Guinea Pig Cage Recommendations?

Indico

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I'm looking into adopting my first two guinea pigs from a local shelter and was wondering what cages I should look into getting. So far I've found the Midwest and the Kaytee 60x30 and although the Kaytee cage is larger, I've noticed there are more fleece liners made specifically for the Midwest than the Kaytee one.

P.S If you all have any recommendations for other things like food or hay (preferably one I can find locally from a pet store or Amazon), or other necessities and really just any tips would REALLY be appreciated. I always do thorough research but never feel like it's enough and appreciate all the help I can get. Also if the Kaytee cage is better please leave recommendations for fleece liners.

I also feel like I should mention I am from the US and not the UK
Thanks in advance
 
:wel:

When it comes to a cage, you need to go as big as you possibly can.
A Midwest cage comes in at 120x60cm (covering 8 square feet) which is the smallest cage for two sows or a neutered boar/sow pair. A Midwest cage is too small for two boars. We would always recommend going up a size from this minimum size where possible.
Therefore the recommendation would be the kaytee for it’s larger size.

However, if you are planning on going to a rescue centre to adopt piggies, it’s best to check with the centre before purchasing a cage to make sure the cage you buy meets with their requirements.

Cage Size Guide
Rescues (Adoption and Dating), Shops, Breeders or Online? - What to consider when getting guinea pigs

Members recommended UK and US sites for fleece cage liners and accessories

For hay, any dust extracted grass hay is fine.
The guide below details how to feed them.

Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

These guides are both a collection of helpful information which you will find useful as they also touch upon crucial aspects you may not be aware of:
Are Guinea Pigs For Me? - Wannabe Owners' Helpful Information
New Owners' Essential Information and Practical Tips Starter Collection
 
Welcome to the Forum - it's always lovely to meet someone doing their research in advance too.
Please do keep us updated.
 
:wel:

When it comes to a cage, you need to go as big as you possibly can.
A Midwest cage comes in at 120x60cm (covering 8 square feet) which is the smallest cage for two sows or a neutered boar/sow pair. A Midwest cage is too small for two boars. We would always recommend going up a size from this minimum size where possible.
Therefore the recommendation would be the kaytee for it’s larger size.

However, if you are planning on going to a rescue centre to adopt piggies, it’s best to check with the centre before purchasing a cage to make sure the cage you buy meets with their requirements.

Cage Size Guide
Rescues (Adoption and Dating), Shops, Breeders or Online? - What to consider when getting guinea pigs

Members recommended UK and US sites for fleece cage liners and accessories

For hay, any dust extracted grass hay is fine.
The guide below details how to feed them.

Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

These guides are both a collection of helpful information which you will find useful as they also touch upon crucial aspects you may not be aware of:
Are Guinea Pigs For Me? - Wannabe Owners' Helpful Information
New Owners' Essential Information and Practical Tips Starter Collection
Ok thank you! I have checked the website of the rescue and they don't have a specified minimum cage size for any of their small animals however, when I applied to adopt the pigs I had mentioned the kaytee cage and they got back to me. I did email them just in case. I also realized I forgot to leave a picture of them (straight off the rescues website lol). But ultimately my problem right now is that I can't find fleece liners that fit just right and I'm not really sure what to do. Will I be okay as long as the entire floor is covered? Or am I okay with leaving some space uncovered?
 

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If you want to make your own fleece liners or accessories, Jo-ann Fabrics has a great sale on fleece right now through the weekend.
Forgot to mention this but sadly I'm not one for DIY. I'm terrible at it to say the least but I also don't own a sewing machine or anything to sew really lol.
 
Ok thank you! I have checked the website of the rescue and they don't have a specified minimum cage size for any of their small animals however, when I applied to adopt the pigs I had mentioned the kaytee cage and they got back to me. I did email them just in case. I also realized I forgot to leave a picture of them (straight off the rescues website lol). But ultimately my problem right now is that I can't find fleece liners that fit just right and I'm not really sure what to do. Will I be okay as long as the entire floor is covered? Or am I okay with leaving some space uncovered?

Are they happy with the kaytee cage then?
Are the piggies boys or girls?

