New Piggies

[cinnAbear]

just picked up 2 piggies last week spur of the moment rescue. Needless to say, I began working in overdrive to finish their new home.

I am concerned that the holes are not big enough for them to move about freely...

Looking for feedback plz

 

[Mo & Stubbins & Vani]

Hi!
That is a lovely idea for an enclosure, but it may not be suitable for piggies.
You can refer here for the cage size guide:
Cage Size Guide
Guinea pigs are ground roaming herd animals, so they require more horizontal space (side to side) than vertical space (up and down). The bare minimum that you need to have for your two piggies is the following:
1-2 guinea pigs: 2x4 ft (120x60 cm) or 8 ft square = 2x3 C&C grid cage; if you can, please consider a 2x4 grid cage instead as it is the minimum recommendation
3 guinea pigs: 2x5 ft (150x60 cm) or 10 ft square = 2x4 C&C grid cage; strongly recommended for 2 guinea pigs
4 guinea pigs 2x6 ft (180x60 cm) or 12 ft square = 2x5 C&C grid cage, recommended for 2 boars or 3 sows or 1 neutered boar/2 sows
The mesh seems very low, which makes me concerned for the safety of your piggies. My three can easily jump about six inches when popcorning (excitedly jumping).
This guide: Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides
will lead you to important information about diet, housing, etc.
I do not see any hay in their enclosure, which is imperative for piggies to have 24/7. Nuggets/pellets should be fed sparingly as they are the "junk food" of the piggie world.
I hope that this helped!
Let us know if you have any more questions!

 

[Mo & Stubbins & Vani]

Hi!
I also just noticed that you have a (Snak Shak?) (I think that they are called). I would be super careful with those as I believe they contain molasses, which is a food you should avoid with piggies.
Your enclosure is super amazing and looks like it took a lot of time and effort. Perhaps you could purchase a c and c cage and simply expand off of what you have right now. That way, you can keep the original enclosure but adjust it a bit to make it more suitable.

 

[Mo & Stubbins & Vani]

Also, (sorry for another post!) thank you so much for rescuing!! There are so many piggies looking for homes!
I just wanted to add that I see a dog ear in your photo. Just make sure that your dog does not get near/interact with your piggies as this could lead to a lot of stress for your new piglets.

 

[Piggies&buns]

As mentioned above, guinea pigs need their cage to be large and meet size requirements on a single level (a double storey cage is fine but again the bottom needs to be big enough, three storeys isn’t really how piggies like to live).

For two sows the bottom part of the cage needs to be a minimum of 120cm x 60cm but bigger is better
For two boars the bottom part of the cage needs to be 180cm x 60cm. Lack of space between two boars can cause their relationship to have problems due to lack of territory

 

[Siikibam]

As pretty as that is, it’s nowhere big enough for even one piggy. They need space on one floor to run around - they’re ground roaming animals. Have a look at peoples’ setup and then decide what type of house you want to give them. I would strongly suggest you do one with a lid due to the dog.

I also suggest you check to make sure they’re both the same sex. I don’t know where you got them from, but if it was a pet shop then they can often be mis-sexed and (Sows can) come already pregnant. I’ll link some other guides for you to read below.

The other important things are to find a vet who has experience of treating guinea pigs, and also start up a vet fund now - piggies vet trips can be very expensive, especially in America.

Guinea Lynx :: GL's Vet List
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
Illustrated Sexing Guide
Arrival in a home from the perspective of pet shop guinea pigs
Member Gallery: C&C cages/homemade cages
Member Gallery: Hutches
Member Gallery: Commercial Cages
Bedding For Guinea Pigs - Overview
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs