DIY house in need of advice

Sarah148

New Born Pup
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Hello, I’m hoping you wise ones can help a newbie. I’m about to make a DIY guinea pig home out of ikea besta units and would like to ask for your advice please to make sure I have happy piggies who will be 4 weeks old when it’s ready. The lower level will be 120cm wide, 60cm depth and 40cm high with a lower front Perspex. The top level will be 120 cm width, 40cm depth and 60cm high with a lower front Perspex. It will be 2 levels similar to the layout in photo 1 where the lower level will have a greater depth of 20cm. It will have a ramp similar to photo 2 but I will make the ramp wider with sides. My questions are:

1) will there be an issue with ventilation? And to aid ventilation as much as possible what is the lowest I can have the Perspex front where they won’t jump out? As it’s in my living room I would like to avoid chicken wire and c&c grids. Is drilling holes in the front Perspex an option and beneficial?
2) How likely is it that the guinea pig will jump over the front when coming down the ramp?
3) I would like to paint the internal wooden sides with a clear non toxic paint to protect it from wee. Any recommendations?
4) Any advice on how I can make a door in the front lower Perspex? And any links to how to make the front Perspex easily removable for cleaning the cage would be much appreciated. I am not DIY savvy! 🥴
5) Any recommendations on thickness of Perspex and where to purchase cheap ones please?


Any help gratefully received. Due to limited space 120cm width is the absolute maximum. If I change the design completely I could have a depth of 90cm instead of 60cm but then I may struggle with a second level. Are levels beneficial? I would prefer to avoid this but if that extra space for the piggies is a game changer then fair enough because I would like them to thrive. Thank you all so much!
 

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In terms of cage size, upper levels do not count towards cage size, they are merely bonus spaces, so really there is not a huge benefit in having them. Guinea pigs are ground roaming creatures and need their cage to be large enough on one level.
what sex are your piggies? 120x60cm is the welfare minimum for two sows. If you can therefore push it out to 120x90cm and not bother with the second level, then that would be better for them. if you have two boars, then sadly you may struggle with the cage being too small. Two boars need more room and really need a cage of180cm x 60cm. They are more territorial and can struggle with lack of space.
In terms of height, c&c grids are 35cm high so you would not want it any lower than that. The 40cm you plan sounds perfect.
 
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Hello ad welcome to the forum. Any ramps really need sides and to have a very gradual slope, some guinea pigs won't use a ramp at all, they are not natural climbers.
 
:wel: to the forum!
Paint that I have used in the past is cuprinol, its safe for animals and comes in a wide range of colours.
 
Hello, is the one on the left your cage? I purchased the same cage a few months ago(it was. Custom made from eBay) but I had to upgrade as I purchased more guinea pigs who needed more room
 
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