Cage Setup - Is This Setup Ok?

[peppermintSmoothie]

Hey guys,

I'm picking up two boys on Sunday from a local rescue - have to pass the home check first. These are my first ever guinea pigs - fish and hamsters have always been my thing!

my original housing plan was one of those giant cages from pets at home with a c&c or puppy cage run but the c&c cages looked so much better (for my decor and for the pigs!) so I ordered 2 packs of these: Mercury Row Perlo 38.1 cm H Shelving Unit & Reviews | Wayfair UK

I've setup a 3 x 3 square 106cm x 106cm. Is this a suitable size? They will be out most evenings and and on weekends.

For the bedding I have a shower curtain and newspaper. With fleece being delivered tomorrow.

Eventually I plan to get some correx and make it all a bit more fancy but I might reconfigure the space a bit first. I want to see how they get on with it as it is.

I have some microfibre cloths under the house which I'm going to sew up into pouches which I can put some puppy pads in - hopefully they wont nibble them!

They're long haired so I bought a set of brushes. they'll probably hate all of them knowing my luck!

(banana is for scale - and my lunch!)

 

[chesca_27]

Looks a good size ! I have my boars in a 3 by 3 with a 3 by 1 loft.

Just a suggestion, I would use a hay tray each and have a hidey house each so they have somewhere to feet away from each other.

Only other thing I would say is the carrier is quite small for two boys. I used to use them for one pig as a vet trip, but I now use a cat carrier so they have a bit more space to get away from each other. I use those types of small carriers for my hamster mainly.

 

[sport_billy]

Hello, first of all welcome to the forum

The size of c&c for 2 pigs is 2x4 so 3x3 is absolutely fine also - it is actually slightly bigger in overall dimensions I think your setup looks great!

Once the fleece is down it will be great I would advise washing the fleece several times without softner to increase it's wicking properties. Some people put Puppy pads under the fleece others towels then leave the shower curtain under that to protect your carpet until you get correx. I really wouldn't worry about the microfibre cloths in their house as to be honest they will be more than happy on fleece. We tend to find the fleece needs a full change every two days or so.

Good luck with the brushing Our long haired piggy freaks at being brushed so we just keep her bum fur cut shorter to avoid matting etc...

Lovely to have you on the forum, if you have any specific questions please just ask

Lee

 

[Wiebke]

Hey guys,

I'm picking up two boys on Sunday from a local rescue - have to pass the home check first. These are my first ever guinea pigs - fish and hamsters have always been my thing!

my original housing plan was one of those giant cages from pets at home with a c&c or puppy cage run but the c&c cages looked so much better (for my decor and for the pigs!) so I ordered 2 packs of these: Mercury Row Perlo 38.1 cm H Shelving Unit & Reviews | Wayfair UK

I've setup a 3 x 3 square 106cm x 106cm. Is this a suitable size? They will be out most evenings and and on weekends.

For the bedding I have a shower curtain and newspaper. With fleece being delivered tomorrow.

Eventually I plan to get some correx and make it all a bit more fancy but I might reconfigure the space a bit first. I want to see how they get on with it as it is.

I have some microfibre cloths under the house which I'm going to sew up into pouches which I can put some puppy pads in - hopefully they wont nibble them!

They're long haired so I bought a set of brushes. they'll probably hate all of them knowing my luck!

(banana is for scale - and my lunch!)

Hi! Great that you have been planning ahead and are checking beforehand! Please always take any advice and concerns on board that are being made during a home check; it springs from experience and is there to help you, not to criticise. Mostly, a home check is done in the way of a friendly chat, so it is nothing you have to afraid of.

The cage size is fine for two boars; it surpasses minimum recommendations. The grids have got enough internal wires to prevent a piggy getting stuck, but you may want to spread out that shower curtain as wide as you can or get some correx/coroplast offcuts for low rail around the outside or make/order a removable correx/coroplast tray from either a specialist shop or a local signmaker's in order to prevent piggy messes from spilling out onto your carpet. Once your piggies gambol in that cage, stuff is going to fly!

