Hutch/cage recomendations

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OliviaRose

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Hi there, earlier today I went to my local small animal shelter to get a hamster that had been there for a while and when I was there I walked past 4 male guinea pigs and the woman told me that they had been there for a while and no one was going to take them so they were going to put them to sleep as they were taking up too much room. They were only in a tiny cage. I couldn’t let these beauties have their lives taken off them so I told her that I would adopt them (I do know lots about guinea pigs as have owned them in the past) So she boxed them up for me (I took the hamster as well) and off we went. I stopped at pets at home on my way back and got some essentials for the piggies as I already had a bin cage set up for the little hamster. I bought lots of hay, spare saw dust, food, lots of natural toys, tunnels etc. and 4 water bottles and food bowls. But no hutch as all there were too small and they didn’t have much stock in. So when we got home I vacuumed an empty room in our house with wooden floors and set it up with lots of fleece and toys etc. (I had to put water into bowls as nothing to put the bottles on)
So I need to find a suitable hutch for these gorgeous piggies but I am struggling to find one big enough. I don’t want to do a c&c cage as I don’t think they are very practical for cleaning out and I can’t find any big enough indoor cages so I think I may have to resort to putting a hutch inside the room they are in now. Does anyone know of any cages that would provide enough room for my babies <3 thanks x
 
Four males together can be a difficult combination (two males together is best) so you will need a huge cage to keep their relationship as in tact as possible and I think it will be unlikely you can find a hutch big enough. A c&c would be your best option because you can adapt the shape and size to your requirements. Personally I think they are easier to clean than the hutch (I have a hutch and c&c combo in my shed for my two boys)! A six foot hutch is probably the biggest you can buy ‘off the shelf’ but if they can have access into the room then that may be an option.
 
I'm thinkig a C&C would be good. It will also give you the option to divide the set up if that turns out to be the best option.

In the future... You may find that you will be better with 2 pairs of boars rather than all 4 together.
 
Is there a chance they might all already get along? I'm assuming they were rescued as a herd already?
 
Skypipdot said:
Is there a chance they might all already get along? I'm assuming they were rescued as a herd already?
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We don’t know their age or any background information - they may be ok (which, of course, would be incredibly rare) but a change in environment can set off dominance and bond issues so there is no guarantee that things will continue even if they have been together for a while.
 
My boys have a homemade hutch/wire run combo which suits them really well. Have tried other combos but this seems the best option for me :P
 
Skypipdot said:
@Sophie Blane . She has a good set up that you may like to get ideas from.👍 btw nice one for saving those four boars. Its criminal to have put them all to sleep just because no one wants them.
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Aww, thanks, here’s my set up, it’s a small ferplast cage with a run attached (cage can be ordered online, the run I got from Pets at Home) it’s only big enough for two piggies but is a good cage and they really like it image.webpimage.webp
 
Thank you everyone. The boars are showing no aggression towards each other and are huddled up together in the corner of the room in a large cardboard box which I have cut a few holes out of for them. I am thinking about buying 2 large store cages next to each other and putting a large run going from the side of one cage out and to the side of the other cage. (basically what @Sophie Blane did but doubling it to make it suitable for 4) . This way, if they do start to show aggression I can put them into pairs and just buy another run to attach to the cage. I don't know if I'm making any sense? Does anyone have any good store cage recommendations, I'm not too bothered about the price as was expecting these boys to cost me a lot when I adopted them.
 
@Sophie Blane I am just looking at the pics of your piggies and have noticed that there is no poop or wee on the floor and it's all in the cage! Did you have to train your piggies to do this or did they just do it automatically? My last piggies used to make a right mess when I put them on the floor.
 
Zooplus or amazon.
the minimum cage size is 120x60cm but two boars need more space than that 150cm is recommended so getting two cages of around that size would be good. Connected they would give all four enough space, but would also be big enough for two per cage if they need to be separated.
Do keep an eye out for any signs of any problems and remember that if things do go badly wrong, it isn’t always as easy as separating into two pairs as it can sometimes ruin all bonds making all four of them have to live separately. So keeping a close eye and stepping in for all relationships break down to ensure you can still separate into two pairs.
 
OliviaRose said:
@Sophie Blane I am just looking at the pics of your piggies and have noticed that there is no poop or wee on the floor and it's all in the cage! Did you have to train your piggies to do this or did they just do it automatically? My last piggies used to make a right mess when I put them on the floor.
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I’ve not trained them, they go in the cage most of time but I have to sweep it everyday
 
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