Guinea Pig Cage Help

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PiggyPrincess

PiggyPrincess

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This is my piggie cage. They have destroyed many of their toys and huts so it's about time that I replace them. Do you have any ideas for DIY guinea pig huts?
Also, I am considering changing their bedding. They have been only using this for a few weeks, but I don't think I like it. They have almost always been on fleece bedding, but since my washer machine is broken I cannot wash their fleece because laundromats will not let you wash them. Any suggestions will be helpful! I have two guinea pigs.

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That is such a cute little space! Do you have to stand in it to get to the back then? Can't quite tell in pic :p. When I'm not using fleece I find just dust extracted soft wood shavings the best for smell/cost/piggy happiness :) not so sure on DIY hidey but until you make some just use some thick cardboard blended into a V upside down, I swear my pigs love that!
 
Boxes make good chewable hideys, we use wooden bridges.

Would suggest putting some hay out separate from the cube as they love to lie in it.

Only thing missing from that photo would be your cute piggies, be lovely to see some photos of them :)
 
Galaxy&nibbles said:
Wow I love your set up!
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Thanks!
HansPiggies said:
That is such a cute little space! Do you have to stand in it to get to the back then? Can't quite tell in pic :p. When I'm not using fleece I find just dust extracted soft wood shavings the best for smell/cost/piggy happiness :) not so sure on DIY hidey but until you make some just use some thick cardboard blended into a V upside down, I swear my pigs love that!
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Thanks! I do have to stand in it to get to the back. I'm about 5'8 and I fit very comfortably so it's very spacious. And I am using the soft wood shavings right now, but I just don't know if it's soft enough of not. The cardboard is a great idea! Pet stores around me are very limited with guinea pig supplies.
 
sport_billy said:
Boxes make good chewable hideys, we use wooden bridges.

Would suggest putting some hay out separate from the cube as they love to lie in it.

Only thing missing from that photo would be your cute piggies, be lovely to see some photos of them :)
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I will put some boxes in! I usually just put the hay in the basket because once I put them in it they spread it all around haha, but I will see if they would prefer to have some to lay in.
My piggies were out of the cage during this picture for nail trimmings, but here they are!

image.webp
 
I use upturned card boxes from my local fruit and veg shop. I cut 2 holes in them so that there is an escape route. As they are free it doesn't matter if they destroy them. Mine have currently eaten a third exit into their box.
 
Hank288 said:
I use upturned card boxes from my local fruit and veg shop. I cut 2 holes in them so that there is an escape route. As they are free it doesn't matter if they destroy them. Mine have currently eaten a third exit into their box.
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That's a great idea!
 
I now collect random boxes from supermarkets or the school office to use as hideys.. They love them.. Your set up looks great, love the fairy lights..
 
See my post in this section about building a home made level and ramp out of an old shelf. There's also an idea in that message trail about a old jeans leg tunnel I made which my piggies love.

I also use cardboard boxes, toilet rolls opened out and joined together to make bigger tubes, old cake boxes and join things together to make different runs and hidey places.

If you want your cardboard creations to last longer and not get chewed then you can buy some waterproofing tape at a DIY store and cover your cardboard hidey in it. Mine don't chew anything with that stuff on it. But it's good to still have some things they can chew as well.

My piggies seem to love it when I change the layout of their cage set up - they run around exploring and popcorning like mad. So I would also change things around when you clean their cage and hide food in different places for them to discover.
 
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Gimz said:
See my post in this section about building a home made level and ramp out of an old shelf. There's also an idea in that message trail about a old jeans leg tunnel I made which my piggies love.

I also use cardboard boxes, toilet rolls opened out and joined together to make bigger tubes, old cake boxes and join things together to make different runs and hidey places.

If you want your cardboard creations to last longer and not get chewed then you can buy some waterproofing tape at a DIY store and cover your cardboard hidey in it. Mine don't chew anything with that stuff on it. But it's good to still have some things they can chew as well.

My piggies seem to love it when I change the layout of their cage set up - they run around exploring and popcorning like mad. So I would also change things around when you clean their cage and hide food in different places for them to discover.
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Thanks! I will look at your post and see if I can use any of those great ideas! :)
 
Hi love the fairy lights!

If you are interested in other beddings to try, maybe you might like Fitch, Carefresh or Aubiose.