What I would recommend is to get some fleece bedding (always washed without surface-sealing softener, and pre-washed 2-3 times at first to get the softener out) and an absorbent underlay, so the surface fleece is dry and all the urine collects in the cotton towels/puppy pads/washable absorbent incontinence mattress or chair covers below.
Cheap 100% acrylic bed spreads have just the right width for a 3 grid cage (ca. 120 cm), so they would be ideal for your setup. You only need to get two, so you have a change. I use them for my own pens that are 3 grids wide; they cover a 3x4 grid pen space. They only cost you a very few pounds or dollars.

I would strongly suggest that you get a larger plastic corner tray from a pet shop, a seed or a photo developing tray for the hay from a DIY that is more solid and cannot be tipped over like the one in your picture. Ideally it should be large enough for both piggies being able to sit in it at the same time.

I would also recommend to get a drip dish for your water bottle and a second hidey - it doesn't need to be as expensive; even a cardboard box or a log tunnel will do, but it is much better if every guinea pig has got their own hidey since they don't necessarily cuddle up. Dominance behaviour means that the underpiggy is usually chucked out of any prime real estate.
With boars, you ideally want to have only hideys with two exits during the settling phase and during their teenage months (between 4-14 months of age). That keeps down the risk of fighting a lot as it removes one of the worst flash-points.
Boars: A guide to successful companionship.
You may find the various links in our wannabe owners guide collection helpful: Quick Information Bundle For Wannabe Owners

Here is our new owners' starter kit to help you settle in and understand your guinea pigs for a smooth start:
New Owners' " How To" Starter Kit

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[peppermintSmoothie]

Thanks guys!

@chesca_27 I did wonder about the two house thing - I really don't like the plastic houses that petsathome had! Will they be happy in a cardboard box with sellotape removed for the time being? at least they can eat it if they get bored!

I didn't know about the two tray things, hmm, maybe I'll just spread the hay out a bit more until I can get another or a better one!

yeah, the carrier does say its for pigs but it is very small. they said I'd need a proper carrier to bring them home in. I have two cat carriers at my parents but logistics means I wont get them for another month. I'll have to bring them home in that carrier and then use it for individual pigs on vet trips.

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks guys!

@chesca_27 I did wonder about the two house thing - I really don't like the plastic houses that petsathome had! Will they be happy in a cardboard box with sellotape removed for the time being? at least they can eat it if they get bored!

I didn't know about the two tray things, hmm, maybe I'll just spread the hay out a bit more until I can get another or a better one!

yeah, the carrier does say its for pigs but it is very small. they said I'd need a proper carrier to bring them home in. I have two cat carriers at my parents but logistics means I wont get them for another month. I'll have to bring them home in that carrier and then use it for individual pigs on vet trips.

If you get a larger tray and place it in a way that it can be accessed from two sides, you will be fine.

 

[flowerfairy]

Great set up. I have a shower curtain (was going to use it for floor time). It is definately not waterproof. Weird for a shower curtain but it was cheap. Yours may be a thicker/posher one.

My guinea pigs have a 32litre underbed storage box for their hay. It works well. I cut one of the sides down for easy access. They love to tunnel in it.

Hope the home check goes well. I love home checks, a great excuse to talk to fellow animal lovers.

 

[Tiamolly123]

Hi & welcome.

 

[peppermintSmoothie]

@flowerfairy ooh I like the underbed storage box idea. totally doing that!

I got the plastic kind of shower curtain rather than the fabric kind if that makes sense - I hope its water proof - I might test it this evening! if not it only set me back £3!

 

[flowerfairy]

My shower curtain was one pound and very thin plastic.

