I need help with my cage!!

[CajunGirl19]

I am new to this!! I am getting a piggie tomorrow.. My boyfriend is buying me one and I did the cage already..well, i tried!! Instead of using the cubes.. I got one of those playpen things from Walmart and they're different colors and I got a cardboard box and i wrapped the box with a shower curtain and I put some sheddings in it.. but i dont know if that is good enough..

 

[dagwellismypigy]

Please don't buy a guinea pig! There are thousands of homeless guinea pigs, go to www.petfinder.com. See https://cavyspirit.com/breeding.htm and https://cavyspirit.com/petstores.htm to understand why we are so anti-petstore on this webpage. Your cage is ok temporarily, but it only equals about a 2x2 when the optimal for one pig is a 2x3. You should really consider adopting pair of guinea pigs, seeing as they are such social animals and giving them a spacious 2x4 to live in.

It sounds to me that you aren't quite ready for a guinea pig yet, you should do more research before you take in a piggy.

 

[Zeander]

C&C cages are super easy to build. Give it a try. What shavings are you using? Do not use cedar, it will make your piggy sick! Use aspen or kiln dried pine. It goes a whole lot easier on you and your piggy if you are well prepared before you bring him home. I had my cage built like a month before I brought Mia home!

 

[Eventrocker33]

Don't buy from a petstore! Save a piggies life instead. C&c cages are very easy to build, but first I think you need to read and learn more about pigs.

 

[rabbitsncavyluv]

Those playpens are too short. They can easily jump over them or knock them over.

Adopt, don't buy.

 

[alfieiheartu]

I have had one of those piggy play pens (the exact same one I believe) and mine broke really easy all the links came undone and stuff. I would suggest getting a big tupperwear container not to high, not to low but cheap.

 

[Ly&Pigs]

Tupperwear containers are not appropriate for housing guinea pigs. Just spend the $10-20 on a box of grids, buy some coroplast and make a nice cage for your piggie.

 

[CajunGirl19]

Well, in the first place.. i got a piggie at the petstore and I asked all the necessary questions.. and I DO KNOW about guinea pigs because i had one before... so don't tell me i need to do more research.. It doesnt matter about research it matters about the care of them... but anyway! My cage is doing rather fine because my piggie is liking it.. he runs around and stuff.. I still have accessories to get it so it can play and stuff but it's doing good.... petstore piggies need to be saved too! I got one and I like it!

 

[Ly&Pigs]

It doesnt matter about research it matters about the care of them

How do you think you learn about taking care of them? Researching is the best way. I have 7 pigs and I still research on them all the time so I can learn more. I have had guinea pigs before too, a few years ago. They died because I didn't know how to properly house or take care of them and I didn't know they needed veggies/fruits. When I got my Chatty last year, I got on the net and researched as much as possible. I learned so much I never knew and now I am a respected moderator on one of the best guinea pig sites in the world because of the research and knowledge I have gained.

petstore piggies need to be saved too! I got one and I like it!

To be blunt, you can't "save" a petstore piggie. It's not rescueing, it's called lining the store owners pockets and contributing to the guinea pig mills. Probably at least 2 will take place of the one you bought.

A little friendly advice- the attitude you are displaying in your above post won't get you far on this forum. You obviously came here to seek advice on cages because you didn't know if the cage you made was "good enough" but you don't seem to want to listen to the advice being offered.

 

[alfieiheartu]

I got the idea from a breeder and its ovious you don't know what I mean by tupperware. They work just fine.

 

[VoodooJoint]

I got the idea from a breeder and its ovious you don't know what I mean by tupperware. They work just fine.

Alfie

You are really pushing my buttons. You had better read the home page of this site carefully before you make one more post. https://www.guineapigcages.com/

In fact read this link too. At the bottom it tells you why not to use bins https://www.guineapigcages.com/types.htm

 

[alfieiheartu]

Ok well they worked well for me but ok. I plan on doing lots of stuff differently.

 

[rabbitsncavyluv]

Yeah, breeders and pet stores are the best sources of information. NOT.

 

[aqh88]

Breeders and petstores are either looking to make money or they just like seeing lots of baby piggies. I did breed guinea pigs for years. That was before I had internet and when all I had were books saying guinea pigs need 2 sq ft of space. After doing the research this time around I couldn't disagree more with that. Guinea pigs are so different when given a large cage.
Most petstores do not do adequate research on the care the animals need. The only time I have "rescued" an animal from a petstore was when they had 1 duprasi left(gerbil relative and likes company). It was in a 10gallon aquarium being fed gerbil food and crickets except it hadn't eaten in a week since the last of it's siblings was sold. They had marked it down from $50 to $3 because they didn't even know enough to keep it alive. The actually lost money on that sale. This is the best and most informative petstore I have found in my state. They just don't have the time to look things up.
Alot of breeders while they may not intentionally keep the animals in poor conditions either don't look up what care the animal really needs or they can't provide the optimum amount of care and still afford to keep and breed their animals. Both sources tend to fudge the facts and cut corners. Also a big problem I've seen on alot of breeder forums is that since they cannot give perfect care they tend to get upset and ignore people who have done alot of research even when you present scientific studies, give them the name of a knowledgeable veterinarian or show them all the sites such as this one. I have seen some very very obvious mistakes by breeders that had been in the business for years simply because they refused to listen to others or do the research themselves. Lack of research is one of the biggest problems in the pet industry. Plenty of lives have been lost or ruined because someone didn't know what they were doing. There is alot of both solid proof and experiences out there to back up what is said on this site and others. I would not get defensive over or take lightly the information you are given here.

 

[alfieiheartu]

I bred 2 litters and found them all good homes but I stopped after 1 planned one and one accidental. But I don't see anyone critisizing her for breeding.

 

[RubyPiggie2]

Oh gee alfie, and you told us that both of the pregnancies were accidental because the males jumped over to the females cages.. Hmm..