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Cages |
Our Guinea Pigs live inside our apartment with us. We have a total of three cages, and a total of 9 Guinea Pigs. Our Guinea pigs are kept in our most used areas such as our office and our living room, this way they get the most attention from us and we can constantly monitor them for any change in behavior that may indicate they are ill. I highly recommend keeping your Guinea Pigs indoors with you, the benefits are just to great to even think about keeping them outside. When they are outside they are exposed to the weather (and most of the U.S.A. is NOT their climate zone!) plus they are exposed to predators such as birds, cats, dogs, and even snakes. |
So you are keeping your Guinea Pig(s) inside! Great! Now you need a cage. You can buy a pet store cage or build your own, it doesn't sound like many choices but it really is. Before we get into the pros and cons of pet store cages and self built cages, you need to know what every cage needs. First off, the most important thing, ROOM! Your cages need enough room for your Guinea Pigs! Guinea Pigs require a lot of room, as they actually get kind of large. Here is a simple guide to what size cage you should have: 1 Guinea Pig = 7.5 Square Ft. 2 Guinea Pigs = 7.5 Square Ft. 3 Guinea Pigs = 10.5 Square Ft. 4 Guinea Pigs = 13 Square Ft. Remember with Guinea Pigs MORE IS ALWAYS BETTER! The table above is only a general rule. If you do not have the room the accommodate a large cage then you need to make sure your Guinea Pigs get more floor time. They need the exercise and mental stimulation. Our cage is 9.4 square feet, and this is plenty of room for our 4 Guinea Pigs that we keep in it. We do let them out of the cage a lot but they have plenty of room inside the cage to run around and play. Okay now you know your cage needs to be large, the second thing your cage needs is to breath. Your cage needs to allow air in. Another words; glass and Plexiglas cages are generally a bad idea. Guinea Pigs like and need fresh air. However you can have a glass and Plexiglas cage so long as the opening on the top is large enough to allow air in. Lastly the bottom of your cage needs to be water proof. Guinea Pigs pee, not only that but water sometimes spills from the water bottle. You don't want pee to get on your floor or what ever you have your cage on. Also if you use materials such as wood, the wood will absorb the urine and water and become saturated in it and it WILL smell, not only that but it will attract mold that can be harmful to your Guinea Pigs and yourself. Keeping all that in mind now what cage should you get? Pet Store Cages Pet store cages are easy already made all you have to do is put them together which is extremely simple. This is convenient to some people. However Pet store cages can be expensive and are generally the same shape. Also most pet store cages are to small for more then two Guinea Pigs, because of there size you will need to clean them a minimum of once a week. Not only that but your Guinea Pigs will not have much room to play inside them. Custom Built Cages Custom Built Cages are GREAT. They are custom made and because of this they can be build to your exact needs. You can maximize space and make it so it matches the room. Custom cages can be made from a variety of material so long as you keep in mind everything I talked about above. Most people build what are called C&C cages. These are made from 2X4 cube grids that can be found at your local shopping store. The grids are generally sold as extra storage bins for shoes and other materials. The bottom of the cage is made from corrugated coroplast/correx, which can be found at plastic stores or custom sign makers. The grids are connected together to make any size and shape cage you want, then the coroplast is cut so it goes about 4in. up the side of the cage (to hold in your bedding and stop some of it from being kicked out). Remember BIGGER is better! A bigger cage is easy to clean, allows for more exercise, more mental simulation, and more happy Guinea Pigs. |