 

[Flutterby]

Everything looks great! Can't wait to see pics when your boys arrive

 

[Mhairi]

Have you seen the Carrot Houses you can buy on Amazon/Ebay? It's probably been one of the best things we've purchased since we got our girls 3 months ago. Acts as a hidey but they can also nibble on it to wear down their teeth. I just used a sharp knife to cut another door in the back so there are 2 exits in case of any scuffles. A medium one is good for one piggy. Only problem is they make a mess of your fleece when the grass falls off it!

 

[VickiA]

Hello and a very warm welcome. You've had plenty of good tips already. I hope the home check goes well and your boys come to join you soon. Cardboard boxes with doors cut in make great cheap disposable hideys (and they love to chew them), otherwise cheap plastic children's stools/ foot stools make a great hidey with plenty of entry and exit points. Look forward to seeing photos once the piggies arrive.

 

[Kylie80]

I think the cage looks like a good size. I have one of those carriers for my two sows for if they have to go to the vet, it was perfect for when they were babies but now sadly is too small for them both. The handle feels like really flimsy plastic too and I was always afraid it was going to break so I wont mind to much about replacing it lol.

 

[Guineapigfeet]

I use the catit cabrio cat carrier for my three girls and it's fab! I'm so pleased with it

 

[Tigermoth]

Congratulations! It's ridiculously exciting isn't it?

Regarding the carrier, when we got ours, the rescue had a selection of them for sale, presumably handed in alongside the pet they contained. I bought mine from them for a fiver. Might be worth contacting them and asking them to put one aside for you if they happen to have one. You could then sell yours as new...

Look forward to pigtures!

 

[Cavy Kung-Fu]

Congrats! The cage looks lovely I find the best house is a cardboard box with 3 exits. When my baby girls came home with me they were constantly bickering in their single exit house so they were only allowed boxes that I could cut exits in Yes hay trays are great, the more the merrier!

 

[BlueBird]

@flowerfairy ooh I like the underbed storage box idea. totally doing that!

I got the plastic kind of shower curtain rather than the fabric kind if that makes sense - I hope its water proof - I might test it this evening! if not it only set me back £3!

Have you tried zooplus.co.uk? I have bought a wooden flat topped log house from there and one of my pigs loves it. The roof has become 'a wait for breakfast' spot and they love tipping up the ramps (even though there's a hole right next to it) to get out. Amazon have quite a few Trixie houses on sale too if you like the log cabin look. Just make sure you check the sizes. I tend to buy the ones that say they are big enough for rabbits as they seem the correct guinea pig size (I have no idea where all these guinea pig sized rabbits are coming from).

 

[peppermintSmoothie]

Hey guys, thank you for all your help before! I just thought I'd check in and update you on the piggies a week after picking them up!


big pig




little pig



Home check went ok and I swapped my carrier for the same style but the next size up at the shelter so that was all ok!

Piggies are still nameless but at the moment Ive been calling them big pig and little pig.

I have a few more questions but I don't know where is the best place to ask them - here or in separate threads?



Big Pig has taken to eating clumps of little pigs hair I've read some threads on barbering on here and I'm wondering if it was an issue with the hay as something I read said it can be caused by lack of hay. I had bought the pets at home stuff but they were not interested in it at all just the odd nibble here and there so this weekend I went to my LPS and bought some local meadow hay and they liked it. (phew) Though I'm still looking out for a decent hay tray.


Theyre about a year and 2 months old and really skittish. I've been sitting with them for a few hours every morning/evening to get them used to me and last night I managed to hold them although little pig didnt much like it! I'm going to try to hold them before veggies each night in the hopes that they will get used to the routine


I'm wondering when would be a suitable time to give their bums a wash. Big pig's iss fine but little pig is yellowing a bit . I dont want to undo all the work Iv'e done getting them to be more confident though.


After I held them big pig sat out in the open on his side in the corner, he did run away when I tried to stroke him but I'm assuming this is normal behaviour for a relaxed pig? (I've never had guinea pigs before)

 

[Lorcan]

With regards to bum washing, have you tried using an unscented baby wipe? I find my two will tolerate that and there's very little upset unlike with the dreaded water.

