C&c cages???

Question

Ive always kept my guinea pigs in large outside hutches but the temperature is dropping rapidly and for the last week now its been hailing and Ive decided to move the 4 piggies inside. Im in the process of making a c&c cage-well Ive ordered the cubes, bought the little extras to go in it- and I have some questions about some things.

1. I cant seem to find anywhere that sells plain sheets of corrugated plastic (coroplast) and I was wondering if I could use an old for sale sign instead? (it seems to be made of the same material but does it have some disadvantages?

2. Which type of bedding should I use? (I was thinking of fleece for the main area and wood chip stuff for the kitchen area-does that sound good?)

3. What do you put under the bedding? (Is it just newspaper?)

4. If you use fleece will it start to smell or does it kind of "absorb" the urine?

5. Would you recomend keeping the cage in your bedroom? (I dont have a utility room or somewhere like that)

Thanks

Answer 1

1.  Old signs that are made from coroplast are perfect.  It's the same material just with something printed on it.

2.  I love fleece for my cage.  If you have a separate kitchen area (like a loft) then shavings would work well.  Don't use cedar or pine because they can be damaging to the respiratory tract.  Aspen shavings are fine.  You can also use Carefresh or Yesterdays News.

3/4.  Under the fleece I like to use a thick layer of towels.  I find with one guinea pig, in a 2x4, I can go for almost a week as long as I have a thick layer of absorbent towels.  It also depends on how diligent you are about sweeping or vacuuming stray p**p and hay.  The fleece isn't there to absorb moisture, it serves to wick the moisture away from the pig and down into the towels.

5.  The bedroom would work well as long as you are in there frequently.  Also, as long as you don't have hay allergies.  I prefer to have mine in the living room so that I can interact with them all the time.

Answer 2

1) For sale signs are made from coroplast so they are fine to use. The only difference is that the signs are printed, although you won't see it under the bedding anyway.

2) I use fleece, I much prefer it to loose bedding. The fleece does not absorb urine - it "wicks" it. You put a layer of absorbant material down first (eg towels, pupy pads, or mattres pads - I use mattress pads and they are the best by far). Then put one layer of fleece over the top. When the pigs pee the urine wicks down through the fleece to be absorbed underneath - so the surface stays dry. You will need to wash the fleece a few times before you use it to make sure it wicks properly - do NOT use any fabric softener in the wash with fleece as this puts a barrier on it and stops it working. With fleece bedding the poo stays on top, so you need to sweep or hoover it daily.

If you use loose bedding make sure it is a safe type. Cedar and pine are too high in phenols and cause respiratory and liver disease. Good beddings include aspen, carefresh and megazorb.

3) If you use loose bedding it can help to put newspaper underneath - then when you clean the pigs out you just roll it up with all the mess inside it.

If you use fleece your bottom layer would be something absorbant (eg the mattress pads). I tried using towels and newspaper but didn't like it.

4) Fleece does not absorb urine, the bottom layer does that. The fleece is there so the pigs stay dry. Whether it smells will depend on if you have the right type of fleece, if you prepared it right (ie multiple washings first), what bottom layer you use, and if you hoover poops often enough. I clean my two pigs out once a week and never have any issues with smell.

5) You can keep the cage in your room if you like - just be aware that the piggies may be awake and noisy at night!

Check out http://www.guineapigcages.com for more info. In the forum, under "bedding" is a sticky on fleece explaining exactly how it works.

Answer 3

Hi kazz , yes a old for sale board is ok ,but watch that they dont eat it ,try sawdust or hay but I dont think that wood chips are thet good unless you know where it comes from!Newspaper is ok to use but also watch that they dont eat that (my guinea pigs eat it) so just keep a eye on them , ja sure you can keep the cage in your bed room , but not for to long , it will start to stink ! ok bye then

Answer 4

I'm so glad to hear you're bringing the pigs indoors with you!

1. Try this search: http://www.guineapigcages.com/where.htm

2,3,4. Fleece works great (I assume you know the dangers of pine and cedar bedding?).

"Polar fleece: Absorbent, usually used in combination with newspapers or towels underneath for better absorption. Soft and clean-looking. Must be changed daily in most cases, which means you must have several changes available for exchange throughout the week. Cost-effective as it means you won't need to buy bedding after the material is bought. The only expense for maintenance is for water and detergent. Can be beneficial for allergic owners."

http://www.petinfopackets.com/guineapigs...

5. If you can stand up to some noise in your room while you sleep, sure why not. Expect them to be noisy though!

Answer 5

ok - the fleece will start to smell after a while, so either replace it or wash it in an old washing machine. an old for sale sign should be fine for the purpose you want.

wood chippings might be a bit too hard for your guineas feet - i would use pine shavings or some hay for the kitchen area.

put newspaper under all bedding - or just line the whole cage with it. i do.

My piggies are inside my bedroom with me -it is warmer. I dont have a problem with my little ones being with me, and provided you always keep the cage clean it does not smell.

Answer 6

Just have a sheet of vinyl flooring (or any flexible sheet flooring) cut at a Home Depot. If the for sale sign is made of a material that can be cut, than it's just fine. If you want to keep the cage in a bedroom, like I do, you should probably put a wall of cardboard outside the cage that's short enough for the guinea pig to see over and still get good air circulation. It'll keep them from kicking their bedding out all over the floor. Use real rodent bedding, not fleece. The fleece will show every little dropping, and it definitely will absorb some of the urine which is why it will start to smell. If you use enough bedding to fill the cage to a depth of 2 or 3 inches, and scoop out the p**p once a week along with removing and replacing all the bedding once a week, then you shouldn't have any odor problems.