The Cage Is (Mostly) Done!

[Mikknu]

Hey everybody! It's nearly 2 am here, here, so I'm posting from my phone. However, with the exception of baby proofing, my cage is done!

(SKIP TO THE END FOR PICS)

This is mostly going to just be picture spam, but I'm so happy with how it came out! It seems so big, yet so tiny... I'm really hoping a 2x6 offers them a good amount of running space. I'd love comments, suggestions, critiques, anything at all! I'm just so excited, even though I've still got a month to struggle through first.

The far left has a double fleece forest with some additional potty pads underneath. The loft does lift out, with a few snips of some zip ties, and the hay box is moveable entirely to anywhere I want in the cage. I made it a bit tall for the loft, but that's because the half loft ended up being a bit taller than expected, though not by much.

The cats would have a difficult time walking around on the edges of the peg board, so I'm less worried about them getting up there now. Especially because they can't get their paws in anywhere but the front part of the cage, due to the coroplast on the rest of the walls/actually being pressed up against a wall.

And my favourite feature, the swing grids on the front four panels! Even setting this cage up was made so much less straining by those, I'm so glad I got them. Right now the doors are held together with a single key ring, but I'll get something stronger for when the pigs actually arrive.

I also really like the lid! It sits a little weirdly(that's my doing), but it holds so much weight would any give at all. It's also very breathable still, which I find awesome. And the bungee cords let me adjust as things change, or just lift one section at a time. I put my extra lap pad, which I might eventually use in the hay box, on top of the kitchen area to the right to create darkness. Does anyone else use a lap pad on a super regular basis?

I put just a few things in there for now, but I'm not sure too much more needs to go in. Maybe for the top left of the loft. I'm hoping that the mix of covered/uncovered space will help them feel comfortable in their new home, knowing there are places they can feel protected from the view of anyone and anything.

My shelves feel so bare... xD I've seen the pictures that some of you have, with soooooo much stuff. I feel like I've barely got anything right now... the only thing not in the picture is my other giant tote of hay and hay treats. It's on the wall opposite the cage.

So, without further ado: The Cage!



P.S. the brown thing behind the cage is a sealed off crawl space to the underside of the house. To the right is an emergency escape window, in case of a fire, but to my knowledge it hasn't been opened since the house was made.

 

[rhymer]

Looks amazing! Your going to have some very happy piggies.xx

 

[Mikknu]

Looks amazing! Your going to have some very happy piggies.xx

I tried my best! There's a few things I'm still iffy about, like the positions of the water bottles and their height, whether or not I want the fleece corner to stay in the hay box, where I should position certain things. I figure that I'll learn what they like where as we go along here.

For the water bottles specifically, I know it's best to have them inside the cage, but do you know if there's a good height for them to be at... ?

 

[Spoink]

Oh my word, I LOVE it! I've a funny feeling your piggies are going to absolutely love it too. It looks amazing, honest.
Wow, what a wonderful human they have.

 

[Black piggies]

I tried my best! There's a few things I'm still iffy about, like the positions of the water bottles and their height, whether or not I want the fleece corner to stay in the hay box, where I should position certain things. I figure that I'll learn what they like where as we go along here.

For the water bottles specifically, I know it's best to have them inside the cage, but do you know if there's a good height for them to be at... ?

That changes depending on the age and size of your piggies and how they drink. Start low.

 

[Black piggies]

Stunning, space-like feel to their cage set up. Fantastic stuff you've made yourself

 

[Merab]

There’s some very lucky piggies going to enjoy their 7* accommodation

 

[Black piggies]

Photo 1 the bottle height looks good. There are a couple of bottles? Just looking forward to seeing the 2 little fluff balls in the cage now.

 

[Mikknu]

Thank you everyone! ^-^ I'm so happy with how it came out. Everything in it too. I could barely resist making a mess and shoving hay in there, just to see what it looks like xD

@Black piggies There is another one! It's just super super hard to see. In photo 4, the far right of the cage, it's in the corner by the hay bag. It's a nice pastel blue.

Thank you so much @Spoink @Merab's Slave ! I'm trying to give them the best life I can, knowing my own commitments and lack of experience. I also like things that look pretty and well out together, so I knew I wanted a themed cage. It will probably become more of a hodge podge with time, but oh well. While I was building it, it felt HUGE. After everything went in, it felt so much smaller... I guess I just dont have the perspective from experience quite yet.

 

[Darcey15]

Wow- that looks amazing & uour handywork has certainly paid off. Where you see others cages with loads of stuff, this is normally folks who have built things up over time when you learn what works best for your particular piggies, whats best for cleaning & things which you hear about & think ooo thats a good idea! My set up now is nothing like what it began as, not least because I have 3 times more piggies now

I bought a really plush piggie bed recently and not one of them uses it....yet I have 4 pigs who squash themselves into a pigoo .

Cannot wait to see your piggies in there- they are sooo lucky xx

 

[DMS260820]

Looks awesome nice set up

 

[Mikknu]

Wow- that looks amazing & uour handywork has certainly paid off. Where you see others cages with loads of stuff, this is normally folks who have built things up over time when you learn what works best for your particular piggies, whats best for cleaning & things which you hear about & think ooo thats a good idea! My set up now is nothing like what it began as, not least because I have 3 times more piggies now

I bought a really plush piggie bed recently and not one of them uses it....yet I have 4 pigs who squash themselves into a pigoo .