If you leave any of the base of the base of cage exposed then you may run into two problems - pee will sit on the exposed part of the base and then they will be walking in it and it will also make cleaning something you need to be doing multiple times a day and/or, they may find their way underneath the fleece using any exposed edges to get under.
You have a few options - use a disposable bedding either all the time or while you spend some time trying to source custom made fleece liners. The guide I linked in above for fleece liners may help you.
Or, buy normal polar fleece blankets from a homeware shop which are likely to be bigger than the standard fleece liners you are finding which wont fit, and puppy pads. Put the puppy pads down on the base, and then lay the fleece blanket over the top. Clip the blanket to the edges of the base of the cage anywhere if is too big (this will also stop them trying to get underneath it). Reusable and washable puppy or incontinence pads can be purchased also so you won’t need to be disposing of puppy pads
 
Hi, we have two piggies that stay comfortably in C & C cage that is 2 panels by 4 panels. They get free roam play time outsude the cage but they seem very happy.
 

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Hi, we have two piggies that stay comfortably in C & C cage that is 2 panels by 4 panels. They get free roam play time outsude the cage but they seem very happy.
Regarding bedding. Jo Anns for anti pull fleece I cut to match the cages sizes and I go to the UHaul store for furniture pads and I cut those too to fit. I layer in a peepad in the corners, cut those too. It all works. I tried to put a video of us and the cage liners system but it says too large. So sorry. I will try to shorten and post it
 
Ok thank you! I have checked the website of the rescue and they don't have a specified minimum cage size for any of their small animals however, when I applied to adopt the pigs I had mentioned the kaytee cage and they got back to me. I did email them just in case. I also realized I forgot to leave a picture of them (straight off the rescues website lol). But ultimately my problem right now is that I can't find fleece liners that fit just right and I'm not really sure what to do. Will I be okay as long as the entire floor is covered? Or am I okay with leaving some space uncovered?
As mentioned above, you can use puppy pads (or washable pads) underneath (wicked) fleece. I used washable puppy training pads (in some areas) and they worked well.
 
Regarding bedding. Jo Anns for anti pull fleece I cut to match the cages sizes and I go to the UHaul store for furniture pads and I cut those too to fit. I layer in a peepad in the corners, cut those too. It all works. I tried to put a video of us and the cage liners system but it says too large. So sorry. I will try to shorten and post it
The forum can’t host videos. If you want to post one here, you have to upload to a third party such as YouTube then post the link here.
 
Hello! I only read the original post and the first few responses, running short on time, I apologize for any repeated advice.

For the cage... out of the 2 mentioned options, Kaytee is much preferred because it's bigger. However, I'd do away with these cages totally and go with a C&C. I know you're not one for DIY, but it's so easy and you can buy it already made. It's SO much cheaper than the store bought stuff, yet so much better, and you have far more flexibility. I made my whole cage for about $50. And the flexibility was nice. I made my cage a 2x3 split-level for my 2 sows when they were babies, and made it much bigger when they were older and I had the ability to rearrange my room. It's so easy to make as well. There are so many tutorials on YouTube, as well as probably some good info here (haven't looked, but it's probably here). Basically, C&C stands for Cubes and Coroplast. "Cubes" is the office grids you just pop together in the shape you want the cage. I recommend using the feet provided and zip-ties for reinforcement. Coloplast is a little harder, you have to cut, shape, tape, but it's not very hard and there's plenty of tutorials online. You know my vote, if I get one, is C&C, and I can help you with that more if you'd like, but it's up to you. Definitely the Kaytee one over the Midwest, however.

For the bedding... I'd say gather your old towels and buy some Joanne Fabrics. But your not one for DIY. You could sew it together if you cared to have neat bedding, like I did, but people have successfully just kept them separated and layered them on. I've also heard great things about GuineaDad. You dont have to opt for a cage-specific type of fleece. Thank you for choosing fleece. It's definitely the best one in my book.

To answer your question about what needs covered and sizing... put simply... cover everything plus some! It is a huge pain to scrub dried urine from the crevices. Plus, they like the fleece better than the hard scratchy cage bottom on their unpadded feet. Please cover everything. I know from experience. It will shrink in the wash. It will be a pain trying to stretch it out. Also, if they pee near the edges of the cage, it will get on the walls too. It's FAR better to have a bit of fleece come up over the cagesides than to have cagebottom uncovered. It's not a matter of what's best for the pigs, but for you and cleanliness in the long run. I'm sorry if I sounded rude or pushy, not the intent at all, I've just been there and don't want you to have to buy new fleece or dread cage cleaning like I did for months.
TLDR: it's a smelly mess if you don't cover the entire cage bottom, it's okay if there is excess fleece coming up on the side.

