C&C Alternatives Considering switching from C&C to single critter/ferret nations. Thoughts?

[dani_starr]

Don't get me wrong, I think C&C cages are great! They are cheap, easy to use, and a great option for a guinea cage.

However, I stumbled upon this picture and I absolutely LOVE how there are the doors on the front allowing for access from the front, not just from the top. I also love how sturdy/heavy duty critter nations are. Along with how professional/nice/clean they look, and that there is a solid top. (I could easily use the top of the cage as a desk surface area, and have a chair coming off from the left side.)

My current 2x4 C&C made with just zip ties and no connectors has the dimensions of 28" by 56" (by 14" high).

A single critter nation 24" wide by 36" long, and a single ferret nation is 25" wide by 36" long (by 24" high). I would just get a single critter/ferret nation (as opposed to the double shown in the picture), but I would get 2, and attach them like in the picture (I'm assuming by just cutting out the wires with wire cutters? The OP of the picture didn't elaborate more than sawing off the middles.).

Two critter nations attached side by side would have the dimensions of 24" by 72" and two ferret nations 25" by 72".

That is, if I did all my math correctly.

Would the 3-4" taken away in width be bad for them if they are gaining 16" in length? I know that 28" wide seems to be the minimum recommended.

Adding 16" in length would give them 448sq in more of floor space in length, but it would be taking away 168-216 sq in of floor space from the width, bringing the total amount of space gained to 232-280 sq in I believe.

I'd take out the level and ramp, and just make a piggy bunk instead to save on floor space.

I have a neutered male and female, if that makes a difference.

Thank you for your thoughts.

 

[dani_starr]

I found another persons picture, this is what I'd do , except I might forgo the coroplast.

I found this thread https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...e-for-our-guinae-pig?highlight=critter+nation and it seems like no one was strongly against, and the people who were opposed were concerned about two boars in it. Is a 2x4 c&c better though since it's wider? It just seems that 16" longer (close to a 2x5 c&c in length, not width obviously) would be more beneficial, but I don't know how important width is in a piggy cage.

 

[LuvCavysLuvCats]

Width is more important when boars are concerned. The narrower a cage is the more they seem to fight, but width is still a factor for girls and boy/girl pairs too. Is there any cages by this company that are wider?

Since your pair is a boy/girl it really just depends on how they do together. The worst case scenario is it doesn't work out and you have to sell the cage. If you want to try it out, try it out.

 

[dani_starr]

Harry and Ginny are incredibly bonded. While they don't sleep snuggled like rats or mice would, they sleep within 6" of each other at all times. It's pretty adorable. They are about 2 years old, so they have already been through puberty. I adopted them as a bonded pair, they were living together for at least a month prior, if not longer.

I have yet to find any other cages by this company or similar cages that are wider.

If they don't fight, would it be a down grade/bad for them to be in it? :sad: I figured gaining over a grid length would be an upgrade, but now I'm not so sure.

Thank you for your input!

 

[Paula]

They're really good cages. I have several set up in addition to C&C type and a few guinea pig cages made by Midwest (same manufacturer as the CN and FN). It won't be a downgrade for a pair and on the whole is much more sturdy in many ways.

You won't need to cut any bars, just don't use the side panels (everything is modular with the nation cages, very nice feature) and zip tie the two cages together.

 

[sallyvh]

I don't think it's a bad idea at all. If you have bonded guinea pigs the width should be fine. I personally have my 2 pairs of pigs in cages that are 24 inches in width and they don't have any issues.

The only thing is i would do the coroplast tray, only so that there is an edge at the front so when you open a door they can't fall out. For my pigs sometimes when I'm going to grab them they start running and I wouldn't want one to accidentally fall out the front in its haste but I think that depends on how your pigs are.

 

[mmas4]

I use a ferret nation set up that way. I actually turned mine into a TV stand. It would work for a desk if you did it a little differently. I did not saw the side pieces. I didn't use them and I used cable ties to attach the two sides. I would think it would make a great guinea pig cage.

 

[dani_starr]

@mmas4, did you hand make the top wood part, or is that buy chance a store bought piece that fit perfectly? Did the sound from the tv bother your ferrets, or does the wood act as a sound barrier?

