Is my guineas home big enough?

Gradie and the pigs

Gradie and the pigs

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi there 🙂 does my three guineas cage sound big enough for them’ we have a sun room coming off of our living room it is separated by a door’ and we are littler training them so they can run around on there on fleece blankets and play in the hidey huts and with there toys we do have a five tier cage that is high but not very wide in there for them to climb they like looking out the window and going up and down the stairs’ with the cage in the sun room it is 66 inches long and 45 inches wide we are thinking 🤔 of maybe taking away the cage so they can have more run around but them being boys they kinda like having there own little tier to them selves as well as running around in there room 🙂thanks hope I could have some insight
 
:wel:

Guinea pigs need a large single level spacd so a five tier cage is not suitable for piggies. As you have a boar trio the cage also isn’t big enough for them to be locked into it. Any cage which they get locked into needs to meet size requirements. Because of the issues a boar trio face and the reasons they generally do not work, you will need to ensure any area they get locked into is big enough on a single level. The cage measurements come to 165cm by 114cm which is approximately 1.9 square metres but for a boar trio you need at least 3 square metres (They will need to have at least a square metre of territory) each so they can get away from each other. It would be a good idea to remove the cage entirely or at least ensure they are never locked into it if the room they have is safe.

And as a boar trio usually won’t work for the long term, you will also need to have a plan to be able to separate them in case things turn between them

Generally, guinea pigs cannot be litter trained - Some will go in a few different places but they are not completely possible to litter train like other animals can be
 
Thanks for the advice 🙂 we are getting a C&C cage and are going to remove the tier cage just so they can have more room they are brothers and were bonded when we got them there pretty good with each other 😊
 
Norman the Guinea said:
Thanks for the advice 🙂 we are getting a C&C cage and are going to remove the tier cage just so they can have more room they are brothers and were bonded when we got them there pretty good with each other 😊
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How old are they?
They are usually ok as a trio when they are very young but once the hormones hit at around 4 months of age onward, this is when things turn and most trios don’t make it to adulthood together. Being brothers doesnt make any difference to character compatibility and sadly doesn’t make them any more likely to be able to stay together. If they are young, then watch out for them isolating themselves, bullying or full on fights, these things are signs of dysfunctional bonds
When it comes to boar trios it’s always best to hope for the best but plan for the worst. Sadly failed boar trios is one of the most common things we are contacted about in the behaviour section

The c&c cage will need to be huge, much bigger than normal sizing requirements. Approx a 10x3 c&c (or equivalent number of grids in a different configuration) would be a good size needed to cover what they need. That comes to approx 41 sq ft (32 sq ft being the smallest space for a trio)

Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
 
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Norman the Guinea said:
What c&c cage would you recommend
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I edited my previous post to give further information but the cage needs to cover at least 3 metres by 1 metre (so each piggy has a square metre of a territory). All this will mean is that they have the space to get away from each other though, space alone isn’t enough to make a trio work.
Plus a separation plan with extra grids. The most likely outcome from a failed boar trio is ending up with a pair and a single piggy, but sadly it can break all bonds so the worst case scenario is three single piggies
 
Hi there thanks for the insight I think we will be building a huge outdoor pen for them we own a large life style block so will try that they were outside when he got them so shoulder shake them too much hate to split them up we are all so attached to them
 
If they are outside you need to make sure they are safe from predators and temperatures (most comfortable between 18 and 22 degrees. Anything less than 15 is too cold, any more than 25 is too hot)

How old are they?
 
They are three to four months old we live in a area where there aren’t really many predators but will predator proof the hutch anyway and will make shelter and insulate a area for them
 
That’s good. Piggies aren’t hardy so keeping them warm, dry and draught free is important.

As they they are young and not yet teenagers they are in a period of being desperate for companionship which is why most boar trios are fine at this age. However, you really do need to prepare for things to start to go downhill from four to six months of age onwards. As I said, most trios will not make it to adulthood (14 months of age).
It’s a shame, I’m sure those of us who have boars (I have a pair myself) would love to have a little boar herd but boars just find it so hard to form a functioning hierarchy when there is more than two of them and getting the mix of characters right is so difficult
 
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