Is This Cage Okay For 2 Young Piggies?

[cduff]

We got our first piggy last week, and until I came on here I did not realize she truly needed a companion but our cage is apparently not just too small for 2 but also too small for just her. :/

The floor bottom measures just over 1ftx3ft. This is the current cage we have,

http://www.petco.com/product/106066...t=MM_SmallAnimalSupplies_CagesHabitatsHutches
(it has an igloo in it, but I don't currently have the shelf in it... I felt like the ramp took up too much run room)

We now want to get Scooter a companion, she is still very small (she's in my avatar picture, in the lap of my 2 year old) and we would be getting another baby. Would it really be detrimental if they shared our current cage for a month, 2 months TOPS before we can buy this one, (in the XL size of course)

http://www.petco.com/product/119060/Hagen-Living-World-Deluxe-Habitat.aspx

It absolutely wouldn't be longer than 2 months... in fact it will probably be no more than a couple of weeks. So yay or nay?

 

[Julesie]

To be honest, even the new cage looks too small for two guinea pigs.

To give you an idea of how big guinea pigs can get, here's a photo of one of my boys in my nephews arms.

You can see their old cage in the side of the photo. That cage was FAR too small itself and I have them now in a four foot by four foot cage.

My advice would be to make your own cage out of C and C grids. These you can make into any shape/size/level you want.

I've attached a photo where you can roughly see how my boys cage is, made out of CC for the size. This is how I've shaped mine but as I said, you can make these in any shape or size.

Well done for looking into information for her. I'm sure she will be really happy with her new friend.

 

[lissie]

Both cages are very small and extremely expensive compared to homemade C&C.

Can you return the cage? Since they've sold you a cage that is not a proper size for guinea pigs.

Since you're in the USA, it should be easy to find materials to make your own.

How to make:
http://www.guineapigcages.com/howto.htm

See photo galleries for ideas:
http://www.guineapigcages.com/photos/cages/index1.html

Materials:
See these places for grids (cubes), most of them you can order online and they will ship to the local store for free. You can then pick up from the store.

Sears:
http://www.sears.com/stor-floor-sta...p-00913332000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

Kmart:
http://www.kmart.com/stor-floor-sta...W435219990001P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

Bed Bath & Beyond
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/sto...nd-Storage-Cubes/1016719773?_requestid=338643

Walmart:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Whitmor-White-Wire-Storage-Cubes-Four-Cubes-Interlocked/5005200

Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Whitmor-6071-...UTF8&coliid=I16SQ7SVSPM9UW&colid=NG9JBN4Z38SK

DON'T GET CUBES FROM TARGET. They have different bar spacing and can cause deaths if guinea pigs get their heads stuck in the grids. Make sure the grids you buy have 9x9 squares across.

Coroplast:

Home Depot (check store inventory before you head there, and print out a copy of the page with you. Most Home Depot staff won't know what you're asking for when you say coroplast)
http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/202771364?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=corrugated plastic&storeId=10051&N=25ecodZ5yc1v&R=202771364

Sabic Polymershapes. This place is a plastic warehouse. Call the location near you for prices. Most people I've heard of got quoted between $10 - $20 for 4x8 ft sheet.
http://www.sabicpolymershapes.com/polyshapes/PShapes/branchlocator/branchus.jsp

For even lower prices, you might be able to find materials on Craigslist. Some people have found storage cubes at Goodwill.

Not sure where you got Sooter. If she's from a pet store, please verify that she is, in fact, a she.

There are many homeless guinea pigs waiting for good homes. When you look for a new one, please check http://www.petfinder.com. There may be a rescue that can help match the personality of your pig to the pig in the rescue.

 

[Goth Mummy]

Julsie, what a gorgeous and massive pig!
cduff - lissie has given you good advice.

The recommended (UK) RSPCA guidelines are a 120 x 60 cage for two pigs, but the more space the better, and they would need daily access to a run (indoor or outdoor) with that size of cage. If you have the room, and can build a cage big enough, its great not to need to put them in a separate run each day! I would love to have that in my house. Sadly all I can do is 120 x 60 cages with separate runs. Maybe one day!

I think if you put your two in your original cage it could risk them falling out as they would be a bit overcrowded

 

[cduff]

Goth Mummy, I don't really have the room for a huge cage either especially since I'd like to move the cage into our living room. Currently it is in our bedroom, not that it is very secluded because the door stays open and the kids go in and out of there frequently, but I want the piggies to be around us constantly. If they're getting daily runs though... would that cage I showed be okay?

