Member Gallery: C&C cages/homemade cages

[Wiebke]

This is my 2 and a half storey enclosure with 6 square meters that I built out of an old wardrobe and some things that I had laying around, I only really bout the plexiglas and some screws from the diy store.

It has only been in use since Friday with my newly adopted trio of Knäckebrot, Pfannkuchen (nee Tickle) and Reiswaffel (nee Plexi).

I have already swapped the straw bedding out for soft wood shavings as it turns out I was highly allergic to it and am making plans to improve the enclosure already as I cleaned it today and found that I had to take loads of it apart with my drill.

The windows will be going into a hinged drop down frame, as at the moment I have to unscrew each individually, the ramps will be hinged so that I can tilt them up to clean underneath and the bottom fence will be hinged at all corners so that I can remove it in one piece. At the moment it is all screwed together and it was a nightmare to clean under.

There is some ambient lighting installed in the form of led Strips which is controlled via my smart home system which adjusts the daytime light levels according to the weather outside.

I will also be installing an infrared heating panel on the ceiling above the enclosure for the winter. Even with them being in my living room, we live in an old poorly insulated house and it is not uncommon for the temperatures to drop to - 25°C in winter.

The room is also air conditioned to maintain a comfortable 18°C during the day, again controlled via the smart home system.

It's painted in a non toxic water based paint (which was ridiculously expensive) but it's totally safe for them and has no offgassing to worry about.

All 3 happily use all of the ramps and the enrichment gets swapped out daily. At the moment there is a toilet roll tube filled with Pea Flakes.

It looks wonderful.

Please make sure that there is plenty of hay and water on the two lower levels; including a place where your piggies can sleep and burrow in soft hay. Hay and fresh dog-pee free grass make over three quarters of the daily food intake so it is good to have it in more than one place with any group.
My current group of six mostly older sows (and their young neutered 'husboar') has got hay in three trays in different corners of their cage. Being able to sleep and burrow in hay is a major and important enrichment.
I am just making sure here and adding this advice for anybody who would like to plan something similar.

 

[Meerschweinchen_Blackforest]

It looks wonderful.

Please make sure that there is plenty of hay and water on the two lower levels; including a place where your piggies can sleep and burrow in soft hay. Hay and fresh dog-pee free grass make over three quarters of the daily food intake so it is good to have it in more than one place with any group.
My current group of six mostly older sows (and their young neutered 'husboar') has got hay in three trays in different corners of their cage. Being able to sleep and burrow in hay is a major and important enrichment.
I am just making sure here and adding this advice for anybody who would like to plan something similar.

Thanks for the advice. There are bottles and bowls of water out of sight in the photos and I've just added another "Heu-Haufen" (hay heap). There's about a kilo of hay in there at the moment.

 

[cinnamonsmom]

This is my new cage upgrade!
It’s a c&c cage, with 14x14 grids and coroplast.

The main floor is 6 x 2.5 grids. It features LED lighting for the darker corner since I lack bright windows, several washable houses, and a 1x2 grid eating tray with a fabric hay rack and carefresh bedding.

There are two upper floors. One is 2x3 grids and the other is 1x2 grids. They are linked with a “piggy walkway” which is 0.5 x4 grids. The larger upper floor has another eating area as well as some more hidey houses.

I made my own fleece bedding, just sewed custom sized pieces of fleece together with U-Haul pads (cheap washable blankets made of recycled denim) in between. Cleaning is so much easier - every 2-3 days I roll up the fleece, shake it out off my back porch, and wash.

 

[Meerschweinchen_Blackforest]

This is my new cage upgrade!
It’s a c&c cage, with 14x14 grids and coroplast.

The main floor is 6 x 2.5 grids. It features LED lighting for the darker corner since I lack bright windows, several washable houses, and a 1x2 grid eating tray with a fabric hay rack and carefresh bedding.

There are two upper floors. One is 2x3 grids and the other is 1x2 grids. They are linked with a “piggy walkway” which is 0.5 x4 grids. The larger upper floor has another eating area as well as some more hidey houses.

I made my own fleece bedding, just sewed custom sized pieces of fleece together with U-Haul pads (cheap washable blankets made of recycled denim) in between. Cleaning is so much easier - every 2-3 days I roll up the fleece, shake it out off my back porch, and wash.

That looks amazing, there's so much room for activities

 

[Emmyyy]

Hello! This is the cage we built, it’s an 8x2 with 2 boys living in it so it’s huge for them but it gives them space for if they fight or what not and they will be living in this now for the rest of their lives, we have no plans in changing it. (if you have the space for a big cage I would definitely recommend, we only have to spot clean areas because it’s so large so cleaning is very easy)

The c&c cage is from Kavee which are 2 4x2 cages with lofts that we put together, we built a stand out of wood and some old ikea storage units.

