Building an extension to a Nero2. (noobs to piggies)

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hig

Hi everyone...

We have came across the forum after doing some sniffing about on the web for info after having bought two little piggies for our 3yr old daughter on the wknd.. xx>>>
I know we should have done the researching first and then bought, but these things happen.

We have already been mis-sold by the looks of it, as we bought the two pigs from P@H and asked the girl to suggest a cage for us, and she told us a Nero2 would be fine for them! :)>>>
Having already read on here in well over a dozen threads that a Nero2 isnt suitable for 2 pigs, I feel let down by P@H's incompetance and wont be buying much else there from now on! :)>>>

They are only about 8-9 weeks old and still very small so at the moment they seem happy enough in that cage and spend most of the time hiding away in the den area anyway as soon as anyone goes into the room and dont do much exploring until left alone.

But I assume they will reach adult size quick quickly (can anyone advise how long before they reach full size?) and so rather than waste the money we spent on that seemingly unsuitable cage, I have been thinking on how to increase the floorspace, and have already devised a design and started on an extension to thier living quarters, and would like some opinions from you seasoned keepers! ?/

Basically the cage is sat on a kitchen unit in the utility room.
Next to the cage is a plastic shelf unit.
If I raise the cage base by about 2" it will be exactly at the same height as one of the shelves.
I dont like the look of these C&C and plastic grid things, they look really messy to me, and decided on using regular materials, so I have bought a roll of mesh and some 1"x1" batons and have started constructing a new rectangular cage, which I intend to place on the shelf next to the cage, and then mark out and snip a few verticals from the side of the nero2 cage and connect the two up with a small length of 25cm wastepipe for a little bridge.
they can go up the ramp in the cage to the green platform, and scurry through the pipe into the extension!
As per this very rough sketch I just threw together on paintstop!

CAGEMOD.jpg


The dimensions of the new extension cage will be
(HxLxW) 12"/30cm x 30"/76cm x 18"/46cm.
Combined with the Nero2, will this extra rectanguler area of space provide enough room for our girls?

They will also be getting an outside run soon anyway for the summer, but we will be bringing them in at night as there are loads of cats and other hunters in the area and we would rather them indoors overnight just to be sure and prevent heart attacks...
So I dont want them being too cramped up when inside...

Thanks in advance for the opinions and advice..

Oh and here they are as well, Max(ine) and Ruby, named after our daughters fave programme, I made a quick square frame out of 4 old bits of laminate flooring and we let them loose in the kitchen earlier to have a run about and took a few photos....
She originally decided on Browney and Whitey, but we talked her our of that! hehe!
P3230046.jpg


P3230042.jpg
 
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Could you get a refund from P@H and say exactly what you have said here...ie that you have done some research and that it isnt the right size and cruel to keep the pigs in there? That way you could exchange it for a nero 4 - which would be perfect for the two of them (**** cost you £20-£30 more)Just thinking it might be easier then trying to build add-ons etc...
 
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Didnt think they would refund it now as its been used for several days..
Also a 4 wouldnt fit on the worktop which is only 1m long, and there is nowhere else we could put it....
 
Only other thing I would say is you can get the stand for the nero 4 should you wish to put it else where - but then you getting into the £100's - can get quite expensive....I'm sure they would refund tho - aslong as there is no damage then they dont know if you have been using it or not if you give it a good clean ;)
 
you can get stands for nero 4's as I have one (I know more expense again) they are about £25.00 just a thought....

P@h did this to me too! I did only started with one piggie but still nero 2 was too small! I presumed likes of nero 4's were for rabbits (stupid stupiD P@H!)
 
