Cage Let's see your cage Pictures please.

[Easefirst]

Their cage os beautiful. How come they don't have any hideys? I thought hideys was absolute requirement for the pigs.

 

[joys_cavies]

Their cage os beautiful. How come they don't have any hideys? I thought hideys was absolute requirement for the pigs.

She may not have had a chance to put them in yet

 

[Xyzpdq0121]

@Xyzpdq0121 I love your raised garden bed!!! Do you have to clean that or does their pee and poop just go down into the ground? It's so clever! I just love it!

I just leave it in and let it help the grass grow... this is first year I am trying this outdoor play area but so far after 10 or so 1 hour play times, you would be surprised how fast the poop breaks down!

 

[Easefirst]

Possibly, but in Jade's post, she says, that her new piggies would just freeze (instead of hide), which makes me think, that she doesn't use them at all.

 

[jv.eckert]

We just cleaned out the cage and last night elevated it. I've added the tunnel and the hay rack. Eventually I am going to add a 2x2 loft. There are 3 boars and just a few months ago they were in a large litter box of a cage from the pet store. It was a pain to clean and the boys were beating each other up. This forum has been a life saver for me (and the cavies) because the C&C cage is easier to clean and the pigs are much happier. I hope this is okay...

 

[jade_14]

Possibly, but in Jade's post, she says, that her new piggies would just freeze (instead of hide), which makes me think, that she doesn't use them at all.

I do have hideys.....I had just cleaned the cage and had not yet finished washing their accessories.

 

[acissej]

We just added 2 sows so we expanded our cage. Originally it was just the leftmost 2x5 with a 2x1 loft. We added the right 2x4 with 2x1 loft, and currently there's a divider separating them which will go away once we do introductions. Still need to trim the fleece so it's not so long.

 

[Easefirst]

Okay, I wanted to see. Because I am reading one book about guinea pigs, and it says that some owners do not use hideys much and pigs become tamer this way, so I was interested, if you are doing this way. I use hideys all the times as one of my piggies is very shy. Even in on the floor pen. But she is coming out now to eat veggies, even when I am right next to the cage, if I am relatively still.

 

[Easefirst]

Lovely cage and so large, when you take off the divider, it will be 9 by 2 with two lofts!

 

[Easefirst]

Nice cage for the boys. They don't foght for one fleece forest square? My girls were fighting for the one, so i made them two. They love them and usually sleep there. And pee also, which makes it easy for me to change -I use separate coroplast box and fleece for there.

 

[joys_cavies]

Okay, I wanted to see. Because I am reading one book about guinea pigs, and it says that some owners do not use hideys much and pigs become tamer this way, so I was interested, if you are doing this way. I use hideys all the times as one of my piggies is very shy. Even in on the floor pen. But she is coming out now to eat veggies, even when I am right next to the cage, if I am relatively still.

Books are hardly (never) correct. Most of their information comes from lab animals. You can learn much Moore on this site then in a book.

 

[Easefirst]

Well, the book I was talking about was written by Peter Gurney, who had 37 pigs at the time he wrote the book, and his pigs were very tame. His information certainly didn't come from lab animals. I am not saying this is the best way to go for everyone, but I do like to listen to other people's ideas and make decisions on what makes the most sense to me, even if they do not match ideas of this forum or certain book. I know, my piggies love their hideys, and I do not feel like taking them away now, but if I learn something else, that could make them be comfortable, I would be open to the idea of having more tamed pigs.

 

[BaconAndEggs]

In addition to what @joys_cavies already said, guinea pig care and opinions are constantly changing so many books may be outdated. Honestly, I don't agree with a lot of the guinea pig books I read because most of them are 1/2 about breeding and showing, which I don't support. Some people-not all-don't even have the right amount of knowledge to write a book, because, of course, there isn't a "correct information scanner". With guinea pigs, a lot of publishers don't care whether or not the information is correct, as long as it sounds convincing.

Also, I will hopefully be expanding to a 2x6, getting new fleece, and creating a little "hay box". I will post pictures of my current setup tomorrow after I clean the cage-right now it's nothing special, but I hope that the expansion will come soon!

I have a question-I bought a tunnel(from the pet store, which I hardly ever go to for my piggies) that has a hole in the middle of it. I was considering taking it out, because they might get their heads stuck. What is your opinion on this?

 

[jv.eckert]

I should add another fleece forest because that is one of their favorite spots. @BaconAndEggs, perhaps you can sew over the hole with some fleece? It might be too much trouble or might not work

 

[Adequate]

-> I reorganized the second shelf, so nothing can fall off! <-
I also added a box in there, too. (This was the final product!)

 

[Xyzpdq0121]

I have a question-I bought a tunnel(from the pet store, which I hardly ever go to for my piggies) that has a hole in the middle of it. I was considering taking it out, because they might get their heads stuck. What is your opinion on this?

If it is the tunnel I am thinking of, it is made for ferrets and kind of a crinkle material inside. If so, the hole is pretty big (few inches) and will be fine. I use it in my cage and my piggies love it. I just face the hole up and stretch the tunnel tight. I tried to put the hole on the side but piggies just flipped it up any ways.. one tip, hand wash instead of putting it in the dryer. The clips break in the dryer and it comes out cleaner if you just wash with some dawn and hang up.

 

[Xyzpdq0121]

@baconandeggs
I have a question-I bought a tunnel(from the pet store, which I hardly ever go to for my piggies) that has a hole in the middle of it. I was considering taking it out, because they might get their heads stuck. What is your opinion on this?

If it is the tunnel I am thinking of, it is made for ferrets and kind of a crinkle material inside. If so, the hole is pretty big (few inches) and will be fine. I use it in my cage and my piggies love it. I just face the hole up and stretch the tunnel tight. I tried to put the hole on the side but piggies just flipped it up any ways.. one tip, hand wash instead of putting it in the dryer. The clips break in the dryer and it comes out cleaner if you just wash with some dawn and hang up.

 

[BaconAndEggs]

If it is the tunnel I am thinking of, it is made for ferrets and kind of a crinkle material inside. If so, the hole is pretty big (few inches) and will be fine. I use it in my cage and my piggies love it. I just face the hole up and stretch the tunnel tight. I tried to put the hole on the side but piggies just flipped it up any ways.. one tip, hand wash instead of putting it in the dryer. The clips break in the dryer and it comes out cleaner if you just wash with some dawn and hang up.

Yes, it is that kind. Thanks. They don't use it much anyways. I'm just going to use it to pick them up now, I think.

 

[Natalie Boyle]

All of these cages are so cool!
I'm actually adopting 3 boys on Sunday and their current owners are giving me everything they had for the guinea pigs, including their own DIY cage. But I have considered making my own C&C cage to make cleaning the cage easier, and adding on a stand so that they are not on the ground, and even change the shape and style of the cage (namely because they will be living in my room and I only have a limited amount of space for them). So right now, seeing all these cool cages is giving me some helpful inspiration!
Also, using fleece instead of normal pet bedding for a majority of the cage seems to not only make cleaning faster but it helps save money: just have a few fleece cage blankets made, wash the dirty one and put in a new one every time!

 

[jv.eckert]

This forum is how I did everything with our cage too, I have three boys as well, and they definitely need space