Planning extensions..

[Spacehamster]

Currently my 2 tribbles...eh, I mean cavies are living in this:

This is a Nibbles120 which is 120x60x50, the biggest cage I could find.

But they are growing and I've been told they will continue to grow for quite a while and become twice to three times their current size.
So I was thinking of something like this:


Because:
1. I have another cage like that, but I altered it for a russian dwarf hamster which means I made a new cage on the lower thingy of it. So I still got the bar-part of that cage.
I thought of attaching that barpart on top of the current cage with a new underthingy (yeah pardon my english, I'm Dutch!).
I still need to think of a way to attach the uppercage to the lowercage in a sturdy but easy to remove (when cleaning) way. Because my cavies are hyper beasts that bump into everything!
2. Make a ramp or tunnel or stairs to the floor so they can run around (a part of) my computerroom.
Currently a DIY shop is having a discount on pvc-pipes, which sound great, except for them being slippery. But it would need walls because my cavies are crazy and might try jumping off high parts.
And how do I attach whatever I'm making the ramp/stair/tunnel out of?

The current situation is the single cage on the chest you see in the picture.
(Don't look at the mess please, hay is hard to keep tidy.)

Suggestions please!

 

[aqh88]

The thing is guinea pigs most prefer solid flat open areas for running not small areas or small levels connected by ramps or tunnels. They aren't all that agile so cannot run at top speed from one small area to the next. They also can't turn that sharply unless they stop. That is why we recommend a minimum cage width of 28"(71.2cm) and a minimum length of 36"(91.44cm) for 2 pigs. You can read the cage requirements of a guinea pig and how to build a cage rather cheaply on the homepage:https://www.guineapigcages.com/index.htm. These are the sizes that have been found to give guinea pigs enough space to run and jump around. Guinea pigs also don't especially like ramps but most will learn to use them. It takes some pigs a few weeks. They do fall off easily so if your ramp goes to anything very high it most definitely needs solid sides and possibly a top if the sides aren't high enough. They are not agile climbers like hamsters and have a different skeletal structure so they get hurt much easier if they fall.

Letting them run around a floor space for all day everyday and at least most of the night would work but they are messy. You'd have to clean frequently. You also might have to build a two piece ramp with a break in the middle so they can get from that tall cage. I know someone built a really huge set of stairs that their pigs actually enjoyed using. Try looking in the ramp section of the picture gallery.

 

[wickedrodent]

Hm, maybe make the ramp to the floor, but instead of adding another pet store cage, how about adding a c&c cage? That way, you could have the c&c as a main cage, and the pet store cage as an extension.

Also, you could make a two level c&c next to the petstore, and attach the second level c&c to the petstore cage with a connecting (closed up) ramp.

Maybe something like this?- https://www.guineapigcages.com/photos/data/509/thumbs/DSCF2535.JPG
but going straight (horizontal) to connect the c&c and the petstore cage safely?

Thats really all I can think of right now, good luck on finding something that will work good for you
-Allie

 

[Spacehamster]

ahq88, I don't think you read my post.
I'm not planning anything with small areas except for the balcony and ramp/tunnel/stairs and the cage is already bigger than your mentioned minimum.

Wickedrodent, I live in the Netherlands so getting cavyvages is terribly expensive. The shipping costs and taxes are gruesome!
Too bad because I'd love to make a CC configuration, they look awesome!
But I wil have to DIY it all.

I don't expect any trouble in them not wanting to use the connections. My tribbles already showed loads of interest in exploring small areas and hopping on and off stuff.
Therefore making a stair would be awesome but also tricky.
I'm really pondering on this part..

 

[jdomans]

As long as your cage is 120 x 60 you are OK. Height doesn't count at all. I do not see how you will be able to make a second story as the ramp will be so steep. Also the ramp will take up much needed floor space as you are talking just making the minimum for 2 cavies and not the preferred.

Can you get to a home store and look at wire shelving for closets? Over here you can get them cut for free at the store. You could do 48" lengths (sorry don't know the cm at the moment!) Width could be half and that would give you 8 sq.ft. If you can't get coroplast, then for the time being, you can use a plastic shower curtain with a layer of towels and fleece and or shower curtain and shavings. The shavings would go all over though.

Your cage you are considering is really right on the line with no room to spare.

 

[jdomans]

Read the second thread in this post:
https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/netherlands/828-cubes-coroplast-holland-3.html#post178730
I hope this helps you.

 

[aqh88]

I did read your post and you talked about running a ramp from a commercial cage and how you had another commercial cage. As well as using the floor which I said the floor would work better than the commerical cages that are always too small but would require lots of cleaning since guinea pigs can completely trash both carpet and wood during floor time. Now did you read mine? I told you that guinea pigs don't really love ramps, aren't good at running on them, and have a tendency to fall off. Stairs might work better but make sure there is still sides and possibly a top. Mine won't use any ramp that covers a height of more than 14". Have you measured the inside dimensions of your cage? Currently there are no known manufactured cages that reach the minimums listed on this site. Most of the time when people actually measure them they come up several inches short which is enough to cut out several square feet.

There are many posts and suggestions for alternative materials so you can still build your own cages even if you arne't in a country that sells cubes and coroplast.

 

[Spacehamster]

Let's clear up any misunderstanding about the spaces of stuff I'm using.
Taking out the measuring tape, all sizes are:
- Current cage, on the inside:
........in cm: 110x50x50
........in inches: 43.3x19.6x19.6
- Top cage:
.........in cm: 118x58x34
.........in inches: 46.5x22.8x13.3
- Available floor space:
.........in cm: 200x96
.........in inches: 78.7x37.4

I forgot to mention I already thought of getting the floor easy to clean.
It's covered with a big piece of linoleum with relief woodpattern.
I thought the relief was a smart choice when I bought it but now the tribbles showed their preferance for textile surfaces.. So I'll start collecting fleece as soon as I find good fleece.
Meanwhile I'm using towels.

The ramp/stairs/tunnels need to be very safe indeed. One of the cavies broke his leg a while ago in making a crazy jump from a height that wasn't even so stunning. He definitely needs protection from himself!
45 degrees might be a bit too steep indeed.
Now I was wondering if it would be a good idea to get a lot of curved pvc-pipes and make them stair-like.
They like hopping on and off stuff so I'll just throw veggies in the pipes and they will undoubtedly learn to use it.
I still have pieces of acrylic glass laying around to make little windows in them.
On the other hand, I might consider making a downward tunnel of fabric. They're fabric-addicted so they would learn to use it in no time and it won't be slippery at all. Attaching this would however be tricky.
This part will be off the ground and close to the wall, so it won't take up much space at all.
Meanwhile I hope I'll find wired stuff to make something like the CC grids.

I'm still not sure on how to fasten the top cage...
Bolts are good but take such time to fasten.