Help! Housing My Guinea Pigs

[Phoebe2801]

Hi guys! Long time guinea pig owner but only just joined this forum! At the moment I have four beautiful guinea pigs - all are rescues and such gorgeous little things. Gazza my desexed boar, Nutmeg, Heidi and Muffin are my sows (did not name any of my cavies, the hrescue I adopt them from chooses names with letters starting with the places they were rescued from)
Anyway, at the start of this year my parents seperated and I moved out with my mum and our two dogs stayed with my dad. I took this opportunity to fiiiiinally get a c&c cage, make it absolutely huge and really release my inner interior designer. Safe to say my cavies were seriously spoilt for the last 12 months! Now, we are back with my dad and as mentioned earlier, a c&c cage is just not doable with two dogs - as much as I trust them and very much doubt they would harm my pigs, it is not a risk I am at all willing to take. I have a cage that is about a metre and a half long, the biggest petshops sell but my guinea pigs seem so miserable and cramped. I have also noticed Heidi has started really bullying Muffin (who is quite young and a lot smaller), biting her and making Muffin squeek. So I am thinking, is it best to put Heidi with Gazza and Nutmeg (who is my eldest, such a gentle little girl) and Muffin together? I will get another metre and a half cage but will this be enough space? I totally spoilt them with the c&c cage and now feel so cruel to have them in what isn't even a small cage, just tiny compared to what they're used to. Is this the best solution, or will they all four be okay in one cage? How is everyone else housing their pigs with dogs around? Ideally would like to reduce my c&c cage and put it on top of a table but there just isn't space. Any advice is appreciated, currently feeling like the worst cavy owner in the world! Thanks in advance and sorry about the rant

 

[DM030819]

You can add a lid to a C&C cage by either using extra grids or something like metal shelves.

I created one by securing a row of grids to the back row of the cage and then another row on a hinge, which I strengthened with a long piece of word. The lid can be held down with binder clips or padlocks if they need to be more secure.