We have a hay bag from kozy creations that takes up a 2x2 area on one side (would definitely recommend it helps keep majority of the poos and wees in that area) and a loft in the other side.

(It doesn’t usually look this clean but we just got back from a holiday and the place the pigs are stopping at isn’t open today so we are collecting them tomorrow so the pigs are yet to cause havoc, I also went for a blue theme because I thought it would be fun but the mats are a random selection from different places so it’s usually more cluttered looking).

 

[ManxLisa]

This is Rosie and Nuts, a recently bonded pair. They both lost their friends in recent weeks.
They live in a 4x3 Kavee c&c.
Their hay pile is sectioned off in 2x1 in a hay keeper. They love to just dive in and get lost in it!

 

[piggylover2010]

Hi everyone
This is my shed that i converted for my herd of 9 piggies!
there are currently 2 5x3 c and c cages but i will eventually have 1 5x2 and one 5x4 once my baby boys are grown up and they can move in with daddy. (one of the cages is the ‘maternity cage’!
it is a bit messy in there but i cleaned all the storage shelves after these photos were taken!
I also put a photo of the mesh gates that i made so that we can keep the doors open during the day, but the only animals in the area are my pet pugs as in the uk there arent really any birds of prey, no foxes as we live in the city and we know that none of our neighbours own cats!

 

[Grand Guinea Pigs]

Hi there,

no foxes as we live in the city

I live in a city and there are foxes around in the suburbs, just a word of caution.

once my baby boys are grown up and they can move in with daddy.

Boar trios rarely work out, I would seriously steer clear of trying for a trio. They end up disastrously more times than not.

Thread 'A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars'

May 5, 2019

1 Common myths and misconceptions
2 The different ages (including teenage)
- Important biological facts
- The formative 'School Weeks' (3 weeks - ca. 4 months)
- The Teenage Months (ca. 4-14 months)
- The Adult Years (ca. 15 months - ca. 4-5 years)
- The Golden Age (ca. 4-5 years until end of life)
3 What do boars need? (List of boar dos and don'ts)
- Space, space and more space!
- Respecting the hierarchy
- The 'one for each...

• Wiebke
• Replies: 5
• Forum: Behaviour, Bonds and Species Understanding

• 

We love to see pigtures! Do you have a thread for your piggies yet?

 

[TotallyBoarsome]

Hi everyone, thought i'd share our boy's newly upgraded cage.
They have a 5x2 C&C cage from Kavee that we recently added a 1x2 extension to as a new hay area.
Paul and Douglas are very happy with this upgrade so far, much better than their previous hay box!
P.s. ignore the squashed strabberry hidey, they seem to enjoy trampling it rather than actually using it!

 

[Merab]

Lucky piggies

 

[Ramia]

I have that same daisy fleece!

 

[Perkypanda]

Can finally add mine to here after debating for ages whether to get a C&C cage. In the end I got C&C grids from Amazon (songmics) and the coroplast from Cage Creations. It came to £99 for a double stand 4x2 cage. It’s already so much better for my back and the girls have a lot more space.
Photo 3 shows the floor space comparison between their old cage and new.

 

[CavyMum58]

My three guinea pig boys live in this C&C grid type cage. I went through several types and sizes and a lot of learning before settling on this one. I have a video on YouTube telling my GP Cage story... This one is L-shaped, 2x6 the long section, and 3x3 the fat shorter L part. I started with smaller cages and quickly learned GP boars don't do well in small spaces... the more space the better if they are going to get along.
(If you'd like to view the Cage Journey video, the YT channel is CavyMum's Loves and the name of it is "My Guinea Pig Cage Journey: A Series of Unfortunate Events". I'm no expert videographer, but it does tell the story. Might be helpful for new GP owners...)

 

[pepperpots]

My two gorgeous boy’s room. The majority of wee and poo goes in the two trays, which makes it really easy to keep clean. They started off in a 5 by 3 cage, but they love zooming around so I ended up giving them the whole room, with a mesh screen on the door. Much less bickering now and it’s great being able to sit with them. I’ve added more tunnels etc since the first pic.

 

[GuineaDobbin]

As I've finally been forced to make some doors for our under-hutch storage due to our little human pootling around; Piggingham Palace is 'finished' albeit only in the same way all stately residences are (and minor details like paint). It's been through several iterations over the years.



We have two herds residing in this hutch, separated by floors. Each deck is 70x210cm / 27½x82¾".

