Guinea pig cage - polyurethane or no?

Question

I have 1 commercial, wire-and-plastic guinea pig cage that was too small for 2 piggies. I decided to build an addition myself, but I'm having trouble finding sturdy plastic that can be used for the base. Is it ok if i use wood for the base? What sort of sealant should I use? The guy at Home Depot said that polyurethane will hold up to a guinea pig chewing, but I'm not sure. Will it poison my piggies if they swallow any shavings that they chew off? Has anyone else had any experience with this sort of thing?

Answer 1

If you used wood you would have to seal/cover it somehow like you said so you don't end up getting urine-soaked wood and things growing on it. I'm not sure if polyurethane is toxic for them, but I'm sure it's not good in any case. You can try looking on http://www.guinealynx.info/index.html, they have tons of medical and other guinea pig info, and also a forums where you can ask other pig owners what they use. I would try and just avoid wood if you could, it's probably more trouble than it's worth.

The homemade experience I've had with cages involves these cages, http://www.guineapigcages.com/, which are great!                                                                                                                                                                            I think you could easily incorporate this way of building into your expansion project. The wire cubes are pretty easy to find and hold up great. The coroplast does not absorb anything and it is safe if they chew on it. I hope this helps and is something that will help you in your cage expansion!

Answer 2

Coroplast is available at sign stores and is like plastic cardboard. It is what people make C&C cages out of.

www.guineapigcages.com

Answer 3

yes i am not sure if this is the same u r talking about but i got this big piece of something from kinkos it was like plastics sorry i forget wat its called