don't care about having a top for it as we do not have any other pets and my daughter does not throw footballs or frisbies around her bedroom.

Unfortunately, the C&C cages are approx. 30" wide, which won't work on the Ikea or in the space we've allotted for it. I've spent some time hunting on the internet but haven't had much luck finding anything, other than a mid-western cage that is 24" x 47", which could work, except it uses a canvas bottom which I imagine will sag in the areas that drape over the Ikea.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

 

[HannibalLecter]

You could zip tie the grids slightly closer together, and build a stand for the cage?
Although most pigs really do need the width, especially to run around. Any way you could move things around or put the cage somewhere else?

A cage 24" wide & 42" long is only 7 square feet, which doesn't meet the minimum size for one pig which is 7.5 sq ft.

 

[sheldon]

I know it's not the ideal arrangement, but my daughter's bedroom is small and she is very resistant to giving up the Ikea storage unit with its storage bins underneath it that houses her toys, games etc. We also do our best to take our piggy out of the cage daily for a romp in a 24' x 48" enclosed area on a yoga matt.

Again, any recommendations for a C&C alternative with approx. 24" x 42" dimensions?

 

[Varcoda]

mmm, i thought an acceptable size for one pig is 2x3 feet, which is what sheldon can accomodate. however he/she is right in saying you can zip tie the grids closer.

you could also build a loft for the piggy, and give her some floor time so she gets to run around and go crazy

 

[HannibalLecter]

mmm, i thought an acceptable size for one pig is 2x3 feet, which is what sheldon can accomodate. however he/she is right in saying you can zip tie the grids closer.

you could also build a loft for the piggy, and give her some floor time so she gets to run around and go crazy

No, it's 2x3 grids (if it's a C&C cage), the minimum inner measurements should be 7.5 sq ft. Please see the recommendations on the main page.
Upler levels don't count for space, as they need enough ground space to run around. Floortime will not replace a properly sized cage as they need to be able to exercise on their own time.

 

[HannibalLecter]

I know it's not the ideal arrangement, but my daughter's bedroom is small and she is very resistant to giving up the Ikea storage unit with its storage bins underneath it that houses her toys, games etc. We also do our best to take our piggy out of the cage daily for a romp in a 24' x 48" enclosed area on a yoga matt.

Again, any recommendations for a C&C alternative with approx. 24" x 42" dimensions?

Is there anywhere else in your home where you could put the cage?
If your daughter is young, there's also an increased risk of allergies (hay, dust & the pigs themselves) when you keep the pigs in the bedroom.
You can make a storage unit underneath the cage with a stand, take a look at the pictures here: C&C Cage Cubby

 

[Rhinos_mom]

My cage isn't two girds wide. You can just over lap a little and fit to whatever width you need, but make sure its as wide as possible. You don't need to buy the cage pre-made. You can make it yourself by ordering the cubes and the coroplast (or other alternative bottoms). What I would recommend doing if you're going to have an over-hang, limiting the over hang to only a couple of inches. I myself do have an overhang, it's not enough for the pig to step there and it to fall off. My cage is too heavy to fall off. Also, if you're going to have an overhang, what I strongly would recommend, is making sure 2 sides of the cage are against a wall (putting it in a corner) that will make sure nobody can bump the cage and knock it off As well as having a wooden bottom for more structure.

The shelving units that my cage is on are also hand made. I'm very lucky to have a construction manager as a father.

I ran upstairs to take some pictures for you as a reference.

This is the width of my cage and a close up of how I tied them together with zip ties:




This is a picture of my overhang:



This is a picture I took, lifting up my coroplast to show you my bottom frame:



This is why I originally had to have a smaller width, this is an old picture before my cage additions its also a comparative to his old pet store cage. I had to accomidate to the space between my wall and the tv:



​In order to accommodate the loss of space by reducing the width, i made the cage longer, which made the cage 8 square feet which is larger than the minimum.

 

[sheldon]

Rhinos-Mom,

Can I borrow your father for a day or two? Every time I attempt one of these projects, my daughter learns just how many four letter words there are in the english language...

 

[WheekingPiggies]

What about the Midwest cage? It states on Amazon that it is only 24 inches wide. Here's a link: Amazon.com: Midwest Interactive Guinea Habitat Plus: Pet Supplies

 

[RubyRain]

You could still get the midwest cage and just get a solid piece of plywood or something similar cut to size (they will cut plywood for free at home Depot) and put that under it to take care of the overhang on your shelving unit.

