C&C Improvement advice needed . . . .

[Rach84]

So here's my cage as it stands this morning . . . .


I have moved my kitchen area down under the loft an I plan to make the loft into a cosy sleeping area. But I still need to make some improvements to make cleaning downstairs easier so I have a few questions . . .
1, Would my ramp be better in the middle or would that take up too much room?
2, Would it work to cut two pieces of fleece for the downstairs so I can change out the kitchen area more or would I need to make a kind of correx box for it to sit in?
3, Will it be easier to cut fleece an towels to the right size to fit inside my cage for cleaning? At the moment I tuck the fleece over the side an sometimes when brushing it gathers up so is harder to do a quick sweep!
4, Is there another way to add a support as the grids in the middle gets in the way when I try to reach over to clean?

Any other ideas or improvements are greatly welcomed! Xxx

 

[PunkRockElite]

I am keen to hear some suggestions to your questions! My set up is pretty much the same as yours, but I have a litter box / come hay box in the back corner under the ramp as I found that's where the pooing was happening, full dustpan worth 4 times a day! But use the loft for kitchen area, but hay still gets everywhere!

I didn't have a middle support to start with , but had a 2 by 1 loft, I only changed to a 3 by 1 once I seen yours posted last week. I don't think any other way to support is possible unless you use a plank of wood underneath, I have seen people talk about that on here before.

 

[TiaColleen]

I used a dowel rod and just zip tied it underneath. They are easy to buy and have all different thickness. You can get at your local hardware store. My cage is only 2 grid wide but I think it would work for 3 wide. Or you could have it cut and just use it vertically and have two pillars holding it up.

 

[R5 plus]

I'm new to guinea pigs, but I tend to think of them doing zoomies around the perimeter of the cage. What if it was an L-shaped ramp with a "tunnel" under the turning spot? It wouldn't interfere with their running and might feel like it takes less space.

As for the support under the loft, I was using one of those big igloos. The upper level floor grids rested on the "roof" of the igloo. The floor grids could be ziptied in the back and held up with binder clips when it's time to clean. The hidey is easy to take out at cleaning time, however, you're confined to that particular hidey unless you replace it with something else of similar height (the medium hideys were shorter). In our case, it took up lots of space and only 1 pig would use it at a time (although they did take turns).

I like the flipper idea. And another flipper-like idea recently on here where the person used binder clips instead of sewing the flippers (she wasn't flipping them either, they were one-sided). But I also like how the fleece sides seem to keep the coroplast cleaner as nothing gets underneath. Maybe a combination of the two with a fleece sheet beneath and flippers over that.

If you're willing to use zipties, there are lots of ideas for grid doors for easier cleaning or catching. Maybe a door in the back if you can pull the cage away from the wall for cleaning.

 

[Rach84]

I can't lift it out as I need my other half to help me an he already thinks the pigs get more attention than him! Hehe xx I was just taking one grid off so I can lean in better but I keep thinking the boys will jump off the side! Xx

i sadly can't use flippers as I am in the uk but I am starting to think about sewing towel under my fleece and having it just fit inside the correx xx

 

[G_Piggler]

I think this looks really nice already! Your kitchen UPSTAIRS can be their private getaway, and up there it won't eat up zoomie routes, nor track kitchen stuff/hay onto your fleece, AND my girls mostly PP up there, yay! I can picture a 3x1 grid LOFT under the upstairs. The loft could be their cozie floor, the upstairs the private kitchen, and downstairs Zoomie playroom! (the wood dowel for support idea sounds easy-peasy!) OK- so I just described my own cage ;P CHeck out my photos for possible inspiration. I think your cage is big enough for your current ramp (I got a hot tip that they LOVE a covered ramp,) but consider some great suggestions above for ramp alterations. I stretch & clip ONE big piece of fleece over a stretched & clipped layer of Zorb2 on my 3x2 cor floor panel. Stretched taught fleece makes for easy poop scooping and deters burrowing. Bravo & happy remodeling, Cavy Parent!

 

[Rach84]

I did try having the kitchen area in the loft but someone suggested it might not work too well as my loft is only 1x3 an one grumpy pig might keep the other from eating! So I moved it down where there would be 2 ways in an out! Would it work to have 2 liners down there so I can change the smaller one under the loft area more regularly? Xx

 

[SamanthaC02]

Getting the fleece tight somehow really does make sweeping easier, some one already mentioned another post about clipping the fleece to inserts and that's what I do. For my kitchen area I just lay down a large dish cloth on top of the fleece (I plan on making waterproof fleece mats to use though). They dump hey and poo all over it, I fold it over, pick it up, shake it out in the trash and put it back. It's simple and it's what I find works best for me.

 

[aeiou]

I am currently using fleece flippers, so let me describe my experience.

Well I was very excited to get them! I ordered them from the market and put them all together and put them in my cage, but there was a gap of a few inches between the side of my cage and the last flipper. So I realized that not every cage is exactly the same size...lesson #1: make your own if you can.

lesson #2: the OP said she wraps her fleece around the sides, so OPyou probably don't know this, but for people who use fleece without sides, the poo and hay and stuff gets stuck between the coro walls and edge of fleece. Unless the flippers are really tightly packed together, you basically have lots more spaces to dig hay and poo out of.

Long story short, while I am currently still using the flippers, next time I go to buy fleece I will either make it like the OP or like this.
https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...weaking-testing-my-cage-liners-check-out.html
however I would put duct tape around the clips to soften the sharp edges...I mentioned it on there. (@SamanthaC02 mentioned it)