Just had a brainwave

[YayPiggies]

I was thinking about how I was supposed to convince my parents to let me get a big cage when I had a brainwave.

The average human weighs about 135 pounds. A Guinea pig weighs about 2.5 pounds, making a human 54 times bigger than a pig. The average living space in the USA is about 2300 square feet, for an average of 2.4 people. Considering most of us have 2 or 3 pigs (some of us with many more), the majority 2, that makes the number around 2.4 as well. So, the average living space for an average of 2.4 Guinea pigs based on those above facts should be 42.592592592 (repeat) SQUARE FEET. That's because 2300, the average house size, divided by 54, because humans are 54 times bigger than pigs, = 42.6!!!!

So if anyone you know needs convincing, tell them that! Also great for putting down petstore cages- If someone says petstore cages are fine, tell them to live in a 162 square foot house. AKA their laundry room with a washroom and a broom closet thrown in. :eye-poppi

 

[CavyLuver516]

Thanks for taking the time to calculate all this - great work! I'm defiantly telling this to my parents!

 

[dra&pigs]

This is great
Thank you!!

 

[Kipsie]

I think my brain just exploded.

I read thorough that twice and I think I understand.
I'll tell my mom that, thankies.

I need to take notes, though. :headache:

 

[RainbowPiggy]

I think my brain just exploded.

I read thorough that twice and I think I understand.
I'll tell my mom that, thankies.

I need to take notes, though. :headache:

I think my brain exploded too, haha! But this is really good information, thanks for taking all the calculations to tell us this

 

[LoverO'Squiggle]

Wow, that is some math! I lived in a studio that small...not fun.

 

[YayPiggies]

Haha, Kipsie and Rainbowpiggy, don't worry! In a few weeks time your brain should be back together again!

 

[Katie_Kutthroat]

Oh my goodness, your smartness makes me happy.

 

[SLS5173]

Thank you so much for this post ! I was just arguing with my fiance about cage size and how bigger is better .

 

[Milkingit]

Except different creatures need different space needs not necessary based on size alone.

IE. Guinea Pig vs Hedgehog
About the same size roughly but a hedgehog is used to searching for food over a large radius, ie why they need a wheel that they run on for 6+ hours a night.

Guinea Pigs are plains dwellers that just mosey on grass that is everywhere in their natural habitat.

And honestly no family of 2.4 people needs 2400 sq ft. My fiance and I live in an apartment that is 1000 sq ft. and it is more then roomy for the 2 of us. Just because Western Society dictates that the bigger the house a higher status symbol you are. Look in Japan people live in closets practically because they have such little land.

The fact of a 42 sq ft. guinea pig home is a little ridiculous for 2 piggies, I'm pushing it the fact mine have 20, and are going to 30 sq ft. I'm not saying you shouldn't give the pigs as much room as you can. But on your parents behalf, you need see that it is their home, and really a 42 sq ft cage would roughly be a 5x6 cage, or 70" x 84" that is significant real estate.

Plus since you are living at home, are you playing for all the bedding, if you are using fleece, its a decent start up cost (I recently spent over 100 on fleece, and absorbent under layer) Or by using carefresh, you'd be spending about $200 a week for a cage that size.

Its alot to think about.

 

[Catayn]

My God, I wish I had 10% of your math skills!
Very well thought! I believe that's quite convincing.

 

[crazywiggy]

Yay piggies that is awesome - I never thought of calculating it that way. It certainly gives food for thought.

Don't get me wrong, I think pigs can be happy in a cage smaller than 42 sq foot - but you're right it throws into perspective just how tiny cages really are. I don't imagine for a moment that you could build your own pigs a cage this size - but if this helps your parents realise how little space the pigs really have then great.

Milkingit - Seems like an odd post.... maybe I'm reading it wrong.

Certainly it does depend on species. For example, comparing floor space to size between humans and guinea pigs is problematic because we are bipedal. Hence, a human being could walk more steps (and thus make better use of space) in a small area, than guinea pigs who walk on all fours. It would be like us crawling around on hands and knees. Guinea pigs being as they are also do not make use of height in the way that other animals and people do - so they need extra floor space for this reason. And unlike small rodents guinea pigs can not use a running wheel for exercise.

At uni we were taught that a species ability to cope in captivity (particularly in terms of confinement) is heavily related to the animals natural home range. Animals that do not normally travel far or cover a wide area tend to cope better in captivity. Some of the species that find it hardest to cope with confinement are rodents and equines - because they would naturally range over large distances (relative to size). For example, mice will travel up to 27 feet approximately in any direction from their nest site. Suddenly a 2 cubic foot cage just doesn't seem adequate.

Sorry for the long post - the cage size / enrichment / welfare interface is my pet subject!