Is my hutch too small for 4 piggies?

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GuineaGang96

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I bought the following guinea pig hutch for our 5 guinea pigs (now 4 unfortunately) and I feel it may have been a mistake as I’m concerned this is too small:

Extra Large Indoor Guinea Pig Cage with Optional Roof

We opted for the 180x60cm, which said it was suitable for 3-4 pigs. As we had 5 when we bought this, I opened the end up to give them extra room.

We have recently built a stand for this to go on which the hutch fits perfectly but I don’t have space to open this up.

As I am concerned this isn’t enough space, i only put them in there at the end of the day, and I end up making a large enclosure on the floor for them to run around in all day.

Am I right in thinking this is to small for them too spend the day & night in (excluding daily floor time) and should I even consider building another enclosure and having 2 in each of them (I feel bad splitting them apart)
 
I’m sorry you lost one of your pigs. Four pigs need around 210x60cm so unfortunately what you have is on the small side. Is there any way you could get another table and extend it onto there? You could arrange it in L shape if the space allows.
 
You can leave the front door part wide open to add more space, and enclose using C X C to give extra room. That way you can add more space and still look beautiful.
I have seen people add extra space by leaving the front door wide open and enclose with C X C. If I can find a photo I will add for you.
 
Siikibam said:
I’m sorry you lost one of your pigs. Four pigs need around 210x60cm so unfortunately what you have is on the small side. Is there any way you could get another table and extend it onto there? You could arrange it in L shape if the space allows.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the response! There is space at the side, and I can then build another table to bring it out as an L shape as you suggest!

I will just continue to put them in the floor enclosure for the whole day for the time being.
 
Seven7 said:
You can leave the front door part wide open to add more space, and enclose using C X C to give extra room. That way you can add more space and still look beautiful.
I have seen people add extra space by leaving the front door wide open and enclose with C X C. If I can find a photo I will add for you.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your help. As the width of the ledge they’re on matches the hutch I can’t bring out the front for the time being but I will bring out the side as @Siikibam has suggested. That being said long term I may extend out the front to make the whole thing wider aswell.

I do have the C x C fencing already aswell which helps. As you say there are some great looking enclosures using this so it should be a fun little project!
 
Just a brief update on an idea I’ve had from seeing some set ups online.

We’re going to just accept the loss, sell the hutch and then build a 2 story C x C cage on the stand as there is an extra 50 cm on the end. So this would 230x60 with an extra floor on top which I think they would be much happier in.
 
GwillysGuineas said:
Just a brief update on an idea I’ve had from seeing some set ups online.

We’re going to just accept the loss, sell the hutch and then build a 2 story C x C cage on the stand as there is an extra 50 cm on the end. So this would 230x60 with an extra floor on top which I think they would be much happier in.
Click to expand...

Sounds good and will give them the space they need on a single level

How will you make an upper level work given the need for it to be 60cm wide?
If you need it to be 60cm wide then don’t forget that two c&c grids come in at 70cm wide so they will need to be overlapped and joined with cable ties to come in at 60cm. I’m then not sure how it will affect the ability to secure an upper level. Normally the upper levels grids would be supported on the connectors but you won’t be able to use connectors on middle of the two side panels due to the overlap so the upper level won’t have anything to grip into
 
Piggies&buns said:
Sounds good and will give them the space they need on a single level

How will you make an upper level work given the need for it to be 60cm wide?
If you need it to be 60cm wide then don’t forget that two c&c grids come in at 70cm wide so they will need to be overlapped and joined with cable ties to come in at 60cm. I’m then not sure how it will affect the ability to secure an upper level. Normally the upper levels grids would be supported on the connectors but you won’t be able to use connectors on middle of the two side panels due to the overlap so the upper level won’t have anything to grip into
Click to expand...
That’s a really good point I hadn’t thought of. I think for the time being I will just get the large cage to make sure they have enough space on a single level.

I can then look to possibly move this in the future and see about an upper level.
 
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