We got Scooter from an exotic pet store, there aren't any rescues within a couple of hours of us. It's a small mom and pop pet store though, not a big chain, locally owned and sourced. No mills are used to supply ANY of their animals, the guinea pigs in particular don't come from breeders but from "mistake" litters.

 

[Julesie]

As mentioned, CC is the way to go if you don't have room for a huge cage, it can be built upwards or in weird patterns to make it any shape you want to fit it in your room.

I'm afraid the new cage really isn't big enough.

 

[Julesie]

To give you more of an idea of cage size.

This is the cage that was in the photo above with my white guinea pig, Gilbert.

As you can see it looks a lot larger than the ones you are looking at. This one had TWO guinea pigs in it but then once I added the hay, the bowls, the two pigloos there was barely any move around room at all.

EDIT: Looking at photos someone else posted, it looks about the same size as the cage I posted. So it could be okay for two piggies while they are really young but once they hit roughly ten months or so they will need a bigger cage. I, personally, wouldn't waste my money on it after learning before how big piggies can get.

It's cheaper to buy CC.

 

[cduff]

So I'm looking into the C&C cages and man I REALLY wish I had known about all of this before getting a piggy. I wouldn't have wasted the $70 on the cage we did, unfortunately we can't return it because we don't have the box anymore. I will start looking into building a C&C cage and I have a pretty good idea of where I can put it too.

 

[Julesie]

I know the feeling. I went through two cages before I ran into C&C which is why I advise all new owners into getting them.

You could use the cage as a sick cage so if one of your piggies gets ill and needs some space to herself you put them in there. I use my spare cage as a newbie cage - If I have a new guinea pig who needs quarantine- or if one of them are ill.

 

[madguinealady]

You could use the. cage as a kitchen or hay room and just add a run to it.I did whAt you did, got 100 cm cages for my piggies, Now in c&c cages..

 

[gatorgirl]

Both cages are very small and extremely expensive compared to homemade C&C.

Can you return the cage? Since they've sold you a cage that is not a proper size for guinea pigs.

Since you're in the USA, it should be easy to find materials to make your own.

How to make:
http://www.guineapigcages.com/howto.htm

See photo galleries for ideas:
http://www.guineapigcages.com/photos/cages/index1.html

Materials:
See these places for grids (cubes), most of them you can order online and they will ship to the local store for free. You can then pick up from the store.

Sears:
http://www.sears.com/stor-floor-sta...p-00913332000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

Kmart:
http://www.kmart.com/stor-floor-sta...W435219990001P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

Bed Bath & Beyond
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/sto...nd-Storage-Cubes/1016719773?_requestid=338643

Walmart:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Whitmor-White-Wire-Storage-Cubes-Four-Cubes-Interlocked/5005200

Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Whitmor-6071-...UTF8&coliid=I16SQ7SVSPM9UW&colid=NG9JBN4Z38SK

DON'T GET CUBES FROM TARGET. They have different bar spacing and can cause deaths if guinea pigs get their heads stuck in the grids. Make sure the grids you buy have 9x9 squares across.

Coroplast:

Home Depot (check store inventory before you head there, and print out a copy of the page with you. Most Home Depot staff won't know what you're asking for when you say coroplast)
http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/202771364?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=corrugated plastic&storeId=10051&N=25ecodZ5yc1v&R=202771364

Sabic Polymershapes. This place is a plastic warehouse. Call the location near you for prices. Most people I've heard of got quoted between $10 - $20 for 4x8 ft sheet.
http://www.sabicpolymershapes.com/polyshapes/PShapes/branchlocator/branchus.jsp

For even lower prices, you might be able to find materials on Craigslist. Some people have found storage cubes at Goodwill.

Not sure where you got Sooter. If she's from a pet store, please verify that she is, in fact, a she.

There are many homeless guinea pigs waiting for good homes. When you look for a new one, please check http://www.petfinder.com. There may be a rescue that can help match the personality of your pig to the pig in the rescue.

After reading your post I so want to make a new cage for our piggies! I know that their cage will be too small very soon! I had to take the ramp and ledge out because they would not climb up. I guess it was because they were too young maybe? I will be making a bigger cage soon!