C & C cage questions?

[AnnaHeartsGuineaPigs]

Hello!

So I will be getting my guinea pig Bugsy on Saturday the 31st and this was very surprising as the rescue told me a week or two, but all of a sudden something came up and they need me to adopt her now.

This has left me very flustered with some of the cage elements and I have 2 questions:

#1 Where I live they only had the 8 by 8 grids and it was either that or a pet store cage so I thought that a 16 square foot cage would be better than one under the bare minimum even though the C and C has slightly large grids. I just want to know how high I should make the coroplast for maximum safety with these grids? My girl is probably over 6 months, but not by a lot and I am expecting to adopt her a partner around the same age range. 6 inches? 8? 10? I really do not know which one to go for.

#2 Kind of building on to that, coroplast is NOWHERE to be found where I live and I really need some alternatives fast with the whole "getting her in 2 days" thing. What other materials could work and still have the benefits of coroplast?

Thank you so much for any help!

 

[Piggies&buns]

The holes on 8 hole grids are a risk so youd want to make sure you cover the holes to make the cage as safe as possible. if you can’t get coroplast then finding an alternative to cover the holes such as cardboard tied to the outside. 8 inches up is probably ok. you can add more cardboard to make it higher or cut it down shorter if you need to once piggy has moved in.

character compatibility in a bond comes before age so it’s not entirely possible to know her new friend will be around the same age if she hasnt yet been tried with other piggies - so you’d just want to be prepared that if her new friend happens to be younger that the cage is covered as it’s possible for youngsters to get through grids, particularly as the holes arent small enough on an 8 hole grid.

Coroplast isn’t essential though, plastic sheeting, an old plastic tablecloth , a shower curtain, can be used to protect the floor as the cage bottom.

 

[AnnaHeartsGuineaPigs]

The holes on 8 hole grids are a risk so youd want to make sure you cover the holes to make the cage as safe as possible. if you can’t get coroplast then finding an alternative to cover the holes such as cardboard tied to the outside. 8 inches up is probably ok. you can add more cardboard to make it higher or cut it down shorter if you need to once piggy has moved in.

character compatibility in a bond comes before age so it’s not entirely possible to know her new friend will be around the same age if she hasnt yet been tried with other piggies - so you’d just want to be prepared that if her new friend happens to be younger that the cage is covered as it’s possible for youngsters to get through grids, particularly as the holes arent small enough on an 8 hole grid.

Coroplast isn’t essential though, plastic sheeting, an old plastic tablecloth , a shower curtain, can be used to protect the floor as the cage bottom.

How would you use a shower curtain? Would I also use that on the sides or just o the bottom?

 

[swaller]

I was unable to find the 9x9 square C&C grids so went for 8x8 making the coroplast higher at the back (25cm) and placing a very thin plastic sheet along the other sides including front. Secured the plastic with clips to the top and bottom of the grids with binder clips and it works well. The piggies have no direct contact with the grids. I also couldn’t find find coroplast to begin with so used pond liner ad interim.

 

[Piggies&buns]

How would you use a shower curtain? Would I also use that on the sides or just o the bottom?

just laying on the floor and put the cage on top of it. That is all I do. My floors are just protected by a piece of cheap plastic sheeting from a garden centre which is laid down and then I put the cage on top. I don’t have any material going up the sides on my cage like you would if you use coroplast. You could possibly find a way to make plastic sheeting stay up the side of the cage by using cable ties etc.

 

[swaller]

In the absence of coroplast I would go for something thicker than shower curtain so It’s thick enough to stand up to make walls. Lino and pondliner are thick enough and can be doubled up for the walls then stuck in the same way coro can. I tried shower curtain first but pondliner worked better for this.

 

[Siikibam]

An alternative to correx could be to overlap grids and cable tie them together so the holes are smaller.

 

[Fantasimo]

Lino is a good option. I got an off cut roll for £10 from my local carpet place and it would have been enough to do my 5x2 c&c cage twice. Bargain!