The running away is normal, especially from out in the open. They're prey animals, it's pretty much just how they roll. Some might learn to tolerate it better than others, but for the meantime, patience is key...though hard, too, I know.

As for hay, they can be fussy little imps. My two love the Burgess timothy/feeding hay and pretty much nothing else so I buy it 3 bales at a time from Amazon. But it can just be a long frustrating game of trial and error sometimes!

 

[peppermintSmoothie]

@Lorcan genius! I'm going to look for some in boots this evening!

but his posture is normal when hes in the corner though?

its so frustrating because I was going to buy burgess hay (I use their dwarf hamster mix for my hamster and its brilliant!) but they had a deal on the own brand stuff so I went for that! still its nice to support the local businesses

 

[Lorcan]

From what I can tell by the photo, that's generally how my Comet sleeps. I wouldn't think much of it, he may have just been sleeping - they can sleep with their eyes closed, it's probably another reason for him being startled.

Are they settling in okay generally? Sometimes it can take a long while for them to "come around" so to speak, but every pig I've met has been their own great little character. You sound like you're doing a great job

 

[BlueBird]

Hey guys, thank you for all your help before! I just thought I'd check in and update you on the piggies a week after picking them up!

View attachment 59699
big pig


View attachment 59701

little pig



Home check went ok and I swapped my carrier for the same style but the next size up at the shelter so that was all ok!

Piggies are still nameless but at the moment Ive been calling them big pig and little pig.

I have a few more questions but I don't know where is the best place to ask them - here or in separate threads?



Big Pig has taken to eating clumps of little pigs hair I've read some threads on barbering on here and I'm wondering if it was an issue with the hay as something I read said it can be caused by lack of hay. I had bought the pets at home stuff but they were not interested in it at all just the odd nibble here and there so this weekend I went to my LPS and bought some local meadow hay and they liked it. (phew) Though I'm still looking out for a decent hay tray.


Theyre about a year and 2 months old and really skittish. I've been sitting with them for a few hours every morning/evening to get them used to me and last night I managed to hold them although little pig didnt much like it! I'm going to try to hold them before veggies each night in the hopes that they will get used to the routine


I'm wondering when would be a suitable time to give their bums a wash. Big pig's iss fine but little pig is yellowing a bit . I dont want to undo all the work Iv'e done getting them to be more confident though.


After I held them big pig sat out in the open on his side in the corner, he did run away when I tried to stroke him but I'm assuming this is normal behaviour for a relaxed pig? (I've never had guinea pigs before)

View attachment 59702

I have a very skittish pig. I don't know what we would do with her if she hadn't got our original super tame pig as a good influence. I would cover like 80-50% of the cage with an old curtain/duvet cover to help their anxiety. Old worn socks or socks that have been left at the bottom of the wash bin of a couple of days that you don't mind getting nibbled are a good choice to be put in the cage to let them get used to your smell. Think of it like a guinea hand shake. If you're lucky they'll sit next to it and start washing themselves (this translates roughly into "I want to be your friend". Try not to push them too hard - I know it's hard since they are so damned cute.

I've had our skittish pig for almost a month now and she's still quite scared of us. Best thing is to try and do it on their terms. I would try not to pick them up if you can help it for a good week to a fortnight. Only doing it if you have to for weigh-day and clean out. most guinea pigs hate getting picked up (it's reminiscent of being carried off by a predator and not nice for guineas). Therefore, I would try to only do this if they are very comfortable with you and come to the cage bars to see if you have treats. We have made a habit of making a kissing sound when we just want to give the guineas a pat or a scratch behind the ears. They know what this means and if they aren't in the mood they scuttle off, it also means that they aren't paranoid that any hand towards them will result in a capture with helps with the taming long term.

