Hi all, we are thinking about getting 2 guinea pigs for our young children, I have read the newbie info and found it very informative. The question I have is what type of hutch/cage to buy. I was thinking of a wooden two tier (living part upstairs and run underneath) but have read confusing reviews. Some say the wood is cheap and others say that the ramps are too steep for the animals to use, has anyone else had these issues? If not what brand of hutch is best quality/price. Secondly I noticed that some of you use the open topped metal cube type affair, do guinea pigs not climb out? (Sorry if it's a silly question). The reason I was looking at wooden rather than wire cage is because we plan to have it indoors during the winter and out during the summer months. Any advice greatly appreciated.
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stacey1234
Junior Guinea Pig
Hello!
I had a up stairs down stairs hut from Pets at home, i can't say they are the best of quality, i like to wash my cage out and felt it difficult with the wooden hutch to make sure you got in to all the corners, the wood isn't as durable as the plastic trays for indoor use (personal opinion) The ramp kept coming unattached and if that were to hit a piggie it'd do a lot of damage, we had to improvise by nailing in more wood to stabilise the ramp. I also have read that guinea pigs have bother with the ramp.I also felt the hutch wasn't wind tight so i bought a hutch hugger - its like a cover to help against the wind and rain but in the summer it gets HOT and i am sure i read on here guinea pigs run higher temperatures naturally so be aware with the hutch hugger if you get one. I personally feel these kind of hutches are more suited for a bunny? i could be wrong..i'm not new to guinea pigs but I'm still learning so maybe someone else will have a different view. I have since chosen to have the guinea pigs inside and have a cage from pets at home, its the biggest one i could find- its all one one level. I have also ordered a play pen from amazon which I'm going to introduce in time to give them more space to run, ill fill it with some toys. If i had the room id have the c+c cage (that the open topped cage I'm sure you've seen)
As for the open cages, i had a male guinea pig and my cage was never closed in his adult life, i think he came out twice but we found him
Although all guinea pigs are different so i could of just been very lucky! i just didn't want him looking at bars all day I'm finding my baby piggies i have just now (which i just got on Friday) when i am trying to catch them they were jumping up on the bars to get away from me 
i have since bought a tunnel from pets at home which they run in to and i pick it up- less stress for them. I'm keeping the cage closed just now until they have trust and are a bit bigger and then ill test the water with it being open.
I had a up stairs down stairs hut from Pets at home, i can't say they are the best of quality, i like to wash my cage out and felt it difficult with the wooden hutch to make sure you got in to all the corners, the wood isn't as durable as the plastic trays for indoor use (personal opinion) The ramp kept coming unattached and if that were to hit a piggie it'd do a lot of damage, we had to improvise by nailing in more wood to stabilise the ramp. I also have read that guinea pigs have bother with the ramp.I also felt the hutch wasn't wind tight so i bought a hutch hugger - its like a cover to help against the wind and rain but in the summer it gets HOT and i am sure i read on here guinea pigs run higher temperatures naturally so be aware with the hutch hugger if you get one. I personally feel these kind of hutches are more suited for a bunny? i could be wrong..i'm not new to guinea pigs but I'm still learning so maybe someone else will have a different view. I have since chosen to have the guinea pigs inside and have a cage from pets at home, its the biggest one i could find- its all one one level. I have also ordered a play pen from amazon which I'm going to introduce in time to give them more space to run, ill fill it with some toys. If i had the room id have the c+c cage (that the open topped cage I'm sure you've seen)
As for the open cages, i had a male guinea pig and my cage was never closed in his adult life, i think he came out twice but we found him
Although all guinea pigs are different so i could of just been very lucky! i just didn't want him looking at bars all day I'm finding my baby piggies i have just now (which i just got on Friday) when i am trying to catch them they were jumping up on the bars to get away from me i have since bought a tunnel from pets at home which they run in to and i pick it up- less stress for them. I'm keeping the cage closed just now until they have trust and are a bit bigger and then ill test the water with it being open.
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Howdy
Just seen you post in introductions, first of all here is a link to a thread on piggies and children https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/children-and-guinea-pigs-a-guide-for-parents.124784/
If you plan to have piggies outdoors you will need a hutch. However if you have the piggies in the house to begin with you may find you don't ever want to put them out as they get very addictive to interact with
You woudl need to take into account ramps, our piggies wouldn't use them when they went on boarding holiday and refused to go up the steep ramps. Others cope fine.
The cube cages you have seen are c&c cages, we have one and changed to it from a traditional cage as space allowed and we went from 2 piggies to 4. C&C are great as long as you are careful not to drop anything in it and don't have cats and dogs etc... Piggies are not known for their climbing ability so you won't have a problem... some piggies are jumpers but this is rare although - our friend has one, that I doubt would stay in a c&c long Piggies on a whole like to stay in a space they are familiar with, ours if out on the floor for too long will go and chew the cage bars to go back home
A great starter cage is a ferplast 120 http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/hutches_cages/rabbit_cage/120_cm_cages/14083
will tag in @BossHogg for hutch advice and we have a member on here that makes amazing hutches @The Hutch Man
Just seen you post in introductions, first of all here is a link to a thread on piggies and children https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/children-and-guinea-pigs-a-guide-for-parents.124784/
If you plan to have piggies outdoors you will need a hutch. However if you have the piggies in the house to begin with you may find you don't ever want to put them out as they get very addictive to interact with
You woudl need to take into account ramps, our piggies wouldn't use them when they went on boarding holiday and refused to go up the steep ramps. Others cope fine.The cube cages you have seen are c&c cages, we have one and changed to it from a traditional cage as space allowed and we went from 2 piggies to 4. C&C are great as long as you are careful not to drop anything in it and don't have cats and dogs etc... Piggies are not known for their climbing ability so you won't have a problem... some piggies are jumpers
but this is rare although - our friend has one, that I doubt would stay in a c&c long Piggies on a whole like to stay in a space they are familiar with, ours if out on the floor for too long will go and chew the cage bars to go back home A great starter cage is a ferplast 120 http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/hutches_cages/rabbit_cage/120_cm_cages/14083
will tag in @BossHogg for hutch advice and we have a member on here that makes amazing hutches @The Hutch Man
Ok so after hours of surfing the tinterweb, we have decided to go for the Ferplast 120 with a stand as we would prefer it to be elevated, got it for a good price, new off EBay and should be here tomorrow. It will be going in our extension where we spend most of our time with the kids, so when we eventually put some "piggies" in (I'm using the lingo now) they will be seeing lots of us. I'll keep you updated about the new residents......when we get them
With a 2x4 ft cage, I would recommend to go for sows rather than boars, especially hormonal younger ones; they need all the space they can get!
Julie M
Forum Donator 2023/24
Looking forward to seeing the new arrivals when u get them. I would go for sows too. As boars need A LOT of space. (I have a 6x2 c&c for my 2 boys and I feel it's only just big enough for them.)
Where are you planning to get your piggies from?
We got a pair of sows from Baytree pet centre in Spalding, some of you may be wincing but after loads of research we made sure we checked the eyes for discharge, the back ends, the teeth, claws, freedom of movement etc and they are in good health. They are in the "settling in " phase at the moment, so not too much going on. They keep poking their heads out of their house, but not expecting too much yet. I will post a couple of pics when they make an appearance.
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