Pellets: I recommend Oxbow... you can get them on Amazon, they are good quality, they come in all sizes of bags (if you have the space for a huge bag like I do, it's really nice, but you could opt for smaller)

Vitamin C: Oxbow tablets. Also fantastic, also delicious (for the pigs, I think?), also on Amazon.

Hay: Small Pet Select, for sure. Amazing quality. Very highly reccomend. Come in large boxes. Also, can buy on Amazon. Subscribe and save highly reccomend.

Toys and Hides: fleece pockets, fleece beds, fleece tunnels, chew toys... lots of Amazoned stuff. Lots of good stuff. Lots of options. Just... PLEASE no balls or wheels. It WILL break their very fragile backs.

I think I covered most of it. Please let me know if you have any questions, and be aware that any rudeness was miscommunication over text and not intended. I hope I was some help :)
 
Just to pick up on something above. It’s not needed to give supplementary vitamin c routinely to otherwise healthy piggies. Guinea pigs on a healthy and grass hay based diet with a variety of veg get all the vitamin c they need. Their pellets are also fortified with vit c. Additional supplementation above and beyond that they get in the diet can actually be detrimental. We don’t see scurvy cases on here often, but if we do see a case then its often in a piggy who is supplemented. Their bodies become used to higher than necessary amounts, so if that amount drops (even though the level is still within a normal range for any other piggy), then scurvy symptoms can appear.
 
Hello! Thank you, that's good to know. Still reccomend Oxbow if neccessary... should I wean my pigs off vitamin c? Is the extra amounts bad for them? Or should I continue their daily, consistent Oxbow vitamin c tablets?

Just to pick up on something above. It’s not needed to give supplementary vitamin c routinely to otherwise healthy piggies. Guinea pigs on a healthy and grass hay based diet with a variety of veg get all the vitamin c they need. Their pellets are also fortified with vit c. Additional supplementation above and beyond that they get in the diet can actually be detrimental. We don’t see scurvy cases on here often, but if we do see a case then its often in a piggy who is supplemented. Their bodies become used to higher than necessary amounts, so if that amount drops (even though the level is still within a normal range for any other piggy), then scurvy symptoms can appear.
 
Hello! Thank you, that's good to know. Still reccomend Oxbow if neccessary... should I wean my pigs off vitamin c? Is the extra amounts bad for them? Or should I continue their daily, consistent Oxbow vitamin c tablets?

As I said above, the extra amount above and beyond their needs can be detrimental if that amount then drops - their bodies get used to abnormally high amounts and if you then were to forget to give the additional vitamin c, then it can cause problems. There is no need to supplement if they have a good diet but now you have been giving additional, then to stop it, you do need to wean them off it slowly so as to not cause scurvy.
We only recommend to give a short two week course of additional vitamin c during a period of illness to boost the immune system.
 
As I said above, the extra amount above and beyond their needs can be detrimental if that amount then drops - their bodies get used to abnormally high amounts and if you then were to forget to give the additional vitamin c, then it can cause problems. There is no need to supplement if they have a good diet but now you have been giving additional, then to stop it, you do need to wean them off it slowly so as to not cause scurvy.
We only recommend to give a short two week course of additional vitamin c during a period of illness to boost the immune system.
Thank you so much! This is super helpful. Over a year of the same supplements... okay... I'll probably start weaning VERY slowly. I'm going to start a thread about it though. Second opinions before any dietary changes for my precious pigs, you know? Thank you SOOO much!
 
Thank you so much! This is super helpful. Over a year of the same supplements... okay... I'll probably start weaning VERY slowly. I'm going to start a thread about it though. Second opinions before any dietary changes for my precious pigs, you know? Thank you SOOO much!

Yes you would need to do is incredibly slowly.
It seems to be much more common to supplement in the US than it does in the UK. Most long term owners here don’t supplement. I know I never have in 35 years of small animal keeping
 
I think some of the pet shops like to recommend it ... but I don't think any of my piggies have gotten vitamin C supplements, and we've had no issues with scurvy because of it ...
 
I think some of the pet shops like to recommend it ... but I don't think any of my piggies have gotten vitamin C supplements, and we've had no issues with scurvy because of it ...

That’s certainly the the experience of the forum - we don’t see scurvy in piggies fed a balanced diet, it tends to be in cases where supplementation has been used long term and malnutrition in rescued piggies who previously had an inappropriate diet (being fed rabbit pellets for example which aren’t vit c fortified).
 
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