The bar across the bottom is an aid to our human pup learning to walk, which he has now done but would hang off the panels if this was removed, so it stays. Without it we had a near unobstructed view of the bottom deck.


So while our peegs were relaxing on ice blocks over the heatwave, I was in the workshop making the frame-and-panel doors to keep their poo, food and hay safe from small hands.


Construction of the hutch is steel frame, ply floors and acrylic panels. Downstairs have a strip of LEDs which improve the lighting down there. They still have their Peruvian mural which the top deck lost when it was moved downstairs as it didn't work in this room.

Eventually I'll paint the frames of the doors green to match.

 

[Grand Guinea Pigs]

Wow, what a lot of work put into that!
I’m sure your piggies will appreciate it in way or another
I think the natural wood colour is quite lovely as it is if you’re not set on painting them.

 

[GuineaDobbin]

Wow, what a lot of work put into that!
I’m sure your piggies will appreciate it in way or another
I think the natural wood colour is quite lovely as it is if you’re not set on painting them.

Thank you! I have painted it today, just the pine frames. I left the oak panels visible, with just a touch of shellac and buffed up with wax. White pine doesn't have aesthetic value IMO, but I am a wood snob! (Comes with having a sawmill).



I've no idea why the picture is uploaded upside down... it's right on my phone!

 

[robputt]

Our piggies have just graduated from outdoor pigs to indoor pigs, one of their heated hutches needed major work and after I priced up the materials I realised C&C cages aren't too expensive and we wouldn't have the worry of them being outside in the cold.

We have a lone boar who is going in a 4x2 and a bonded pair who are going in a 5x2. Unfortunately the lone boar has never taken a liking to any piggies we have tried to bond him with, in one instance he started quite a nasty scuffle and his ear was split before we had chance to intervene :-(. Anyway he seems happy enough living alone in sight of other piggies and with lots of human cuddles.

Today I got the lone boar's setup completed, IKEA Kallax unit with a melamine faced chipboard back screwed on to stop any stuff getting into the void behind it then a box built out of 2"x1" wood placed behind the Kallax unit to fill the void to the wall and then an MDF top over the unit and the box with a white vinyl covering applied. Please note photo was before I installed the loft and put his other hides and enrichment in. That bit of tape will be removed once the glue has set. Cage connectors at the front have been glued down to stop them moving around. Plastic bottom of the cage is stuck down to the unit with double sided tape.

For now the bonded pair's 5x2 is on the floor until I get their furniture built and modified. This will be a 4 hole Kallax unit and another 8 hole Kallax unit arranged in an L shape with the void behind them filled in a similar manner to the above (but with an entrance at one end as it'll be a convenient place to slide our suitcases when not in use.

Question, where is everyone getting those fleece / felt curtain things from that hang from the roof and section off a corner of the C&C cage?

 

[Roselina]

Our piggies have just graduated from outdoor pigs to indoor pigs, one of their heated hutches needed major work and after I priced up the materials I realised C&C cages aren't too expensive and we wouldn't have the worry of them being outside in the cold.

We have a lone boar who is going in a 4x2 and a bonded pair who are going in a 5x2. Unfortunately the lone boar has never taken a liking to any piggies we have tried to bond him with, in one instance he started quite a nasty scuffle and his ear was split before we had chance to intervene :-(. Anyway he seems happy enough living alone in sight of other piggies and with lots of human cuddles.

Today I got the lone boar's setup completed, IKEA Kallax unit with a melamine faced chipboard back screwed on to stop any stuff getting into the void behind it then a box built out of 2"x1" wood placed behind the Kallax unit to fill the void to the wall and then an MDF top over the unit and the box with a white vinyl covering applied. Please note photo was before I installed the loft and put his other hides and enrichment in. That bit of tape will be removed once the glue has set. Cage connectors at the front have been glued down to stop them moving around. Plastic bottom of the cage is stuck down to the unit with double sided tape.

For now the bonded pair's 5x2 is on the floor until I get their furniture built and modified. This will be a 4 hole Kallax unit and another 8 hole Kallax unit arranged in an L shape with the void behind them filled in a similar manner to the above (but with an entrance at one end as it'll be a convenient place to slide our suitcases when not in use.

Question, where is everyone getting those fleece / felt curtain things from that hang from the roof and section off a corner of the C&C cage?

Looks great !
The corner hidey covers you can find on Amazon or custom made on Etsy

 

[Apples]

My cage houses 3 guinea pigs at the moment (used to be 4) and measures around 4,6 square metres (length 288 cm, width varies from 115 cm to 220 cm, height from floor to top of the plexiglass is 60cm).