P@h did this to me too! I did only started with one piggie but still nero 2 was too small! I presumed likes of nero 4's were for rabbits (stupid stupiD P@H!)

same here, have a nero 2 and one pig. but have built upwards just last week to add on a 3rd floor. she seems to love it! the pictures on the cages are v. misleading! n.2&3 have pics of pigs on and n.4 only has a rabbit!
but next year moving into diff uni accommodation and will have pleaty of room for a 2x4 C&C cage!-(B&Q) cant wait!

but i recon your piggies will have a great time in their new home. only thing is if your pigs are had to catch to get out of the cage to put down for floor time, its easy to lift off top of cage and scoop them up, but if its connected to another cage might be a little bit harder to get them .
just a thought
:D good luck with the extension!
 
only thing is if your pigs are had to catch to get out of the cage to put down for floor time, its easy to lift off top of cage and scoop them up, but if its connected to another cage might be a little bit harder to get them .
just a thought
:D good luck with the extension!

Well I will obviously have to get in the new bit to clean it out so would have to put some sort of door on it which could help get them, and i might build some sort of flap over the drainpipe to drop down and close off the new bit and essentially trap them in the nero2 so i can reach them to remove easily enough...
 
Surprise, surprise...P@H selling the wrong size cage...again!

When I 'adopted' Garry and Minty from them, they advised that the Nero 3 would be big enough for two pigs (ha!) but didn't have one of those in stock so I would have to have a Nero 2 which would do them for quite some time...naive me was so in love with the boys, I believe I just nodded and handed over my credit card!

I got the boys on 17th November 07 (they were around 12 weeks old and quite small piggies) and I ordered a Nero 4 for collection at the beginning of January 08 (I'd been away over Christmas and New Year and my Dad was looking after them). They'd grown so much while I was away and although they still had room to move, it was getting cramped in there.

My piggies seem to have stopped growing around the year mark...or at least I hope so!
 
I too was advised by P@H that a Nero 2 cage would be the ideal size for a pair of Guinea Pigs, i'd never owned a guinea pig before but as they were the "experts" i took their advice and bought the recommended cage. They very soon outgrew it and i had to upgrade to a Nero 4.
 
Odd really, you'd think Pets at Home would want to sell people the most expensive cage! Beats me why they have Nero 2's at all, I have some that size here for short-term / quarantine for the rescues because they're easy to stack and clean, but I wouldn't use it as permament accommodation.

Anyway, extension sounds great! Cute pigs

Sophie
x
 
Odd really, you'd think Pets at Home would want to sell people the most expensive cage! Beats me why they have Nero 2's at all, I have some that size here for short-term / quarantine for the rescues because they're easy to stack and clean, but I wouldn't use it as permament accommodation.

Anyway, extension sounds great! Cute pigs

Sophie
x


The reason they do it is so you end up with two cages both bought from them! They got another sale out of me for a nero 4 after less than 2 months!
 
^^
Exactly what I was going to say - they must know the size cage they sold would soon be too small for the guinea pigs and the owners would be back to get a bigger one & shell out an extra £80!
Really bad of them, don't think many of them know what they're talking about ::)
We went to P@H when we 1st started looking into getting guinea pigs and the bloke we spoke to in there really put me off buying anything from them let alone guinea pigs!
 
As per this post you will know I am lumbered with a Nero2 which my pigs will shortly outgrow...

Went down to my local P@H today to get some stuff for my fish tank and not the piggies as it happens, and noticed an offer on in one aisle with a "when its gone its gone" sticker...
One of these a Rabbit140 cage which is on the site for £92 and which at 140cm is even bigger than a Nero4 which is 118cm, for just £35, dont know why its so cheap?

I am tempted, but they also have the wooden cottage thing for £39 also..

Not sure which to go for...?
 
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As per this post you will know I am lumbered with a Nero2 which my pigs will shortly outgrow...

Went down to my local P@H today to get some stuff for my fish tank and not the piggies as it happens, and noticed an offer on in one aisle with a "when its gone its gone" sticker...
One of these a Rabbit140 cage which is on the site for £92 and which at 140cm is even bigger than a Nero4 which is 118cm, for just £35, dont know why its so cheap?

I am tempted, but they also have the wooden cottage thing for £39 also..

Not sure which to go for...?

I'm my local p@h the ferplast 120 is £65 and the ferplast 80 is £35
maybe they had their labels mixed up? I didnt see the 140 in mine atall
 
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