wood hidey houses anywere?

[Chloe1991]

I have been looking for hidey houses. I dont like the igloos because they are plastic and my babys chew horribly. Does anyone know of any inexpensive,durable, but also cute hidyhouses? I have seen a few people with breyer stables but that is WAY to expensive even if they are absolutly adorable and the perfect size. Im looking for any good websites that is reliable.

 

[BubuCandyBlue]

I have something like this: one is round, serves as a ball too, one is wood, one is cardboard. All are chewable. I know the ball Oxbow has it too, and the wood one and the cardboard one you can find in pet stores, online too. Search around and compare prices. I got mine at pet stores, don't recommend it though there, because it's expensive. I just needed them right away.

 

[catalineh06]

I made a hidey house myself from an untreated piece of 2x4 from Lowes. I just had them cut it in 8 pieces and I glued it together. Mine seem to just nibble on the edges a little bit so they haven't been able to reach any parts that are glued. It cost me like $1.50 to make and its bigger and more durable than the expensive ones.

 

[Slave to the Wheek]

I hate the pigloos too, and what's funny is not a single one of my pigs will even go in one...I dunno why...but I can plop a giant pigloo in their cage and nary a single poo will ever show up in it...even if I put their veggies in it! Hehe..maybe they don't like to look at the world through a purple haze.

Personally, every single one my pigs will choose their "Grassy Hutch" (distributed by "Super Pet") waaaay over any of the wooden houses I've bought...and I have more than a few of those. They lOove their little hidey hutches, mainly because it has 2 doors I think..maybe they never feel trapped in it. It's edible of course, and I think it might be more cozy or something. I like them because they aren't to big, and I can get a couple of them in a 2x4 cage.

I do have to have a Grass Hutch for each pig though, or they will constantly be swiping it from each other since the Large one will only accommodate a single full grown pig. A couple things to remember when searching for one. First you want the "Large" one. The small one is rat sized and piggies won't fit. The other thing is not to confuse this one with the "roll-a-nest" ones that have bottoms on them. Guinea pigs poo/pee where they sit the most and personally I don't like to give them anything permanent that's gonna get wet and soggy.. The cardboard "chubes" are fun but ...they gotta get tossed every so often cause they do get funky.

I've been fighting with a local pet store chain in my area that doesn't seem to get it. They only carry stuff that is A. too small, and B. has bottoms. I keep telling them they are missing out on several hundred dollars a year from me by not carrying good guinea pig stuff. They keep insisting they do, and

Oh well...here's a link to show you what they look like and a lot of places to order online.

Grassy Hutch - Google Product Search

Pretty much any local feed store or pet supply store (don't support any that sell animals) will gladly order one for you if they don't have it on hand.

Wood hidey houses come in several styles and most pet stores carry at least one style. Choosing the size is important since many of them are made for rats and they can easily outgrow them once the pigs are full grown.

Pretty much any LOCAL pet supply store will order them for you, since Super Pet is a MAJOR supplier of almost all of them.

The wooden houses are also distributed by Super Pet as well. They call them "Woodland Get Aways" and my only pig who actually hangs out in them I have (they outgrew the smaller one I had for when they were little) is Lancelot. Lance is a huge guinea pig both long and wide.. and his big (mostly hair) belly gets stuck in the grassy hutches. ..poor guy..I need to get him out to exercise more often. Even in a 3x5 grid cc cage alone, he still is so fat.With him, he tends to hang out in the "extra large" one.
guinea pig woodland get away - Google Product Search

As other mentioned, "Chubes" are also a great secondary tunnel hidey, or you can use old oatmeal container, just pop out each end.

 

[Chloe1991]

Thanks Slave to the wheek, cute name by the way. I have a Chube and it was fine when i used carefree because i could bury it in the bedding and it not roll around but now i use fleece and one baby gets on the side and will roll over the others with it... they are so rude. I use cardboard boxes but Chloe has decided she want to pull it around the cage all day so noone can actually lay in it. Right now I have fleece pinned with clothes pins to the edge and its like a roof, they love it Chloe climbs on top of it and the babys lie under it i use 9 clothes pins on each side and i tie it up with ribbons its not falling off i promise.

 

[RainKindle]

BubuCandyBlue, your middle hidey is one of those snak things. If you can, throw it out. It is terribly unhealthy.
I think it is made out of sawdust and honey.
If we can't give honey to infants due to the microbes in honey that kills, we shouldn't give them to our guineas either.
(Adults have the protective flora in our guts that babies don't, that's why we can have honey.)
Don't buy them, they are not healthy for the guineas in the first place.
Anyways, I'm on the search for something suitable too, sorry to come down so hard on those snak shak things.

 

[pocket83]

I just mentioned this in another thread...I made a wooden house from untreated pine 1x8, and all three love it. It has a shape like a pyramid with a flat top and 4 sides, each with a 4" hole in it. I think the four holes are the trick to getting them to love it, they shoot out of all sides when they want, and they rest thier heads on the door sill. Plus, with so many holes, you can always see them, because an invisible GP is no fun. I would be happy to show my plan to anyone interested, its quite nice, as I have been a carpenter for the better part of my life.
I would like to suggest that shellac be used as sealer for the untreated wood, as it is harmlessly non-toxic for every application ive found, and it makes the wood less porous, and more sanitary. I would also fasten the parts together with submerged finish (trim) nails and no wood glue, which may be toxic. They will chew around the holes.
We usually only put the hidey in at night for them to sleep, or they will stay in it constantly. But it is nice to have for when company comes over, or for other times that GPs have social anxiety.

 

[BubuCandyBlue]

Please, do put pictures pocket83.

 

[pocket83]

Just posted three pics at https://www.guineapigcages.com/photos/showgallery.php/cat/519
under hidey house.

Keep in mind this is after 2 months of use, and I made it quickly, it could be made much nicer if you took your time. All the angles are 15 degrees.
Mom wasnt in the mood for pics, as you can tell.

 

[pigsforlife]

I don't like the pigloos either. Instead I use a combination of hidey holes that I rotate through. One of my favourites is the fiddle sticks. They are basically sticks in tropical colours that has several wires throughout it so that you can bend it into any shape you want. I have bent them into tunnels. Underneath I commonly put a piggy mattress which is something I made out of a combination of fleece, batting and cotton. I change these out daily as the tunnels are high traffic areas. They are edible, and safe to eat and although they do nibble on the edges a bit they are pretty good at leaving it alone. I think I purchased the large fiddle sticks.

I also use towels and fleece bits that I drape over different parts of the cage, they love running through them and it gives them a sense of security. You can also make tunnels out of bent grids covered in fabric.