Or make a c&c and overlap the grids as mentioned above and you could still get a solid piece to put underneath for overhang.

The MW cage is 24x47 and not really that big as far as taking up too much room. If her room is that small that you can't afford to put a cage that size in there, then please find another space for it.

Kids rooms really are not the best place to put the cage anyway, unless they are teenagers. While, piggies are not nocturnal, they do make noise at night at various times and early morning. Ventilation should be good too.

 

[artgecko]

I have the midwest cage... It is 24" wide x 47 inches wide. I have it on a 4 ft folding table I got at walmart that adjusts to 27" high (that's from the ground to the bottom edge of the table. The table literally fits it perfectly... NO extra space on top. If you could find something like this, it might be able to go over the IKEA piece? Just a thought. You could also get a piece of board to go on top of the idea piece to make up the width / length difference... but if you could find a table tall enough to allow her to keep the idea organizer and house the cage on top, that would be sturdier. I know they have a 5' / 30" wide table at wal-mart, but I'm not sure how tall it is.

Art

 

[sheldon]

At this point, I'm between getting the Midwest cage and putting a piece of plywood over the Ikea so the cage is fully supported, or just biting the bullet and getting the 2x3 C&C cage with matching base and a cubby unit or two to replace the Ikea storage unit.

For those who have owned the Midwest cage, what has been your experience with the canvas bottom? Can you get it clean so that it doesn't smell? And do you put bedding down, or just let the piggies roam around directly on the canvas?

For those who have owned both the Midwest cage and the C&C cage, which worked out better for you and your pets?

 

[MummyOf5Piggies]

At this point, I'm between getting the Midwest cage and putting a piece of plywood over the Ikea so the cage is fully supported, or just biting the bullet and getting the 2x3 C&C cage with matching base and a cubby unit or two to replace the Ikea storage unit.

For those who have owned the Midwest cage, what has been your experience with the canvas bottom? Can you get it clean so that it doesn't smell? And do you put bedding down, or just let the piggies roam around directly on the canvas?

For those who have owned both the Midwest cage and the C&C cage, which worked out better for you and your pets?

Although i don't have a midwest cage, i heard it gets stained. Try putting something absorbant underneath bedding/fleece, I.e puppy pads, towels, or a uhaul furniture denim blanket.
But you can put coro insted of the canvas.

 

[RubyRain]

I have both and prefer the c&c over the midwest. The canvas base does need bedding or fleece and I found it a pain to clean mainly because it would would bunch up when wiping down or poop would get squished in the corners. I put a coroplast tray in my Midwest cage (pic in my albums in my profile) which helped. The c&c is sturdier in my opinion.
for the money, I prefer the coro tray and grids over the Midwest set up.

 

[sheldon]

Well, you all have convinced me to get the C&C cage. I ordered last night after prolonged tense negotiations with the 10 year old. We settled for the 2x3 cage in light blue with black grids, matching black base and two royal blue cubbies to replace the Ikea storage unit which will now retreat to the family room in the basement.

If any of you hear a voluminous amount of cursing coming out of eastern Mass. over the next week, it's just me trying to assemble the cage.

Thanks to all who replied with some great advice!

 

[HannibalLecter]

Well, you all have convinced me to get the C&C cage. I ordered last night after prolonged tense negotiations with the 10 year old. We settled for the 2x3 cage in light blue with black grids, matching black base and two royal blue cubbies to replace the Ikea storage unit which will now retreat to the family room in the basement.

If any of you hear a voluminous amount of cursing coming out of eastern Mass. over the next week, it's just me trying to assemble the cage.

Thanks to all who replied with some great advice!

Oh don't worry, it's quite easy to assemble. Much easier than any Ikea furniture at least, and I'm Swedish.
The grids can be a bit hard to connect tightly enough at first, but you'll get sheets with instructions on how you build it step-by-step, with detailed pictures. I'm sure your daughter will find the cage building project exciting, I know I did.

If you have any questions you can post them here or contact the C&C store. And please post pictures when you're done!

 

[svillemomof4]

I have a midwest cage and am in the process of trying to make an addition to it from the "store" cage I bought when I got them. At first I used nothing on the canvas bottom and have found that it stinks. Cleaning is horrible! But after reading great ideas on this site I have now layered it as you would the coroplast. Newspaper, towels, and fleece on top. Clean up is a cinch and my girls are much happier. I don't know why it took me four days to do that! I am turning the store cage into a kitchen, just trying to get the ramp done now. It is too difficult to use the cage sperator on the midwest, putting anything other that fleece in it makes clean up long and hard.