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Deleted member 147427
I just got the cage at the pet shop when I purchased them it was the size the recommended
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As I said, unfortunately the shops can sell cages which arent quite up to requirements.
This particular cage does actually state it is a 'temporary indoor home or sleeping space' not a permanent home and that other permanent space is required. We would encourage you to try to add some extra permanent space to the front of it to give them a little extra room.
This cage is still better than the hutch you have - the hutch is only 120x50 so falls even smaller than this cage does
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Deleted member 147427
There not going to be in the cage permanently they will go into there hutch in the spring
No sorry you've missed the point there. While they are in the house and in this cage it is not big enough. It doesnt matter if they are going into the hutch in spring, this cage is not quite big enough for right now. The hutch is also not big enough
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Deleted member 147427
I do get your point I don’t have the room
Or space for an even bigger cage
I'm afraid we can only tell you the information - Piggies need a lot of floor space - a cage no smaller than 120x60cm (8 square feet), but 150x60cm (10 square feet) is the recommended size for two sows.
My Piggies
Adult Guinea Pig
Can you put it on the floor somewhere? Unfortunately, the cage you have now is simply too small for them to live happy and enriched lives.
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Deleted member 147427
As I said they are not going to be in it permanently
Gradie and the pigs
Junior Guinea Pig
Could you use something like a extremely large dog crate a safe one with small bars we use that we have two that we joined together and their cheaper just put coroplaste around the sides and it’s safer if you have other animals in the house too and it gives them lots of room if you choose a large one’ the ones we have at the moment that we joined together are 190 cm long 78cm wide and 84 cm high and if you are small enough you can sit in there with them
It doesnt matter - it isnt big enough for the time they are in it. Any space they are locked into for any length of time needs to meet size requirements - they will be in this cage all winter so it really needs to be a bigger space for them.
The hutch also isnt big enough - in fact on floor space the hutch is actually even smaller than this indoor cage is so is even worse
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Deleted member 147427
I know u probs think I’m being cruel to my piggies but I don’t have the money to fork out on a bigger cage and hutch
We dont think you're being cruel, I think you've been misinformed by shops by them telling you that the cages you were buying were ok.
Unfortunately piggies do need a lot more space than a lot of people are aware hence why we recommend 150x60cm for two sows
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Deleted member 147427
Have u got a pic of that cage
This is a link to a 140cm commercial cage at Pets at Home. Its measurements are 140x71cm which (due to being wider than 60cm) covers the recommended 10 square feet so would be much better for them
https://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/rabbit-140-guinea-pig-and-rabbit-cage-(online-only)
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Deleted member 147427
I don’t have the floor Space for that size hutch
I'm afraid that is the sort of cage size which is required for Guinea Pigs. It is the only indoor cage on the pets at home website which comes close to being big enough. All of the others are too small to be a standalone cage - ie they are fine to use but only if a pen is permanently attached to the front of it and the cage door permanently left open so they can come and go as they please, for example, only using the cage as a hay room and the attached pen in front of the cage is their main living space so all other hideys etc are in there
You will need a new outdoor hutch also of that size.
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I’m really sorry that you were sold a cage that was too small and a hutch that’s too small, also. This is not uncommon.
As I have suggested, you could try to return the hutch in the basis that it doesn’t meet RSPCA minimum welfare standards and as such is not fit for purpose in accordance with consumer legislation in the U.K.
Unfortunately, the advice that we give is not going to change. You will see many other threads on this forum on the same topic and our advice is always the same. We can’t change our advice because of people’s individual circumstances. We’ve suggested ways to increase the size of your indoor cage - many people do this by building a small enclosure with grids around it so the piggies have a larger floor area.
We respect that our advice may not be what you want to hear. But at the end of the day, as an adult, you are free to make any decisions you wish in relation to any aspect of your piggies’ care. You don’t have to follow all or any of our advice. We live in a free society. Our advice is simply that - advice. But please can we ask this one thing. If you are not prepared to receive our advice (which is all about guinea pig welfare) and to act on it, please don’t ask for it in the first place. Otherwise we are just going round and round in circles and the staff may decide to close your threads to further comments.
As I have suggested, you could try to return the hutch in the basis that it doesn’t meet RSPCA minimum welfare standards and as such is not fit for purpose in accordance with consumer legislation in the U.K.
Unfortunately, the advice that we give is not going to change. You will see many other threads on this forum on the same topic and our advice is always the same. We can’t change our advice because of people’s individual circumstances. We’ve suggested ways to increase the size of your indoor cage - many people do this by building a small enclosure with grids around it so the piggies have a larger floor area.
We respect that our advice may not be what you want to hear. But at the end of the day, as an adult, you are free to make any decisions you wish in relation to any aspect of your piggies’ care. You don’t have to follow all or any of our advice. We live in a free society. Our advice is simply that - advice. But please can we ask this one thing. If you are not prepared to receive our advice (which is all about guinea pig welfare) and to act on it, please don’t ask for it in the first place. Otherwise we are just going round and round in circles and the staff may decide to close your threads to further comments.
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Deleted member 147427
I don’t have the space for a even larger cage etc
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Deleted member 147427
I do respect your advice am just trying to make urself and others realise that not everyone had the extra space for larger cages etc
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That’s fine and we respect that but we can’t change out answers. You just have to accept the cage is not ideal and move on
We aren’t judging you we understand reasons, but if you ask the question the answer will be the same
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Black piggies
Forum Donator 2023/24
There are petitions online and campaigns about stopping pet shops selling cages too small. It really is annoying and unfair when owners follow pet shop advice and think they're doing the right thing and then find out later otherwise.
