Experience with Cage Stands?

Mikknu

Mikknu

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hello! It's me again, I'm sorry.

I'm looking into getting a stand for my C&C Cage as was recommended as part of cat-proofing measures, but I was wondering if anyone has experience with C&C grid stands and their stability? I would like to make a two tier stand, but I'll be using wood pellets for my kitchen area, and I've heard that those are very heavy... The cats may also jump on top of the cage, so I want to make sure that whatever stand I choose to go with can support the weight of the cage, the cavies, pellets, and up to two cats. I've been trying to find different examples of cage stands made with grids, and there are plenty out there, but I also see that IKEA Lack tables are very popular. They're much shorter though, and I'm not sure if they could handle all that weight either? I've also thought about a plastic folding table or a dresser, but anything close to big enough for a 2x5 would be double or triple to price for a 43 pack of grids.

Any advice or experiences would be appreciated!
 
Cages get stacked three high (sometimes with lofts as well) for being able to keep multiple pairs without taking up floor space, there really is no problem using a two high stand. I use c&c grids as a single width, five height storage rack in my shed for my boys. They are study that way, so being horizontal as a stand is absolutely fine.
 
I used a C&C grid stand for years and never had a problem with it.
However in the end the low height made cleaning tough on my back, so we opted for table tops from Ikea.
We chose the Vangsta tops with for a 5 x 2 C&C and have 2 in an L shape to accommodate our 2 cages.
The beauty of choosing a table top meant we could also get the legs at the exact height we wanted, and this works really well.
 
I also used c&c grids as a stand for the boy piggies. It was very sturdy. I used cable tied as well as the connectors. It was good for storage. Hmmm....
 
Thank you all for your input! It's really good to know that they can hold a lot of weight. If you use cable ties and grid connectors, do the grid connectors bulge out and not allow the cage to lie flat? My cage will be on a tile floor, so there isn't too much give for accommodating any bumps without tipping whatever is above it. :yikes:
 
The cage was fine when I used both. No bulges that made it uneven. Then again I used the underneath for storage so didn’t sit any grids on the floor.
 
I've had no problem with stability with a grid stand. Maybe if you're in an earthquake zone it'd be a problem. Would you have a lid for protection from pets? I find the connectors get grubby and pop out so I do everything now with a zillion cables ties.
 
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At the moment I have a 5x2 on a craft trestle table. Perfect size, extremely sturdy and cheap to buy online. It's too high for us, so going to return to other options, plus add a loft again. Might be good for you? I've been wondering about 1.5 grid stand.

Excuse the piggy stuff mess - note the wall heater beside the cage is permanently off, hence their little night heater.
 
In a Tornado Zone actually ^-^ I'm not sure much could keep the cage safe is a twister came through, but I'm not really all that worried even if one did. There's plenty of time before one hits your house, unless you're unlucky enough to have one form on top of your house. We had three touch down at once last year a couple miles away, it was pretty cool. We can get earthquakes here, but I've personally never experienced even a mild rumbling. I'm more worried about a cat jumping on top of the cage, or running into it. I've thought of a plastic folding table, but they're surprisingly expensive, and as you mentioned, they can be quite tall.

@Siikibam Thanks for the input! I can definitely leave the grids out of the floor plan if that helps it remain stable and flat.
 
Mikknu said:
In a Tornado Zone actually ^-^ I'm not sure much could keep the cage safe is a twister came through, but I'm not really all that worried even if one did. There's plenty of time before one hits your house, unless you're unlucky enough to have one form on top of your house. We had three touch down at once last year a couple miles away, it was pretty cool. We can get earthquakes here, but I've personally never experienced even a mild rumbling. I'm more worried about a cat jumping on top of the cage, or running into it. I've thought of a plastic folding table, but they're surprisingly expensive, and as you mentioned, they can be quite tall.

@Siikibam Thanks for the input! I can definitely leave the grids out of the floor plan if that helps it remain stable and flat.
Click to expand...
My trestle table was under 30 pounds, about a third the cost of the ikea table mentioned above. But yes too tall.

I've in the past had a grid lid on my c and c cage. If you have cats you'll need a lid. Building a lid is a bit more complicated than building the cage, but hopefully you can see pictures on the site.
 
I looked up trestle tables in my area, and after a bit of finagling with filters, was able to find a few within my price range! It's great to know this is another option if grids don't work out. I would like the grids just in case I plan to expand though, or if I need to split my pigs for some reason.

