Cage Kitchen Area

[hojun]

In the kitchen area, do I need to create a "coroplast box" or can I just put a wall? Is the coroplast box necessary because it's easier to clean or is it the same amount of work for just regular kitchen area. I have 4 inch walls on the regular coroplast box.

Also, do I need the fleece / uhaul bedding underneath the coroplast area if I have aspen?

 

[hojun]

I set it up right now so only uHaul bedding is there; is aspen still necessary with teh uHaul?

 

[hojun]

Bump! Any help is appreciated!

 

[FlowersGrandma]

Bump! Any help is appreciated!

I just created a 2x4 box and a 2x1 box, making a 2x5 cage. In the 2x1, I still use towels and fleece, but use more toweling there since it tends to get wetter. I then lay the hay right on the ground and they eat it in the 2x1. They do a lot of their business there. I change the whole cage once a week. Throw out all the used hay and we start fresh. I feed them a hand full of hay twice a day. (about the equivalent of 1/4 a small bag of hay from the pet store.) They eat it, play in it, etc.

 

[pinky]

I have a 2 grid x 5 grid coroplast base and made a 2 grid x 20" box that fits in the coroplast base. I fill that with regular bedding and remove the whole thing when I empty it. That box tends to get messier than the rest of the cage so I buy extra small pieces of coroplast and occasionally replace the box with new ones. It has 3 higher sides and about a 1.5" side that's open to the rest of the cage. It's low enough that the bedding stays in but the guinea pigs can still run laps from the other side of the cage, through the kitchen, without tripping on the edge.

 

[hojun]

Can I just create a wall because I'm not very good at cutting & fitting the box exactly to the coroplast?

 

[FlowersGrandma]

Can I just create a wall because I'm not very good at cutting & fitting the box exactly to the coroplast?

Sure you can, or just use something that will sit in the kitchen area. When mine were littler I used plastic bins that I bought at walmart. THose are now too small and they can push them around, so we just use the box and they sleep in the bins. We put a pad made of fleece and towels in the bin and they sleep in them. It has sides on three sides and then the front is shorter so they just hop right in. But for almost a year, they made perfect hay bins. Once they go where they were pushing hay all over the cage, I made the box. We put the hay into a double sized cereal box and they pull it out and eat it. Just cut a huge hole in the bottom and they will eat away. As long as you keep it full, they won't climb out of it. Zip tie it to the side of the grid to hold it in place. When it gets yucky, just get more cereal. :crazy:

If you don't mind the whole cage getting hay on it, then you don't really even need the divider. Just put hay in one end and they will eat it. I only use fleece and towels. SInce hte box is smaller, it's not a big deal if the fleece gets gross to toss it. I use scrap pieces of it to cover the kitchen area.

 

[hojun]

I'm not worried about the hay getting everywhere, but mainly the area where they poop. Would it be ideal to just divide the kitchen area / main area's bedding, like to cut 1/5 of the fleece & uHaul for the kitchen and leave 4/5th for the main area. Then I could wash separately?

Also, did you cut your plastic bins or make an entrance, if so, wouldn't the edges cut them?

Or did you let them jump?

 

[pinky]

Here's a photo of my cage. I rounded the edge of the coroplast kitchen tray. There's no entrance but it has a lower edge that faces the rest of the cage. I use two fleece pads in the rest of the cage so I can change one at a time and the guinea pigs know to move to the other side as I clean in there. I have a corner plastic litter box where I put my hay. I have velcro on two sides that holds it to the coroplast. I line it with newspaper and also line the bottom of the kitchen with newspaper and put the bedding on it. It's easier to clean that way.

 

[hojun]

Nice cage! I only have 4 inch walls though, would it be good if I make a wall with the coroplast like and attach it so that I have two sections?:

------- ----------
l_______l

The only reason why I would need a box is if I put aspen bedding.

 

[pinky]

If you use fleece in the kitchen, you don't even need a divider. I'd just separate your hay in some sort of container or rack or they'll drag it all over the cage. It's hard to get hay off the fleece once it sticks to it. One of mine always seems to want to jump right in the hay so by putting newpapers under it, I just have to flip it out in the trash and it comes right out.

Nice cage! I only have 4 inch walls though, would it be good if I make a wall with the coroplast like and attach it so that I have two sections?:

------- ----------
l_______l

The only reason why I would need a box is if I put aspen bedding.

 

[hojun]

If I use aspen I wouldn't need anything under it right? I accidentally cut it already and I only have 1 inch walls in the barrier so is that high enough for aspen not to get out but the guinea pigs to not jump that high?

 

[pinky]

Push the bedding down when you put it in so it's not so fluffy. I'm sure some of it will get dragged out, but you can shake it off the fleece. I'd just give it a try and see how it works. I'm constantly reworking my cage and trying new things to see what I like the best.

If I use aspen I wouldn't need anything under it right? I accidentally cut it already and I only have 1 inch walls in the barrier so is that high enough for aspen not to get out but the guinea pigs to not jump that high?

 

[hojun]

I would just need aspen there nothing else right? Did you say you put newspaper underneath?

 

[FlowersGrandma]

I'm not worried about the hay getting everywhere, but mainly the area where they poop. Would it be ideal to just divide the kitchen area / main area's bedding, like to cut 1/5 of the fleece & uHaul for the kitchen and leave 4/5th for the main area. Then I could wash separately?

Also, did you cut your plastic bins or make an entrance, if so, wouldn't the edges cut them?

Or did you let them jump?

No my bins were used for veggies, so the front of them was at an angle and smooth. Similar to these hopper bins rack unit plastic storage drawer bin conductive shelving wire wholes
BUt with a smaller front, and not as expensive.

 

[pinky]

I put newspapers under my bedding in the kitchen and under the hay in their hay bin. When pee dries in the bedding or hay, it causes the hay to stick the bottom and is hard to clean out. The newspaper serves as a barrier and makes it easier to clean up.

 

[hojun]

If you use aspen, do you buy it from the pet stores? I know to buy hay from other places cause it's cheaper but how about aspen?