C&C cages, fleece liners, and accessories

[jock153]

Hi
Potential new guinea pig owner here looking for beginners advice please!
I'm looking to be a mum to 2 female piggies from around xmas time and really like the look of the c&c cages like those on Kavee, C&C Guinea Pigs, and HayPigs. Please can anyone provide any top recommendations / tips with getting one of these (it'll be 4x2, ideally with clear acrylic panels on the front and maybe side, with a stand and a lid - presuming a lid is a sensible idea?).
I'm also curious about the fleece liners and accessories (eg cuddle cups and tunnels) - do they not chew these?
Please help out a lost beginner here

 

[piggieminder]

The forum recommends getting piggies from a rescue where they come already bonded and health checked. You will have the rescues advise for any problems encountered down the line.
If you are looking to get your piggies from a rescue please check with the rescue what their cage requirements are. 4x2 would be below the minimum requirement for a lot of rescues although some will accept that for a pair of sows. Personally I prefer 5 x 2 for sows and wouldn't put boars in anything less than 6 x 2. I prefer 3 wide as once you have put hides and tunnels etc in a cage there's not much zoomie room.
I've not had a problem with piggies chewing fleece items. I used fleece beds for years but have now gone over to mostly wooded houses and tunnels to cut the amount of washing down. 8 piggies produce a lot of washing!
Most of us buy grids from Amazon/ebay and sheets of Corex cut and score the Corex ourselves, this works out much cheaper than buying from the companies you mentioned. Although you may prefer to get ready to build and go from one of the companies first time round. If you don't have other animals you don't really need a lid I prefer not to as it's easier to have interaction with the piggies when passing the cage.
There are lots of interesting hints and tips on all things piggy in the New Owners Guide.
Helpful Info Collections for Wannabes & Owners

 

[Merab]

Hi
Potential new guinea pig owner here looking for beginners advice please!
I'm looking to be a mum to 2 female piggies from around xmas time and really like the look of the c&c cages like those on Kavee, C&C Guinea Pigs, and HayPigs. Please can anyone provide any top recommendations / tips with getting one of these (it'll be 4x2, ideally with clear acrylic panels on the front and maybe side, with a stand and a lid - presuming a lid is a sensible idea?).
I'm also curious about the fleece liners and accessories (eg cuddle cups and tunnels) - do they not chew these?
Please help out a lost beginner here

Welcome to the forum.
I have a 6x2 C&C cage which is the biggest I can fit into my space here.
I have a boar & sow pair.
They create their zoomie runs by moving any inconvenient furniture or just running through everything.

I have fleece as the base liner and bath mats on top.
A good wash bag or 2 is essential to protect your washing machine.

You can but fleece liners on EBay and Etsy

 

[thewheakybeans]

Hi,

That’s exciting you’re looking into getting guinea pigs (hopefully from a rescue as there’s lots of fur babies already out there needing new homes ). My local rescue offered me C&C grids and coroplast for free so it might be worth speaking to them first as they tend to get a lot of donations for these sorts of things.

For the bedding itself, I use a thick layer of newspapers (obtained from relatives for free!) then have a section filled with fresh hay (from Nature’s Own) and cover the rest of the newspaper with cheap bath mats from B&M. I find these more affordable and easier to wash than fleece. I use a horse hair wash bag to wash their bedding in (captures any loose hay to avoid clogging the washing machine!).
My two piggies love cardboard box houses and also have a fleece snuggle sack each.

Other useful items to have are F10 cleaning spray (pet-safe disinfectant) and a pop-up pen to place the piggies in when cleaning out their cage weekly.

 

[fluffysal]

A silicone bristle hand brush helps remove hay. I use fleece with strategically placed bath mats (not rubber backed) and pee pads. My boys have hammocks and cuddle cups. I bought spare pee pads for the cuddle cups to save on laundry. I also have buttercup bottle holders so no more pinched fingers. Most of my stuff is etsy and ebay except the grids, they are songmics grids from amazon. MUCH cheaper than kavee etc. A single duvet cover with a hairband to hold it closed is an alternative to petwash bags.

 

[BoPeep]

I’ve bought my cage liners from Etsy, they’re great and wash well. Ikea bath mats on top as an extra layer in high traffic areas - then you can flick them into the bin for quick clean ups. Pee pads in hideys/tunnels (again, from Etsy). Guinea pigs don’t seem to chew them but when I had rats they did chew their fleecy things so I used to put chews around the cage, so if you did have guinea pigs that started to nibble you can get around it. You can get guards for the edges of your coroplast, I have it on my little kitchenette part from cage creations. Guinea pigs are so food orientated you’ll find they’re more focused on that than your lovely fleece. I have a 6x2 with a “kitchenette” area which I put bedding and hay in and that also helps massively with cleaning as they do most of their business in there and I can just tip it out and fill it back up. I find having a few spare bath mats and pee pads makes spot cleaning really speedy, the cage doesn’t seem to smell at all. Exciting that you’re getting piggies

 

[lesley22]

I have a 6x2 c&c cage. Ive read here that bath mats are a good liner. Currently using wood shavings and this isnt working well. Are puppy pads suitable under bath mats? Do the bath mats not instantly get wet? Thanks just not sure what to use!

 

[Truffolo]

Welcome to the forum. I second the kitchen which makes cleaning much easier and allows me to put in hay deep enough for the piggies to burrow into and nest in. I put some paper based cat litter under the hay to absorb the pee. Guinea pigs don't produce huge amounts of wee. The nibble guards you can get to stop them from chewing the edges of the Correx are very useful. You can also use slide binders I use a vacuum with a bag. A Henry is ideal. The lightweight stick vacs get clogged with hay and hair very quickly and stop picking up things until you have gotten everything out. I had to use aquarium tweezers to get the hay out of my stick vacuum () I usually brush or sweep up the hay before I vacuum to save on bags. Sweeping with a rubber broom is great exercise
Good luck with your new piggies. Looking forward to hearing all about them

 

[Truffolo]

The other handy thing is a Snuggle Safe if your piggies need extra warmth. They might not need them though if their room doesn't get too cold

 

[Roselina]

I have a 6x2 c&c cage. Ive read here that bath mats are a good liner. Currently using wood shavings and this isnt working well. Are puppy pads suitable under bath mats? Do the bath mats not instantly get wet? Thanks just not sure what to use!

I use washable puppy pads under fleece liners and vet bed
The wee goes thru
I tuck the edges of the pads over the correx which stops nibbling and keeps the pads in place.
You can wash the puppy pads on a 60 wash if you need too
It does mean more washing but it’s so easy to clean out the c&c