I designed and built the cage myself after having my piggies for a few years and figuring out what works for me and what I didn't like about my previous C&C set-ups. So I had a few things I wanted to make sure:
I wanted my guinea pigs to have enough space to run around, and not need floor time to meet that need
I needed to be able to step into the cage to be able to grab piggies that do not want to be grabbed for meds, nail clipping, etc.
I needed easy access to the cage for daily cleaning
I wanted a "closed" back of the cage to keep pees/veggie juices/other dirt from staining the walls, and I wanted this back to be easy to wipe down
I wanted to be able to see my piggies (I love watching them nap, play and eat)
I wanted to limit poops and hay spilling from the cage
I wanted a base where no pees would leak through and drip to the floor (Dumpty did most of his wees in one corner, and it would leak through the coroplast base where it was scored, and drip down to the floor)
I needed the underside of the cage to be inaccessible to guinea pigs, so they wouldn't during floor time hide underneath the cage completely out of my reach to get them back in their cage
The original design had a ramp leading to a lower level, but I changed the design for Mara to make it all one-level

After having used this cage for little over half a year now, I'm happy to say: it ticks all the boxes

When I had the design ready, I had the wood and the plexiglass ordered to size, and the holes in my plexiglass pre-drilled (I'm not a huge DIY-person actually, I even had to buy most of the tools I needed in order to built this cage).
It is made from a base of MDF panels which I turned into 7 little "tables" each supported by at least 5 short table legs for strength so it can support my weight. By using these small tables instead of one big board it was much easier to handle the assembly of the cage. I put PVC floortiles in as a waterproof base (this also took care of any small gaps between the tables), and used aquarium sealant to finish all edges so no pees can leak through. Here you can see a bit of how it is constructed:




The plexiglass fronts are attached to each other in the corners by sticking on plastic corner profiles (simply using scissors to cut the profiles to the right length, and double-sided tape for smooth surfaces to stick them on).
The back of the cage is also made of MDF which I painted white with paint suitable for children's furniture and toys, just like the "fronts" at the bottom.
One side of the cage has a doorway where I can also attach a ramp so the guinea pigs can free-roam, but they don't care for it much.

This is what it looks like in use:


And finally, its current inhabitants Rocket, Anna and Bonkie enjoying a slice of cucumber:

 

[Roselina]

My cage houses 3 guinea pigs at the moment (used to be 4) and measures around 4,6 square metres (length 288 cm, width varies from 115 cm to 220 cm, height from floor to top of the plexiglass is 60cm).

I designed and built the cage myself after having my piggies for a few years and figuring out what works for me and what I didn't like about my previous C&C set-ups. So I had a few things I wanted to make sure:
I wanted my guinea pigs to have enough space to run around, and not need floor time to meet that need
I needed to be able to step into the cage to be able to grab piggies that do not want to be grabbed for meds, nail clipping, etc.
I needed easy access to the cage for daily cleaning
I wanted a "closed" back of the cage to keep pees/veggie juices/other dirt from staining the walls, and I wanted this back to be easy to wipe down
I wanted to be able to see my piggies (I love watching them nap, play and eat)
I wanted to limit poops and hay spilling from the cage
I wanted a base where no pees would leak through and drip to the floor (Dumpty did most of his wees in one corner, and it would leak through the coroplast base where it was scored, and drip down to the floor)
I needed the underside of the cage to be inaccessible to guinea pigs, so they wouldn't during floor time hide underneath the cage completely out of my reach to get them back in their cage
The original design had a ramp leading to a lower level, but I changed the design for Mara to make it all one-level

After having used this cage for little over half a year now, I'm happy to say: it ticks all the boxes

When I had the design ready, I had the wood and the plexiglass ordered to size, and the holes in my plexiglass pre-drilled (I'm not a huge DIY-person actually, I even had to buy most of the tools I needed in order to built this cage).
It is made from a base of MDF panels which I turned into 7 little "tables" each supported by at least 5 short table legs for strength so it can support my weight. By using these small tables instead of one big board it was much easier to handle the assembly of the cage. I put PVC floortiles in as a waterproof base (this also took care of any small gaps between the tables), and used aquarium sealant to finish all edges so no pees can leak through. Here you can see a bit of how it is constructed:

View attachment 280194
View attachment 280195

The plexiglass fronts are attached to each other in the corners by sticking on plastic corner profiles (simply using scissors to cut the profiles to the right length, and double-sided tape for smooth surfaces to stick them on).
The back of the cage is also made of MDF which I painted white with paint suitable for children's furniture and toys, just like the "fronts" at the bottom.
One side of the cage has a doorway where I can also attach a ramp so the guinea pigs can free-roam, but they don't care for it much.