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Yea absolutely
Tara95
Adult Guinea Pig
You could buy some cheap C&C grids for £20 and extend the cage slightly to meet the requirements. You could also use a C&C cage and therefore if you have limited space you could extend it to for example to 11 square feet so it would not be much bigger than your original cage. The brilliant thing with C&C is they do look much nicer and the guinea pigs will be less afraid. I used to have a similar cage to you when I was misinformed as well, and everytime I would go into the cage I would have to move the lid and it would rattle and make the guinea pigs scared. Another thing is that if you have limited space you can make the C&C cage to fit your room - for example make it an L shape if needed to maximise space. Your old cage won't go to waste you could use it as an emergency cage or a transportation cage. It can also be a really nice fun experience to make your own cage from the grids and design it the way you want. 
Some people even have them on tables and therefore you could put your drawers underneath for storage so it wouldn't take up much room. How much space do you have to work with?
Some people even have them on tables and therefore you could put your drawers underneath for storage so it wouldn't take up much room. How much space do you have to work with?
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Deleted member 147427
You could buy some cheap C&C grids for £20 and extend the cage slightly to meet the requirements. You could also use a C&C cage and therefore if you have limited space you could extend it to for example to 11 square feet so it would not be much bigger than your original cage. The brilliant thing with C&C is they do look much nicer and the guinea pigs will be less afraid. I used to have a similar cage to you when I was misinformed as well, and everytime I would go into the cage I would have to move the lid and it would rattle and make the guinea pigs scared. Another thing is that if you have limited space you can make the C&C cage to fit your room - for example make it an L shape if needed to maximise space. Your old cage won't go to waste you could use it as an emergency cage or a transportation cage. It can also be a really nice fun experience to make your own cage from the grids and design it the way you want.
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Deleted member 147427
I gave my local pet store a call yesterday. They said your piggies are still quite little so the cage you have at the moment is fine. Maybe when they are older think about getting them a bigger cage
I’m afraid this shop is not giving you good advice. The cage is not fine as it does not meet welfare requirements - its a shame they are for sale in the first place given they don’t meet those requirements so there is no way they can be fine not even for baby piggies
They need the right sized cage from the very beginning. They are active animals that need a lot of room, especially even more so as youngsters. Their physical body size does not make any difference to the amount of space they need and it’s just bad advice for the shop to have told you otherwise. As we have said if they fall out due to lack of space, then it’ll be too late to get them a bigger cage as they won’t be able to live together anymore anyway. Plus, changing cage size later constitutes a change of territory which can cause problems so this is also another reason why they need the right cage from the beginning with minimal environment and territory changes.
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Deleted member 147427
The pet shop wouldn’t sell me it if the cage wasn’t fine . The would be prositcuted if they where sell these kind of items
Sadly that isn’t true there are lot of things that are for sale which are not suitable and are not safe including inadequate cage sizes. There is unfortunately nothing to stop the shops from selling them - we wish there was - and this is why it’s up to owners and prospective owners to be sure the sizes they are getting are adequate. We sadly see people who buy cages from shops on their advice and in good faith only to find later that it is too small. It is distressing for them to think they have not given their piggies enough space and also expensive when they have to buy new cages.
We regularly on the forum, people who come here to help solve issues which have occurred through receiving advice from shops - from missexing and pregnancies, being sold three boars after having been told it would be ok (when in reality it’s a disaster), and cages which arent big enough.
As we have said, your cage and the hutch are not big enough and there is nothing more we can say about it.
Cage Size Guide
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T-Rex
Forum Donator 2023/24
I’m afraid I wouldn’t ever rely on a pet shop to tell you what is suitable for the pets they sell. I’m sure there must be good pet shops out there that put animal welfare first. But in my opinion they are out for sales and profit.
So I wouldn’t have thought they would ever tell you that the cages they sell are too small.
This is why doing research before getting any pet is important. But we have all been guilty of not doing that! Now you are doing the research and that’s great. But you still don’t have the space to provide what your pigs need. So like above, it’s probably best you stop asking. Maybe take some time to mull all this information over. Watch your piggies behave and interact- it will soon become clear why more space is always better for these fabulous entertaining creatures.
So I wouldn’t have thought they would ever tell you that the cages they sell are too small.
This is why doing research before getting any pet is important. But we have all been guilty of not doing that! Now you are doing the research and that’s great. But you still don’t have the space to provide what your pigs need. So like above, it’s probably best you stop asking. Maybe take some time to mull all this information over. Watch your piggies behave and interact- it will soon become clear why more space is always better for these fabulous entertaining creatures.
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It is not illegal to sell cages that are too small unfortunately.
Pet shops get away with it because they make lots of money, and people would be put off from impulse purchases if they had to invest in a decent sized cage from the start.
Calling a pet shop and asking about this is not going to get them to confess they have sold you a tiny cage. They have your money, and frankly couldn't care less. They will use excuses like 'it will work when they are babies', or' it could be used in the short term or for travel'.
As the owner of these animals it is your responsibility to make sure they housed and cared for adequately.
You know what the recommended minimums are, and a good owner will make sure these are met.
Taking advice form the place where people have no specialist experience, but do want your money is just making excuses.
No one on here will say it is ok to house your piggies in a cage that is too small to meet their basic welfare needs. You can keep asking the question and making excuses, but the minimum sizes won't change.
Surley you want to offer your piggies a good life, and as they will spend that life in the cage you bought for them then the least yo can do is make sure it is large enough.
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