Cage Length?

[Abbie_T]

Hello!

I'm possibly taking on the care of two gorgeous lovely boy guinea pigs. I've been babysitting them and have fallen in love!

They are currently happily living in a 2 x 5 cavi cage that I borrowed and I'm now looking at where I can keep them more permanently.

I have a lovely space in my living room that would be perfect and would fit a square 3 x 3 cavi cage and I was going to put 2 'lofts' at the back of 1 x 3. Would this be a suitable length though for them or do they need the longer thinner cage?

I have conflicting advice with some saying 3 x 3 is fine with the lofts but others saying that they need the length to be able to run around and 3 isn't long enough even though square footage is fine?

Thank you in advance!

 

[Abbie_T]

Oh and each panel is 38 cm in length

 

[Wiebke]

Oh and each panel is 38 cm in length

Hi! A 3x3 grid cage is OK; it is still above minimal welfare recommendations. Make sure that your boys can run loops around the perimeter, which is what they love doing and which gives them as much of a chance to run at speed over a longer distance as a long but narrow cage! it is what my piggies like doing when free roaming - zoom around one or two objects.

When moving your boys into a new cage, please wipe the cage with some soiled bedding to make it smell like their territory. Also don't use fresh bedding or cleaned hideys, bowl or water bottles when they move in for that reason. Piggies need to re-establish their hierarchy in any new territory. In boars, this can occasionally lead to fights and fall-outs even in adult pairs if there are underlying tensions. If you can avoid/minimise dominance behaviour, all the better! We tend to underestimate the importance of smell in guinea pigs because it is not one of our strongest senses, whereas it is in guinea pigs.

 

[Abbie_T]

That is brilliant. Thank you and yes, of course I will follow your advice about moving them.