Hinges For The Doors

[lachaped]

Hello, I am so exicted about trying to build one of these cages. I have been viewing this site for little over a week. I thought I was doing everything correct with the enviroment for them and after viewing this I felt like a bad parent. I have purchased the cubes and the coroplast (very easy to find). my problem is, is that I am not a handy person I can ruin anything, but I'm determined on this one. I have 3 dogs and 2 cats and 4 small children so I need to make the cage completely enclosed. I would like to put doors on the first level and second level and also a door that flips up on the first and second level. I was viewing chumley's cage and I really like that one. I don't know how to put hinges or exactly what to ask for in the store. I'm going to be attempting building the cage this Friday 2-6-04. I will not rest until I finish it. I have 5 pigs and they are in desperate need of a new home. Well actually four until I spay the female, then it will be 5 all together.

 

[CavySpirit]

Do you have 4 males and 1 female?

You should know that spaying a female is a very risky thing to do. It's very hard to find a vet competent enough to do it. See www.cavyspirit.com/neutering.htm

Also, I NEVER recommend putting more than one male in with one or more females. One male per herd is all that you should do unless you are a VERY EXPERIENCED cavy guardian and have a FREE RANGE environment (no cage) with a LOT of room.

Males will pretty much fight to the death over one or more females. Again, ONE neutered male per female or group of females.

2 or more males together WITHOUT females is fine.

 

[n1shell]

Doors

Hi lachaped

I made my C&C by securing everything with cable ties instead of using any of the connectors that came with the grids (I think that the connectors look ugly, but that's only my opinion. & it's neater without the bits from the connectors sticking out).

So when it came to the doors... on the side I was connecting (the hinged side) I made the cable ties ever so slightly loose so that the grid easily swings up/down/out from that point. I also easily bought some clips to hold the door secured when closed.

Here's the whole cage closed:
https://www.guineapigcages.com/photos/data/507/36DCP_0800-med.JPG

1 front door open (I made my front doors swing down):
https://www.guineapigcages.com/photos/data/507/36DCP_0801-med.JPG

Both top doors open at the back (I made the back doors swing up for easy cleaning):
https://www.guineapigcages.com/photos/data/507/36DCP_0810-med.JPG

All 4 doors open at the back (I left the top doors open & swung the bottom doors open & cliped open to the top level):
https://www.guineapigcages.com/photos/data/507/36DCP_0811-med.JPG

I hope this helps...

Shell

 

[n1shell]

Where are they at the moment?

Hi again...

Was just wondering how they are all housed at the moment? Do they all get along?

Shell

 

[lachaped]

Female and 4 males

Hello, I have 1 female and 4 males. I was going to mate her but found the risks more than I wanted to take with her. My vet is highly recommened and it was refreshing to now that he was actually listed on a site (which one I don't remember) but it was inregards to rabbits. Also I met a women from the guinea pig rescue at his office and she highly recommends him as well. The vet it Sager Animal Hospital in Acton.

I wanted to get more than one female for them, spayed of course. Please let me know if this will work because It's costing me 175.00 dollars for each pig that I get spayed.

 

[lachaped]

Hi again...

Was just wondering how they are all housed at the moment? Do they all get along?

Shell

The female is in a cage alone. I am not good with measurements I can fit 3 large igloos in her home with about 12 inches of an isle if I wanted to. The males are housed in a hutch type cage. The cage has a hutch built on and then it's just a typical wire cage. I had them all separated but I felt bad that they needed company. I feel they have adequate room but I knew I needed to do something else and this was how I found this website. When they get older this would definatley not be good for them.

 

[lachaped]

Hi lachaped

I made my C&C by securing everything with cable ties instead of using any of the connectors that came with the grids (I think that the connectors look ugly, but that's only my opinion. & it's neater without the bits from the connectors sticking out).

So when it came to the doors... on the side I was connecting (the hinged side) I made the cable ties ever so slightly loose so that the grid easily swings up/down/out from that point. I also easily bought some clips to hold the door secured when closed.

Here's the whole cage closed:
https://www.guineapigcages.com/photos/data/507/36DCP_0800-med.JPG

1 front door open (I made my front doors swing down):


Thank you I'm actually going to start with the cubes tonight.
https://www.guineapigcages.com/photos/data/507/36DCP_0801-med.JPG

Both top doors open at the back (I made the back doors swing up for easy cleaning):
https://www.guineapigcages.com/photos/data/507/36DCP_0810-med.JPG

All 4 doors open at the back (I left the top doors open & swung the bottom doors open & cliped open to the top level):
https://www.guineapigcages.com/photos/data/507/36DCP_0811-med.JPG

I hope this helps...

Shell

Thank you so much for that information. I love your cage and what you did with the binder clips.

 

[Treen]

As the link previously posted (https://www.cavyspirit.com/neutering.htm) covers in detail, having a female spayed is a far more intrusive and far riskier operation than having a male neutered. Not an operation many vets would do as routine, only as a matter of medical necessity. Most people who want to pair a male and female without breeding have the male operated on for this reason.

If your boys are all happy together, and you are able to house more pigs, why not get one more female as a companion for your existing female, and keep the boys in their existing group? That way no one has to have surgery, but everyone has a chum. Other than that, personally I would have one of the boys neutered and move him in with the female a few weeks later, and leave the other boys together.

Good luck with the cage building.

 

[CavySpirit]

Treen's advice is dead on. That is exactly what I would recommend as well. In that order.

 

[lachaped]

finding a campoin

Thank you all for the good advise. I am going to get another female for Angel. Kind of unhappy this is the route I need to go. Unfortunately I did not do my homework when I purchased the female. Right now it's hard to give all them the attention they need. They play in their playpen at night time and I talk to them and hold them, but the female all she gets it held because I can't put her in with them to play.

By the way my males get along wonderful. They have paired up with each other.

 

[lachaped]

1 Female and 4 males

Hello again,

I have been really bummed over hearing about putting the female in with males. I have never ever joined in chat rooms before in regards to any of my interests. But after viewing the cages and all the time put into them I thought I could really enjoy this. Don't get me wrong I am. I finally finshed the bottom floor of my cage. By the way the entire cage cost 90 dollars (very nice) The top floor not rushing with (besides I ran out of cubes).

Anyways, I called my vet to ask him a few questions and one was spaying the female and putting her with the males. Now mind you he works with Guinea Pigs quit a bit. I was told that he has done a great amount of spaying females without any complications or fatalities. He also said that he knows of females being put in with herds of males and he has never known them to fight to death? I'm torn with a decision again because I really trust my vet, He is great and never has steered me wrong with pigs. I also mentioned at one point I was going to mate her. His concern at that time was what am I going to do with the babies because there are to many unwanted ones right now. Ofcourse I was going to keep them, but now I have decided on the other route (neurtering her).??????????????

 

[Treen]

We're advising you based on our own experience of keeping guinea pigs, which in many cases here has been vast. It's just not a combination that usually works well because of the natural social order of guinea pigs. Males instinctively compete for any females present, and will fight to the death with other males for the right to mate with a female - it's as simple as that. It make take one day, four days or a couple of weeks for any trouble to start, but if/ when it does, they'll not mess around, so you'll certainly need that good vet of yours to stitch them up.

I don't think it should even be attempted unless you're providing a free range environment - some people have success with that. But I've not heard of people having multiple males and females in a cage (however big) without serious trouble eventually breaking out.

If you don't want to take the advice we've given then that's your call, but I would think long and hard before having your female spayed and attempting to integrate them all in a cage. And definitely base your decision on more than the advice of one person, even if it is a vet you respect - it's common sense when making such a big decision.