Caramilk update.

Love the 3 way box tunnel - very clever!

I would second the comment about the hay though.
Guinea pigs need constant and unlimited hay and I find that mine love laying in a large pile and eating while burrowing, etc.
If you removed the small bowls at the end you could just add a large pile and turn it into a glorious hay area which I am sure your piggy would love.
Plus in the long term a continual hay intake can prevent lots of digestive and dental problems so it really is worth prioritising.
 
yeah i feel you. the feeder was a gift so kinda forced to use it temporarily :P but i am trying to totally rework the feeding/pooping area. she seems to like the hiding area in the box when she pee's. makes for an easy bathroom area. that box area is the bottom part of the cage my brother originally lent to me and need to give back eventually. any design ideas are welcome! i also wanna put in a second floor to remove some of the clutter giver her more roaming around space. probably gonna be a board with legs and maybe a couple of tabs on the side of the cage to keep it stable. use chicken wire cover it with felt for the half pipe ramps going up.

Btw the 3 way tunnel was super easy to make... made it out of a fan box. she REALLY loves it. gives lot of explore opportunities a simple tunnel doesn't. highly suggest making your own!
 
I would still just throw hay straight onto the floor in that feeding area as well as putting some in the feeder if you do feel you still need to use it.

It’s easy enough to replace the base of your brothers cage - you can use a large potting tray; or buy some correx and basically make the same cage base design by scoring and folding correx; simply put down some newspaper or a puppy pad with disposable bedding on top and then throw hay on it (of course that one does mean you will get disposable bedding/hay on your fleece as it’ll be pulled off as she moves around

Cardboard boxes with doors cut in are such fun for piggies!

This guide may help you when it comes to making a ramp. Piggies aren’t climbers so ensuring the ramp has good grip, isn’t steep and has sides is important to encourage them to wsnt to use it
Ramps in Cages
 
I would reconsider the second floor. The issue would be that the ramp would take away from the running space on the bottom level. I’d try and extend it on the one level somehow.
 
Piggies&buns said:
you can use a large potting tray; or buy some correx and basically make the same cage base design by scoring and folding correx;
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that's a great idea... gonna go do that today.
Siikibam said:
I would reconsider the second floor. The issue would be that the ramp would take away from the running space on the bottom level. I’d try and extend it on the one level somehow.
Click to expand...
not if i put the ramp where there was already wasted space. also she mostly just wonders. she doesn't really run... closest is she'll scurry into one of her hides if she think you'll pick her up. I'm in canada and i just found her in a bush while out fishing. my guess is if she was the real playful run around type by nature she wouldn't of made it the night, because we got some big animals compared to her. even the squirrels are twice her size. i got no idea what happened to her while living out side or for how long she had been out there. but she's lucky to have not been eaten by something else.
 
Where is the wasted space? Did you make it the minimum space requirements for a singleton/sow/mixed pair? It’s up to you but I would say expand outwards rather than upwards. That way when you get her a friend, they can have even more room. Not running around in the wild was likely a self preservation thing. They will freeze and play dead if they feel it necessary.
 
I agree - I dont see wasted space and unfortunately adding a ramp does mean you lose floor space (its not an issue if the cage is larger than the minimum but can be an issue if it is only a minimum sized cage). Its always better to expand outwards than upwards as guinea pigs need large single level areas to live in
 
Piggies&buns said:
I agree - I dont see wasted space and unfortunately adding a ramp does mean you lose floor space (its not an issue if the cage is larger than the minimum but can be an issue if it is only a minimum sized cage). Its always better to expand outwards than upwards as guinea pigs need large single level areas to live in
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well for instance she seems to have no problems going on top of the T box on her own... have the ramp up there so its off the ground. also theres a bit of wasted space next the hay feeder next to the hide. i could stick it in there. or wall off under the ramp with two holes and have it double as a hide that needs to be somewhere in the enclosure anyways. also could have a spiral instead of a ramp and that would save a lot of space. but i'd almost want it to be a pipe so they can't fall out half way up... these are all already questions architects think about every day building houses, dont reinvent the wheel just cheat off their test and get a little creative lol :P
 
superka said:
well for instance she seems to have no problems going on top of the T box on her own... have the ramp up there so its off the ground. also theres a bit of wasted space next the hay feeder next to the hide. i could stick it in there. or wall off under the ramp with two holes and have it double as a hide that needs to be somewhere in the enclosure anyways. also could have a spiral instead of a ramp and that would save a lot of space. but i'd almost want it to be a pipe so they can't fall out half way up... these are all already questions architects think about every day building houses, dont reinvent the wheel just cheat off their test and get a little creative lol :P
Click to expand...

Yes that's all fine.
Its recommended to have a covered ramp or at least have sides so it is safe - it also encourages them to use it. As piggies aren't natural climbers, not all will use ramps.
Do consider though that as ground roaming creates, their cage needs to be big enough on a single level and this is why when they do have a single level cage, there is no wasted space in the cage - a large flat space is simply what they need! Upper levels do not count towards the cage size so this is why we always say its best to expand outwards on the single level than introduce an upper level particularly where a cage is the minimum space in the first place.
 
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