Indoor Guinea Pig advice

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lauraburtdavies

Junior Guinea Pig
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Me and my partner are looking into getting a group of either 2 or 3 sows spring 2020. I have worked in a well known pet shop so I am keen to adopt from a rescue, not a shop. At the moment, I'm looking at a C&C Guinea Pig enclosure, so we can customise the size and run etc - has anyone bought a C&C cage before or have any advice about other great cage options for piggies? We live in an apartment with no garden, but we have a large pen which they will have access to everyday with separate enrichment - any ideas what diy enrichment we can provide for them?. For substrate, I like the idea of using bath mats on top of cage liners - does anyone have any advice for where to buy these from and how often to change them? Sorry for all the questions, I just really want to get this right for them :) thanks guys
 
It’s good to do your research beforehand so 👍🏾
my piggies are in a (stacked) c&c. It’s a good option that, as you said, can be customised to fit the space it will be in. Midwest cages are also another one owner by several members on here. I’d say have a look through this thread and this one for commercial and c&c setups.

Enrichment info can be found here. And (fleece) bedding can be found here. You could also make your own fleece liners, as several on here have done. There’s also vet bed, with something absorbent underneath.

Please be aware of the cage size recommendations for piggies. Sows need less space than boars, but nonetheless the more space you can give them the better.
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Thanks so much for your helpful advice :) I will definitely take a look at all those links!
 
lauraburtdavies said:
Thanks so much for your helpful advice :) I will definitely take a look at all those links!
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hey welcome to the forum :)

We use C&C grids but don't bother with correx. We use the grids , a plastic picnic sheet(to protect carpet) towels on top of that then fleece. They hay gets out a little what the correx used to stop but it does mean we can go three grids wide.. Love c&c so flexible.

i would suggest getting as many hideys as you get piggies, then have a look for some fun comfortable fleecey cosies etc....
 
sport_billy said:
hey welcome to the forum :)

We use C&C grids but don't bother with correx. We use the grids , a plastic picnic sheet(to protect carpet) towels on top of that then fleece. They hay gets out a little what the correx used to stop but it does mean we can go three grids wide.. Love c&c so flexible.

i would suggest getting as many hideys as you get piggies, then have a look for some fun comfortable fleecey cosies etc....
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That's useful to know, thank you! Will definitely be lots of hiding places for them
 
C&C cages work out much cheaper if you buy the items separate and you can then build to your own specification. Amazon basics sells a grid shelving unit which is 16 grids I think for about £24.99 which will make you a good sized cage. You can get Proplex which is the same as correx for about £4.50 a sheet in Wickes and a bit dearer in B&Q and if you google there is a site that shows you how to measure and cut it to make different size bases.

The best bath mats to get are the noodle chenille/microfibre ones. You can get them in Home Bargins for £4.99 and Tesco, Asda, Morrisons sell them for £6. (I've had a few from Asda and Tesco when they have been reduced to £4). IKEA sell some for £5 I think.

I use puppy pads or a waterproof mattress protector underneath my bath mats and on top of them underneath their water bottles or in areas where they pee a lot I use fleece waterproof mats which can be changed every couple of days and mean that I only need to change the bath mats once a week when I deep clean their cage.

They love tunnels and hideys and my girls love having a cardboard box which I cut a hole in either 3 or two the sides.
 
Alisa3114 said:
C&C cages work out much cheaper if you buy the items separate and you can then build to your own specification. Amazon basics sells a grid shelving unit which is 16 grids I think for about £24.99 which will make you a good sized cage. You can get Proplex which is the same as correx for about £4.50 a sheet in Wickes and a bit dearer in B&Q and if you google there is a site that shows you how to measure and cut it to make different size bases.

The best bath mats to get are the noodle chenille/microfibre ones. You can get them in Home Bargins for £4.99 and Tesco, Asda, Morrisons sell them for £6. (I've had a few from Asda and Tesco when they have been reduced to £4). IKEA sell some for £5 I think.

I use puppy pads or a waterproof mattress protector underneath my bath mats and on top of them underneath their water bottles or in areas where they pee a lot I use fleece waterproof mats which can be changed every couple of days and mean that I only need to change the bath mats once a week when I deep clean their cage.

They love tunnels and hideys and my girls love having a cardboard box which I cut a hole in either 3 or two the sides.
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Amazing thank you , it's good to know that there are cheaper ways of building C&C cages, as some pre made ones online have been over £300 :/
 
lauraburtdavies said:
Amazing thank you , it's good to know that there are cheaper ways of building C&C cages, as some pre made ones online have been over £300 :/
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Where have you been looking to see ones that expensive?
If you search c&c guinea pig cages, the first company that comes up is uk based and is one I have used and they sell a complete 2x4 for £50, 2x5 for £60, 2x6 for £65. Adding on lofts, lids and stands etc does take the price up but still nowhere near £300!
 
Mine is an amazon basics grid shelf (16 grid - £25.99) with double-stacked proplex from Homebase (£4.50 each) and 2 Absorbent fleece liners made by CandE cosies CandE Cosies - Small Animal Accessories . Along with that I have a food bowl, homemade hay bags and a water bottle which I already had. Altogether cost me less than £100 (same as a Ferplast 140 from PAH).
 
Piggies&buns said:
Where have you been looking to see ones that expensive?
If you search c&c guinea pig cages, the first company that comes up is uk based and is one I have used and they sell a complete 2x4 for £50, 2x5 for £60, 2x6 for £65. Adding on lofts, lids and stands etc does take the price up but still nowhere near £300!
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I can't remember the site, but it must have been imported. Those prices seem to match the UK based sellers I've seen. Just out of interest, are they easy to set up? :)
 
Roxy_Piggy_Mom said:
Mine is an amazon basics grid shelf (16 grid - £25.99) with double-stacked proplex from Homebase (£4.50 each) and 2 Absorbent fleece liners made by CandE cosies CandE Cosies - Small Animal Accessories . Along with that I have a food bowl, homemade hay bags and a water bottle which I already had. Altogether cost me less than £100 (same as a Ferplast 140 from PAH).
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thank you for the link to those fleece liners :)
 
lauraburtdavies said:
I can't remember the site, but it must have been imported. Those prices seem to match the UK based sellers I've seen. Just out of interest, are they easy to set up? :)
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Incredibly easy. Just put the connectors on the grids and join the grids together. Fold the pre-scored correx and place inside and done!
 
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