Fitch is soft white colour. You can buy it from them direct (cheaper if you can store multiple bags as the price gets cheaper then - very cheap if you can pick it up from them). Carefresh is quite expensive but also very soft. It's a brown colour, not sure what it's made of. If it were cheaper, I would use it all the time.
Aubiose is best to buy from a local equine supplier to you. Costs around £11 for a 20kg bag. It is hemp based. Not as soft as Fitch or Carefresh but great at locking moisture away so keeps the surface dry for your piggies. I use it with an old shower curtain underneath so I can clean it out very quickly by just lifting the whole thing and shaking it into the bin.
All 3 of these are compostable if that's of interest to you.

Edit: just seen you are in USA - Fitch probably not an option for you!:doh:
 
Lovely cage setup, nice and spacious. I personally wouldn't use softwood shavings, it can irritate their lungs, try aspen shavings if you can find some.

Delivery boxes are fantastic for piggy hideys. Turn them upside-down and cut two piggy-sized doors, and voila, you now have a pigloo!

Hay from this website arrives in a cardboard box which you can use to make a hidey, and apparently the hay is really fresh so they might enjoy eating that too: http://store.smallpetselect.com/all-hay-c2.aspx (I recommend either the 2nd cutting timothy hay or the orchard hay)
 
PiggySmitten said:
Hi love the fairy lights!

If you are interested in other beddings to try, maybe you might like Fitch, Carefresh or Aubiose.

Fitch is soft white colour. You can buy it from them direct (cheaper if you can store multiple bags as the price gets cheaper then - very cheap if you can pick it up from them). Carefresh is quite expensive but also very soft. It's a brown colour, not sure what it's made of. If it were cheaper, I would use it all the time.
Aubiose is best to buy from a local equine supplier to you. Costs around £11 for a 20kg bag. It is hemp based. Not as soft as Fitch or Carefresh but great at locking moisture away so keeps the surface dry for your piggies. I use it with an old shower curtain underneath so I can clean it out very quickly by just lifting the whole thing and shaking it into the bin.
All 3 of these are compostable if that's of interest to you.

Edit: just seen you are in USA - Fitch probably not an option for you!:doh:
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Thanks! I've tried carefresh before, but it got a little expensive. I'll look into aubiose and maybe get some beds or something to add some softness. My favorite was their fleece, but I can't use it right now so I'm looking for a good alternative for them. That's also a really good idea with the shower curtain, but wouldn't they try to chew on it?
 
Ruby Inferno said:
Lovely cage setup, nice and spacious. I personally wouldn't use softwood shavings, it can irritate their lungs, try aspen shavings if you can find some.

Delivery boxes are fantastic for piggy hideys. Turn them upside-down and cut two piggy-sized doors, and voila, you now have a pigloo!

Hay from this website arrives in a cardboard box which you can use to make a hidey, and apparently the hay is really fresh so they might enjoy eating that too: http://store.smallpetselect.com/all-hay-c2.aspx (I recommend either the 2nd cutting timothy hay or the orchard hay)
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Thanks! I'll definitely order from that website. I've actually been doing some research on getting some fresh hay, but I couldn't find any farmers near me.
 
You can put the shower curtain just flat underneath - without any "sides" you will probably spill a little when taking it out for cleaning (I do!) but it still saves loads of time.

I haven't had any chewing issues.
 
PiggySmitten said:
You can put the shower curtain just flat underneath - without any "sides" you will probably spill a little when taking it out for cleaning (I do!) but it still saves loads of time.

I haven't had any chewing issues.
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My girls seem to think they're gerbils, especially Icicle, they love digging in their hay and bedding so I can't put anything that isn't safe to chew anywhere in their cage even if it's underneath their bedding. :))
 
I
Ruby Inferno said:
My girls seem to think they're gerbils, especially Icicle, they love digging in their hay and bedding so I can't put anything that isn't safe to chew anywhere in their cage even if it's underneath their bedding. :))
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I agree, my piggies have chewed through like everything in their cage. Even when they had fleece bedding they would push it up and try to eat anything that I had underneath.
 
Ruby Inferno said:
My girls seem to think they're gerbils, especially Icicle, they love digging in their hay and bedding so I can't put anything that isn't safe to chew anywhere in their cage even if it's underneath their bedding. :))
Click to expand...
Maybe cardboard underneath would do the same job? I sometimes use large cardboard boxes that things have been delivered in (eg Amazon parcels). A bit of a nibble on cardboard should be ok. I wouldn't be keen on them eating the whole box though!
 
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