My tips for gentle taming is get a long piece of veg like a green bean or a long sprig of parsley. Poke it through the bars next to where they are hiding. When they start munching don't move so they are forced to come out if they want more food. They will have a line they won't want to pass but after each time they will learn you aren't scary and come closer especially when they begin to learn that you are their source of veg. For the next step, I tend to start trying to touch their nose when they get closer, usually they move their head away (hopefully they don't run otherwise I have pushed them too far).

After a month our skittish pig is quite confident to come up to the bars but still not super keen on touches and getting picked up just ends in her screaming. She is getting better slowly and in her own time (Just want to add that she is a right drama queen and a very extreme case in my experience of owning guineas. She was a rescue so we don't really know her past. It is possible she was never interacted with or even worse had something horrible happen to her).

Of course you can just start having a cuddle with them from the outset but I find this means that they take longer to come round in the long run. Good luck. They are very pretty piggies.

 

[lauralucy]

awwww, there so cute.

with regards to the flooring I use lino (vinyl flooring) not correx.

As Lorcan says its time and patience with getting them used to you.

good luck

 

[Tiamolly123]

You need to put meadow hay in there trays & Timothy hay for them to eat. We normally scatter it over a bridge or something. We get the Timothy hay from pets corner, although the range does some. You can order some off the net.
I think they are pretty cute too.

 

[flowerfairy]

These guys sell wonderful hay. You can buy sample packs;

Hay and Straw

 

[aimzer]

Aww how cute are they!?
Congrats on becoming a piggy mummy

The way your piggy is sleeping is exactly how my super confident pig sleeps. Completely out in the open, flaked out on her side. I think it shows that he's comfortable in his new environment you have provided him. If they are not fully comfortable, they will usually sleep in a hidey or somewhere more safe feeling.

I can second what has been said about 'Hay and Straw' I buy their ings hay and my girls absolutely love it! If you want to give your boys a treat, pets at home sell Alfafa King Timothy Hay. It is super green and my girls go mad for it. It is £9 for a small/medium bag so would be quite pricey if you use it alone.

 

[Skittypigs]

Hey guys,

I'm picking up two boys on Sunday from a local rescue - have to pass the home check first. These are my first ever guinea pigs - fish and hamsters have always been my thing!

my original housing plan was one of those giant cages from pets at home with a c&c or puppy cage run but the c&c cages looked so much better (for my decor and for the pigs!) so I ordered 2 packs of these: Mercury Row Perlo 38.1 cm H Shelving Unit & Reviews | Wayfair UK

I've setup a 3 x 3 square 106cm x 106cm. Is this a suitable size? They will be out most evenings and and on weekends.

For the bedding I have a shower curtain and newspaper. With fleece being delivered tomorrow.

Eventually I plan to get some correx and make it all a bit more fancy but I might reconfigure the space a bit first. I want to see how they get on with it as it is.

I have some microfibre cloths under the house which I'm going to sew up into pouches which I can put some puppy pads in - hopefully they wont nibble them!

They're long haired so I bought a set of brushes. they'll probably hate all of them knowing my luck!

(banana is for scale - and my lunch!)

Hi! I'm fairly new to the forum, it looks nice, just look around as you pick up ideas from others too. Good idea deciding on best layout before correx, I keep making my layout different to see what I like best but have changed correx a couple of times which is an expensive error on my behalf! Oh well, it's all a learning curve! Look forward to seeing the boys.

 

[Kylie80]

You're piggies are very cute. I don't know if anyone has mentioned yet about maybe trying to use snuggle sacks whenever you need to get your piggies out of the cage, it's really a lot less stressful on the piggies (and yourself if you have a squirmer like I do). I think that's one of the best tips I have gotten off the forum so far. As far as hay goes i've had my two sows five months and they are soooooo fussy with hay but sometimes when I put hay out for them I will mix a hay they don't particularly like with some of their oxbow orchard grass and it's empty bowls. With their timothy hay they like to eat it out of their hay bag but will refuse to eat it out of their bowl and they love alfalfa king timothy hay and oxbow timothy hay.