@spy9doc, thank you for your input. I'm in a similar situation, my living room/bedroom/dining room area in my studio apartment is under 200 square feet. We have a a small loveseat couch, a full size bed, a micro coffee table, and 2 book shelves. We used to have 6 book shelves, but I condensed it down to 2 to make space for their cage. We still have to purchase a very tiny school desk for my boyfriends office area. We literally have no more room to build a longer C&C cage, and going out to 3 grids in length would make it near impossible to walk around the couch to the bed without climbing over the couch.

I certainly wish I could give them more room! My 3 boars had a 3x5 and I loved it! That was in a 500 square foot one bedroom though. I tried adding a second level/patio area, but they weren't too inclined to go up there. I left it up there for a week, and they both went up once, straight back down, and that was it. Even with treats/hay to lure them.

Floor time for us is also a failure, it consists of them piling on top of each other for 99% of it. Thanks for the suggestion to PM Paula, and thanks for your insight as well.

@sallyvh you do make a good point. My kiddos will freak out too, but typically will just run and hide in their fleece tunnel in the far back. I only use the elevator method for picking them up when they are in the cage, otherwise it's too stressful for them. I shall think about it more, thank you for bringing that to my attention.

@Paula do you use them for guinea pigs, or do you have them set up for your other animals? If you have them for your piggies, I'd love to see pictures! It's lovely to know that they are modular and I wouldn't have to saw it apart, they seem really easy to use/modify.

 

[mmas4]

I made the top. For a desk you could just make a flat top. The cage is already tall enough by itself. A flat top should be pretty easy to make but you would still need the right tools. The ferrets are not bothered at all by the TV. They have the option to go through a tunnel to their cage downstairs (its usually pretty quiet downstairs) but they usually hang out in that cage.

 

[dani_starr]

Would you care to elaborate a tad more on the right tools? Could I just go to home depot, and find some plywood that is 2ft wide about, and have them cut it to 6ft long? Or maybe 2 3ft sections, to make it fit in the car easier.

Or find a 4ft by 8ft piece, and have them cut it to a 2ft by 6ft? If I can't find a 2ft wide piece.

 

[mmas4]

Yeah, that would work. I used pieces of solid wood to cover up the plywood edges and used a router to make the edges flush but it wouldn't be necessary. You will want to sand it down but power sanders are cheap.

 

[Paula]

I use them for pigs and chinchillas. A double is perfectly suitable for a pair, though you will find that many people are inclined to suggest that 3" in width will be a devastating loss or cause fights or ... well, any number of things. But, the thing is, it's fine, and I'll point out that two nation cages side by side is larger in terms of square feet than a 2x4 cage, overall.

If you're really worried the space won't be sufficient, you could get three instead of two, though it would probably be cheaper to buy a 162 and 163 or 182 and 183 rather than two or three 161s or 181s, though if you did that you'd have to use coroplast as the base because of the cut outs in the pans ... but I'd recommend that anyway to better contain the bedding and poo than the pans they come with.

You'd also have to find or make a table instead of using the rolling bases the 161 and 181 would come with.

Another quick note, you're saying that one is 24" wide and another is 25," and that is probably from mmanufacturer's site, but they are the same and can be used interchangeably - I have CNs as third levels on all of my double FNs right now.

 

[dani_starr]

@Paula, why would I have to find or make a table instead of using the rolling bases the 161 and 181 would come with? I'm sure the reason is something staring me straight in the face, that I completely missed.

I'm considering using 3 of them instead of 2, as the only time they are active is in their cage. Floor time consists of them hiding in a tunnel, lap time consists of them slowly moving off my lap to the said hidey to hide the whole time. Perhaps they will want to explore more as they grow more comfortable with things, but at the moment currently, it;s not looking like it.

You were correct, I got the width dimensions from this site https://www.critternation.net/difference-between-critter-nation-and-ferret-nation.html Do you know if they are both 24" or 25" then?

I'm also considering getting rid of both the love seat couch and full size bed, and then get a really nice queen sized futon. That way, I'd be able to do a 2x6 c&c which is my dream cage size for them. I think I might miss having both a couch and a bed though... I'm not sure. Something else to think about I guess.

Another thing I was thinking about, would it be hard to get a coroplast base in it? Since I would have to put it in side wise, then slowly move it in fully and straighten it out I'd imagine. Or is there a lot of space where it's easy to get the coroplast tray in it?

 

[dani_starr]

I'm thinking of just doing a 3x3 or 3x4 c&c instead. @Paula, thank you for your input though