Building A New Cage... Squeeeeee!

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Wilbur&Otis

Wilbur&Otis

Junior Guinea Pig
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As some of you know I lost my first piggy Otis a couple of weeks ago now. It's left his cage mate Wilbur lonely & so I've had some thinking to do. We've decided to get him a new friend so i thought that now would be the perfect time to upgrade the piggie accommodation & give the new pair some extra space. I've always wanted to have a go at a DIY cage so I've spent the last couple of days researching and planning what will work best in the space we have (whilst at work mostly!). I've roped in a recruit to help me with the construction (my dad - who else!) and thought i'd do a thread on here to show you how we get on & what the piggies & me think about it.

Here's the current shop-bought cage...
(The washi tape on the floor is where i've been experimenting with different cage sizes for the new build)

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And Wilbur! He's not at all keen on the measuring tape I keep jumping around the room with...

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Here's part of the plan I've drawn to show my dad what i want to build...
Its 80cm wide by 180cm long so a fair bit bigger than what Wilbs is used to.


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May even put a roof on - was thinking an oilcloth panel that velcros over for easy access & cuteness...

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The idea is that downstairs I can use fleece cage liners (kept the base a simple shape for ease of cleaning) & upstairs can contain messy hay & food! If anyone has built anything similar or has any tips or suggestions to improve the design please do let me know! Need all the help we can get! Not sure how best to do a door & ramp that attaches to let the piggies wander out for floor time but I'd really like to do that if i can find a good way.

I'll post pics on this thread as we build it and introduce Wilbur & new friend (I'll do a thread in the behaviour section that covers the new friend & their intro to each other) x x
 
Oh wow! That looks almost like my original cage. Mine was made from wire mesh and correx, but the design was the same :) I remember when Sunrise was little she did her lapsies by running up one ramp and down the other, round and round :)
I then built a ramp, and instead of being attached to the side mine is attached to the front :) but the same in essence. The only thing I would suggest is enclosing the ramp to make a tunnel. The reason for saying this is although most piggies are not stupid you never know..... :)

I'll bet yours will look much nicer than mine once it's done :) :). I do like Perspex. It's not cheap but it's good stuff :)

Looks great xx
 
Thanks Critter, will definitely look at making it a tunnel ramp thanks for the suggestion :) I'm building it out of chopped up shelving and a desk top that i salvaged from work before it got chucked so not sure how slick it will look by the time i've finished with a saw! Will do my best though :) Splashing out on perspex it is pricey but hoping it will be worth it for the sofa level view of the pigs! xx
 
That looks awesome could you build me a new house? Have spent so much fixing the roof this month it will be cheaper I think... :)

Look at Wilburs face :)) Watching you measure up. Isn't he a cutie

Looking forward to see this piggy version of Grand Designs come to fruition
 
We've been busy today! Started work on the new piggie home...

All went smoothly at first. Bargain ikea legs attached fine to the old desk surface that was being chucked out at work. We used Wickes melamine furniture panels for the walls as they come in 30cm wide lengths which seemed a good height.

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Coming along nicely! I had to dash out to get some shelf brackets to support the mezzanine as we decided to cut it short to allow the ramps to be shallower. We also changed the shape of the sides so that they slope down in line with the ramps - the whole thing is huge and i was worried the double height wall all around would make it feel even bigger.

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Just need to get the perspex attached in the morning now. I'm going to look at adding the exterior floor time ramp & oilcloth roof a bit later as we collect Wilburs new friend tomorrow so there will be 2 piggy residents eager to move in!
 
It's 180 x 80cm and the mezzanine floor is 30cm wide. It feels enormous because of the height but i've been testing the view from different places in the room and it's going to be fab - piggy eye level when you're on the sofa. :) Wilbur has been fascinated with what's going on - can't wait to move him in later.

Always happy to help have you started planning what you'll build?
 
ooo brilliant :D That's a nice amount of space.

I want something like this, if I just had one pair to make it for I'd do something like yours.

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Wow. Just wow. That's amazing.! Good luck with your new addition. Wilbur is so cute.
 
Kerrie74 said:
ooo brilliant :D That's a nice amount of space.

I want something like this, if I just had one pair to make it for I'd do something like yours.

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Click to expand...

ooooooh! Fab! Unfortunately perspex is the most pricey bit so i'd be tempted to use use wood for part of it - maybe along 2 sides & have 2 perspex sides? Especially if it will be up against a wall / in the corner of a room. The benefit of wood is that you can attach things to it easily like water bottles / hay rack etc. You can buy melamine furniture panels in most places like homebase / wickes / b&q & i think they even cut them to size for you. I used an iron on edging strip on the cut edges so it has a neat white finish, used an aquarium sealant on all the joins to hopefully make it pee-proof & stop bits of sawdust & hay getting in the joins. I also would recommend 'no-more nails' tape - it's about £4 a roll & i've used 3 but it sticks the perspex in place - it's stuck rock solid & is nice & neat. :)

This is a breakdown of what I've used / spent to give you an idea...

ikea legs x 6 (£2.25 each) = £13.50
desk surface from work = free! (i would've used something like LINNMON / ADILS Table - birch effect/silver-colour - IKEA otherwise - you could buy a second table top for your upper level for £20)
perspex pieces = £40ish (you only need 4mm thickness at the most - 3mm may be fine too & is cheaper)
wickes melamine furniture panels x 3 @12.73 each = £40 (these are the ones i used for all walls & mezzanine floor... Wickes White Furniture Panel 18x300x2790mm | Wickes.co.uk)
3 x rolls no more nails tape @£5 each = £15
1 x aquarium sealant = £6
2 x rolls white edging tape @£3 each = £6
4 x shelf supports @ 75p each = £3
various screws, a couple of hinges & spare laminate floor planks for ramps were free out of my dads garage!
total spend = £123.50 - which is about what i spent on their original zoo plus cage so not that bad really if it works - fingers crossed they love it!
 
Yeap, I'm going to do the front and sides with melamine :D and just have perspex at the front.

You lucky person getting the base for free! It's going to cost me £30 roughly for a 25mm thick MDF board! The problem with Ikea is that they charge £35 delivery, I have no way to get the materials otherwise. Also delivery from Wickes is £25.

Mine's going to cost near on £200... lol. I was thinking about doing table legs but I'm not sure how I would attach them to the base?
 
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So here's what it looks like now I've added perspex & lots of piff-paff! :)

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Been trying it out with my stuffed toy version of Wilbur - it's like the dolls house i always wanted! Furnished so far with... a new fleece blanket (& puppy pads) . A couple of cozy beds. Various types of hay & readigrass...

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...A litter tray (that will most probably be used as a bed). Some hooks to hang veggies and toys off & a couple of tunnels. The piggy joining us later is only 6 weeks old so I've added a shoebox with a mini entrance so he can escape Wilb if he wants to...

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Piggy eye view...

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The view from the sofa. Wilbur can't wait - just a few hours until he moves in! (i just need to figure out how to attach the water bottles!)

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My boyfriend got home late last night after working away in London all week. Don't think i'd fully explained the scale of the piggie renovations taking place - He looked a bit shocked to see the living room. :) Hehe!
 
I'm soooo jealous! :O Amazing job, and such a good design. Maybe you could use some really strong sticky-back velcro to attach a water bottle holder to the wall? I don't know though :P velcro and pigs might not be a good combination. All that space they have is so wonderful :drool: x
 
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