I do have another thread on creating a sturdy cage lid already, so I'm aware of the need for a lid. I'll more than likely make one out of wire shelvings and some wood+hardware cloth, just to be sure that it's a secure and strong lid. I'm planning on using spring clips all around the edge so that no babies or cats can remove the lid either. Do you think that the cats would continuously bother the guinea pigs, or grow bored of them with time? One of them is pretty big into hunting, but is otherwise a very sweet cat.
 
That's very good you're onto the lid issue. I found a grid lid made a certain way was good. Not sure a heavier one with wood, would be supported by the cage, but not sure. My childhood guinea pigs all got eaten by our cat so I'd be very cautious. At our last house our neighbour's cat took huge interest in the guinea pigs, sitting there ready to pounce. Because of my past bad cat/guinea pig experiences I'd probably go old school and spray the cat with water if she threatened the piggy but you may not want to go that far!
 
I'm pretty sure I'd just toss the cat off if it was trying to poke at my piggies. Not like chucked at a wall, but I'd definitely find some to teach it that that's bad behaviour!

By wood though, I mean like wooden slats as support bars, they wouldn't be very big or thick at all. Hardware cloth so that they can't stick their paws through the grid holes. I'm super paranoid about it, as I've also had a few childhood pets gone to cats, and one particularly determined Italian Greyhound surprisingly enough.
 
I've seen those around, and there's a store in the US here that even sells ones similar to that premade! They can be pricey though, and I'd prefer to ensure that mine are heavy duty. It would look something like this:

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But with support bars and clips, as well as one grid longer
 
That looks good. You have more choice of things in the States. I'm jealous of the 2 ramp lofts you can get 😀
I found the grid lids sturdy enough, but that was just to deal with one neighbour cat. Be good to see when it's all set up.
 
Yeah, I'm excited to show you guys @Black piggies ! I'll have enough to buy everything by the end of February, so I'm anxious to at very least build my cage! I can feel the excitement growing daily, heheh... as soon as I can afford it, I want to order the cage and stand and get everything set up! I'll post pictures as soon as it's done! Even though it won't house pigs for at least another month or two... But April isn't so far :yahoo:

It just feels like it when you're browsing cute pigtures c:
 
Have you found the piggies you’ll be getting? And did you start a vet fund? Very crucial as they can be very expensive despite their size 🤷🏾‍♀️😍
 
Yes, I've started a vet fund @Siikibam. By the time I get the pigs I'll have at least 400 saved up for them, if not more(I'm hoping for around 700, but life happens). The money I'll be getting towards the end of February is a mixture of savings, (mostly)tax return, and selling my aquarium. It will mostly be going towards a cage, stand, lid, and various other piggy supplies for things like floor time, general maintenance, etc. I've done a lot of budgeting to make sure I had enough for if my piggies got hurt immediately, but I sure hope I don't have a major vet expense within the first month of getting them.

Also, I'm unfortunately in the unlucky situation where I live in an area that is extremely sparse of guinea pigs in adoption, and even breeding too. There's only one breeder within 500 miles of me. I've had my eye on a particular pair of adult boys, and a trio of girls, for a while now, but they're all 200+ miles away from me. Just the other day the girls were adopted, and then returned! :cc They're the only bonded groups around me, and I can't guarantee that they'll be there in April. The shelters won't hold the animals for me, but they will work with me living far away when the time comes.

If they're adopted and no other suitable pairs are up for adoption at the time, I'm not sure what I'll do. There are usually plenty of young guinea pigs in the shelters, but "young" can range quite a bit between all the different shelters. I know I could try getting a younger guinea pig and a slightly older one and emailing everyone I can to learn about their personalities, then seeing how things work out with the side by side interactions for a while, but I know that a bonding is entirely personality dependent. I'm so excited to get them, but I don't want to have to resort to a breeder or even worse, a pet shop. Neither of which put me in a better situation, to be honest.
 
It’s good you’re preparing yourself. May I ask why you’re waiting till April? Is it to have some money in the vet fund and have everything ready?
 
Oh, I'm moving in April @Siikibam ^-^ I wouldn't want to put any brand new pigs through a move, and I barely have the space for their cage right now. I could do it if I really wanted to, but I don't think it's the best idea. Believe me, the temptation is there though.

Luckily for me where I'm moving isn't TOO far away, so when I get my cage, I'm going to take a day off of work to get it all set up in its new home. That way it's ready for when I move there. I just don't want to get guinea pigs if I'm not going to be there consistently to watch them because I've got to commute all the time. I'm already a little nervous about them being alone what with things like nine hour shifts.

Having a Vet Fund ready is also another thing that's worth waiting for. I'm also sewing a lot of my hides, tunnels, and potty pads myself, and it takes some time. It's coming along though!
 
They will be fine. As long as they have constant access to hay then there’s no problem. A lot of people are slaves and work during the day.
 
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