This is what it looks like in use:
View attachment 280196

And finally, its current inhabitants Rocket, Anna and Bonkie enjoying a slice of cucumber:
View attachment 280198

Oh wow that is amazing - 5* luxury for Rocket, Anna and Bonkie

 

[hayethusiasts]

My cage houses 3 guinea pigs at the moment (used to be 4) and measures around 4,6 square metres (length 288 cm, width varies from 115 cm to 220 cm, height from floor to top of the plexiglass is 60cm).

I designed and built the cage myself after having my piggies for a few years and figuring out what works for me and what I didn't like about my previous C&C set-ups. So I had a few things I wanted to make sure:
I wanted my guinea pigs to have enough space to run around, and not need floor time to meet that need
I needed to be able to step into the cage to be able to grab piggies that do not want to be grabbed for meds, nail clipping, etc.
I needed easy access to the cage for daily cleaning
I wanted a "closed" back of the cage to keep pees/veggie juices/other dirt from staining the walls, and I wanted this back to be easy to wipe down
I wanted to be able to see my piggies (I love watching them nap, play and eat)
I wanted to limit poops and hay spilling from the cage
I wanted a base where no pees would leak through and drip to the floor (Dumpty did most of his wees in one corner, and it would leak through the coroplast base where it was scored, and drip down to the floor)
I needed the underside of the cage to be inaccessible to guinea pigs, so they wouldn't during floor time hide underneath the cage completely out of my reach to get them back in their cage
The original design had a ramp leading to a lower level, but I changed the design for Mara to make it all one-level

After having used this cage for little over half a year now, I'm happy to say: it ticks all the boxes

When I had the design ready, I had the wood and the plexiglass ordered to size, and the holes in my plexiglass pre-drilled (I'm not a huge DIY-person actually, I even had to buy most of the tools I needed in order to built this cage).
It is made from a base of MDF panels which I turned into 7 little "tables" each supported by at least 5 short table legs for strength so it can support my weight. By using these small tables instead of one big board it was much easier to handle the assembly of the cage. I put PVC floortiles in as a waterproof base (this also took care of any small gaps between the tables), and used aquarium sealant to finish all edges so no pees can leak through. Here you can see a bit of how it is constructed:

View attachment 280194
View attachment 280195

The plexiglass fronts are attached to each other in the corners by sticking on plastic corner profiles (simply using scissors to cut the profiles to the right length, and double-sided tape for smooth surfaces to stick them on).
The back of the cage is also made of MDF which I painted white with paint suitable for children's furniture and toys, just like the "fronts" at the bottom.
One side of the cage has a doorway where I can also attach a ramp so the guinea pigs can free-roam, but they don't care for it much.

This is what it looks like in use:
View attachment 280196

And finally, its current inhabitants Rocket, Anna and Bonkie enjoying a slice of cucumber:
View attachment 280198

Wow this is amazing!

 

[MichelleM]

Re-did the pen a few months ago so it's one big C&C with a divider instead of two pens next to each other and cleaning has gotten SO much easier! I can get both pens cleaned and vacuumed in less than twenty minutes now.

I played around with replacing the hutch. The ramp to the second floor broke over a year ago. But even before that, Nes and Mac didn't go up there much. Ganon and Dibbler used it more when they were here. So now it's hidey storage

 

[Roselina]

Re-did the pen a few months ago so it's one big C&C with a divider instead of two pens next to each other and cleaning has gotten SO much easier! I can get both pens cleaned and vacuumed in less than twenty minutes now.

I played around with replacing the hutch. The ramp to the second floor broke over a year ago. But even before that, Nes and Mac didn't go up there much. Ganon and Dibbler used it more when they were here. So now it's hidey storage

What lucky piggies

 

[TotallyBoarsome]

Having just moved house the piggies have (finally) had their upgrade from a 2x5 C&C to a 2x8. Fudge and Reggie are very pleased with this! (and say its about time!)

 

[flowerfairy]

How wonderful for them.

 

[Roselina]

Wow Fudge and Reggie ….you are very lucky piggies

 

[Merab]

Lucky piggies

 

[flowerfairy]

I have managed to squeeze a 5 x almost 2 table top c and c grid cage into my bedroom.

It is held together with cable ties and will be getting a roof soon.

Shimmer and Shetti are very happy in it!.

 

[Roselina]

I have managed to squeeze a 5 x almost 2 table top c and c grid cage into my bedroom.

It is held together with cable ties and will be getting a roof soon.

Shimmer and Shetti are very happy in it!.

Well done you - the girls look very happy in it