Cannot wait to see your piggies in there- they are sooo lucky xx

I mean, if they don't like the loft, I'll find another use for it. I'm hoping I can get them to like it, since it isn't very high ^-^ If not, oh well, it will be repurposed into a hide or something.

I'm got lots of places for them for beds, since I'm so unsure of what they want. They have the fleece forest with some super padded potty pads, under the entire half lost, a floppy tent, 2 snuggle sacks, 2 cuddle cups on the way, the corner fleece forests, and the whole hay box. I'm hoping of all those, they'll find something they like to sleep in.

I've got some cargo netting for baby proofing, which I'm hoping to have up tonight. I'll post pics if I get it up!

 

[Mikknu]

The babyproofing is done and the cage is officially ready for guinea pigs!

I'm getting some update pictures on the boys on Monday too, so double yay! T-minus three weeks to pick up. I'm excited, but life is going to get very hectic these next 3 weeks for me.



The babyproofing was done using Cargo Netting ^-^ We tried garden mesh, but it was too rigid. Cargo netting looks awesome, has holes big enough for ventilation, is sturdy, doesn't fray, and keeps the cats out as well! It was attached around the cage using zip ties to pull it taut.

Obviously, I couldn't wait to put in the hay xD I guess I just didn't see a reason not to right now? The basement is pretty cool and dry, and will be dark any time I'm not here. So... men

There are a variety of treats just chilling around, including a ball I stuffed with hay and shoved some apple sticks in. I think it turned out nicely! Besides that, there are other balls, fidget sticks, a hay twist+timothy cubes+an apple stick in the hay box, and some seagrass twists in the fleece forest.

One of the water bottles is full as well, with a pad underneath it. Just to test and see how much leaks out.

Another change is that I moved things around. I covered the loft with spare fabric and then reduced the number of potty pads. I also changed the lining of the hay box to a layer of foam, then 4x uhaul pads, and then a layer of fleece wrapped around that. A little bit easier to wash on a daily basis I'm hoping, since I've got so many furniture blankets left. I threw all the extra potty pads I had around, redid the support beams, and moved some of the larger loft pads to below the fleece forest. I propped an extra one up against the back left corner of the loft.

 

[Black piggies]

The babyproofing is done and the cage is officially ready for guinea pigs!

I'm getting some update pictures on the boys on Monday too, so double yay! T-minus three weeks to pick up. I'm excited, but life is going to get very hectic these next 3 weeks for me.

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The babyproofing was done using Cargo Netting ^-^ We tried garden mesh, but it was too rigid. Cargo netting looks awesome, has holes big enough for ventilation, is sturdy, doesn't fray, and keeps the cats out as well! It was attached around the cage using zip ties to pull it taut.

Obviously, I couldn't wait to put in the hay xD I guess I just didn't see a reason not to right now? The basement is pretty cool and dry, and will be dark any time I'm not here. So... men

There are a variety of treats just chilling around, including a ball I stuffed with hay and shoved some apple sticks in. I think it turned out nicely! Besides that, there are other balls, fidget sticks, a hay twist+timothy cubes+an apple stick in the hay box, and some seagrass twists in the fleece forest.

One of the water bottles is full as well, with a pad underneath it. Just to test and see how much leaks out.

Another change is that I moved things around. I covered the loft with spare fabric and then reduced the number of potty pads. I also changed the lining of the hay box to a layer of foam, then 4x uhaul pads, and then a layer of fleece wrapped around that. A little bit easier to wash on a daily basis I'm hoping, since I've got so many furniture blankets left. I threw all the extra potty pads I had around, redid the support beams, and moved some of the larger loft pads to below the fleece forest. I propped an extra one up against the back left corner of the loft.

It all looks stunning.

I definitely wouldn't leave hay out for 3 weeks. It's their main food :-) I'd just put out fresh.

 

[Mikknu]

It all looks stunning.

I definitely wouldn't leave hay out for 3 weeks. It's their main food :-) I'd just put out fresh.

Yeah, I figured I'd have to pull it out eventually. That's okay though, it's in a bag and a box that are both removable. Should be an easy fix

I just couldn't help it, I really like how it turned out! I wanted to see it all put together, how it would work. There was a lot of frustration and troubleshooting involved with hand making so much stuff. I think in total it took 7 hours just to make the cage.

Anyways, thanks for the compliment ^-^ I really appreciate it a lot coming from all of you who are so much more experienced. I still have so much left to learn.

Thank you all for sticking by me though my journey

 

[Black piggies]

If you're ever looking for a business plan you could sell your handmade things online!

 

[Mikknu]

If you're ever looking for a business plan you could sell your handmade things online!

Ahh, oh boy, that makes me nervous xD. I don't really think they're that good of quality, to be honest. I wouldn't want to sell anyone something that wasn't of store quality. I think they're good enough for guinea pigs, maybe less so for selling. Thank you for the vote of confidence though!