Building A New Cage!

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Sgraft

Sgraft

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Hi all

I have decided I am going to build my guinea pigs a new cage. The main cage will be wood with a panel of perspex at the front. I was wondering what wood I can use that is safe for the cage - has anyone got any suggestions please?

Also I will need to build a ramp for the loft/kitchen area. What wood do you think will be ok for the job? I will probably cover the ramp in carpet anyway for grip.

:)

I was going to build the cage 160cm x 70cm with a loft area 60cm x 40cm. I currently have two guinea pigs but was thinking of getting a 3rd. Do you think this would be suitable for 3 piggies?

Thanks
 
Yeah sure :) I am just a little worried as I don't want to use a wood that will be harmful to them if they decide to nibble on it! I have been searching online for ages but cannot find any definite answers :( was hoping to get all of the materials tomorrow.
 
Thank you :)

Ermm have you had a look in the housing section? C&C cages, I can't remember if there was some wooden ones in there.
 
Yeah I had a look but still not sure to be honest! I might just get some melamine and make sure the pigs are unable to chew the edges etc.
 
Hiya, that sounds exciting. For wood you could try looking at websites of small-scale independent hutch makers and see what they say they use on their websites (if they mention it) or you could look around websites of major manufacturers and see if it's mentioned there.....
For the ramp can I make a suggestion? Can you use Velcro or similar to attach rubber-backed vet-bed onto it instead of carpet? My thinking is that it is easier to remove and wash as sooner or later they're going to pee on it..... :) I use that and I really recommend it.

The size sounds perfectly fine for two or three piggies - for three piggies to live happily together you are better off with sows - if your current pigs are boars then adding another will likely cause fall-outs and fights. :)
 
Thanks critter what a great idea for the ramp. I will definitely do that :)

I have 2 sows at the moment so hopefully should be fine if I add a 3rd! I definitely wouldn't expand any further than that haha
 
Thanks, your cage looks great! Hopefully I can make mine look as nice as yours :)

Just a question - did you seal the edges with anything/line the base with any material?

I was going to do each side about 30cm high too and then line the bases with those sticky floor tiles. There will be a fleece liner on the floor and the kitchen area will have some other bedding, hay, etc.

I think if I improvise a little then I can build their cage so they are unable to nibble at the wood anyway :)

Thanks again
 
Thank you :) Yeah I used aquarium sealant around edges then under the shaving it has correx, mainly because the base (ikea table) is so smooth that they slipped around on it without. I don't use anything under the fleece as they only really wee on the pads which I change out or in the shavings section :)
Sticky floor tiles would be a good idea but may want to seal the edges too to stop any hay or shavings goong down the cracks :)
 
Perfect I will grab some sealant tomorrow then as I believe pets at home do the aquarium one!

Do your guinea pigs not chew the wood in the middle which you have the bottle etc attached to?
 
Pets at home only do a teeny tiny tube though, I had to get a big tube off ebay. It was only around £7!
No they've never tried to chew it actually, I think because it's coated in the white shiny stuff it just doesn't appeal to them. I wish it wasn't there but I orignally had 3 up there and had to seperate it down the middle. Managed to get 1 piece of wood off but that one is glued to the perspex and I can't get if off with out breaking the front :( Really annoying lol
 
So we're not finished yet. Just need to sort a ramp out and then can attach their hay rack etc up there :)

Had a few issues with the water bottle but cut a circle in the wood and poked the nozzle through which seems to work well :)
 

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Wow it looks brilliant, well done! :yahoo: Jealous of your little top area, my husband won't let me do another level as apparently it's already a monstrosity haha!
 
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