She loves a freshly cleaned cage!)
Oo! Yes please! I will happily steal anyone's good ideas. lol!
I'd love to see this. I've got a 5x3 with a 1x3 loft, but it's just not very exciting. Wondering if I could do the same as you with a 5x2 up and down.My boyfriend has literally (within the last half hour!) finished building the third iteration of our C&C cage. This one is the biggest and nicest one we've had (but it's also supporting a third more piggies that the first build!).
For our first cage set up my boyfriend really wanted a 'guinea pig bridge' so we actually has two loft areas! We had a 2x6 base, with a ramp to a 1x2 loft on the right side of the cage, which had a bridge over to an L-shaped piece on the left side. Why L-shaped? Because we had a 2x2 square and we found it far too much hassle to clean under and capture rogue piglets. So it became an L-shape, giving them a bit of extra upper floor space without being so irksome for us hoomans. The only downside is that an L-shaped loft and a 1x2 loft didn't add as much extra room as we would have liked (especially when we ended up with more piglets!)
Cage two; this might be a bit more difficult to describe, and, unfrotunately, I don't have any photos of that set up. The base was still 2x6 and we still had the two loft areas and bridge. One loft area was still 1x2. The other loft area was a 1x2 attached to a 2x2 that wasn't actually above the 2x6 base. It meant we only had to get under 1x2 lofts for cleaning/capturing, and the space under the 2x2 loft we used for storage of food, hay, etc.. It meant that the whole cage set up was an L-shape this time. I wasn't a huge fan of this set up though; I just didn't like how it looked and it was a bit 'all over the place' for my liking (don't think it helped that we got new fleeces and I didn't like the red as much as the purple), but it did give the piggies lots more room to play while being easy to get the hoover around. It also gave us storage, which made things 'neater', as we could tuck everying away!
So cage three. We've dispensed with the bridge (for now; there are potential plans to reinstate it at some point) and we have a 2x6 base with a 2x6 loft; they're staggered so you can still access both floors. The upper loft is supported at the back, which, again, means we have some storage space (this time hidden around the back of the cage) to tuck everything away in. I really like this set up, although we are going to change their ramp as the current one is too large (they have a spiral staircase; we just need to add a 'bannister' so they don't fall off and we're good to go!) As we've only had the set up, well, not even an hour, I can't really comment on it's practicality, but everywhere does seem really easily accessible and the piggies have LOADS of room to play (and more room for toys, so less crowded all round). The only problem with this set up is that it is HUGE. It is very much a feature in our living room now. =P I'll see if I can get some photos, if you're interested.
That is one beautiful cage! Sadly I haven't got the space for that size. Why was it you got rid of the guinea pig bridge in the end? (BTW I've now got that song in my head thanks a bunch! LOL)My boyfriend has literally (within the last half hour!) finished building the third iteration of our C&C cage. This one is the biggest and nicest one we've had (but it's also supporting a third more piggies that the first build!).
For our first cage set up my boyfriend really wanted a 'guinea pig bridge' so we actually has two loft areas! We had a 2x6 base, with a ramp to a 1x2 loft on the right side of the cage, which had a bridge over to an L-shaped piece on the left side. Why L-shaped? Because we had a 2x2 square and we found it far too much hassle to clean under and capture rogue piglets. So it became an L-shape, giving them a bit of extra upper floor space without being so irksome for us hoomans. The only downside is that an L-shaped loft and a 1x2 loft didn't add as much extra room as we would have liked (especially when we ended up with more piglets!)
Cage two; this might be a bit more difficult to describe, and, unfrotunately, I don't have any photos of that set up. The base was still 2x6 and we still had the two loft areas and bridge. One loft area was still 1x2. The other loft area was a 1x2 attached to a 2x2 that wasn't actually above the 2x6 base. It meant we only had to get under 1x2 lofts for cleaning/capturing, and the space under the 2x2 loft we used for storage of food, hay, etc.. It meant that the whole cage set up was an L-shape this time. I wasn't a huge fan of this set up though; I just didn't like how it looked and it was a bit 'all over the place' for my liking (don't think it helped that we got new fleeces and I didn't like the red as much as the purple), but it did give the piggies lots more room to play while being easy to get the hoover around. It also gave us storage, which made things 'neater', as we could tuck everying away!
So cage three. We've dispensed with the bridge (for now; there are potential plans to reinstate it at some point) and we have a 2x6 base with a 2x6 loft; they're staggered so you can still access both floors. The upper loft is supported at the back, which, again, means we have some storage space (this time hidden around the back of the cage) to tuck everything away in. I really like this set up, although we are going to change their ramp as the current one is too large (they have a spiral staircase; we just need to add a 'bannister' so they don't fall off and we're good to go!) As we've only had the set up, well, not even an hour, I can't really comment on it's practicality, but everywhere does seem really easily accessible and the piggies have LOADS of room to play (and more room for toys, so less crowded all round). The only problem with this set up is that it is HUGE. It is very much a feature in our living room now. =P I'll see if I can get some photos, if you're interested.
Aww sweet photos! Is it not a pain in the bum taking off the front of the cage to poo sweep? I'd worry there would be kamikaze piggys jumping to freedom in my house. We already have a pig who likes to try and walk on the top level when there's no correx there; likes to wiggle through barriers while we are cleaning; likes to walk along the ramp when we've lifted it to clean the bottom level and there was one terrifying incident where she almost jumped from the loft to the main cage during cleaning time to escape when we've blocked her up there. (Needless to say we put her in a carry case for cleaning times now.)
