Cavy-Care.Com
The online guinea pig care guide
|
|
|
Cavy-Care.Com
The online guinea pig care guide |
|
|
Hutches and Houses Guinea pigs need a spacious environment to live in. If you think about it, most piggies spend at least 80% of their day in their house, so it needs to have space for basic living activities, things to keep them entertained, and have room for the pigs to manoeuvre. * Depressed If the cage is too small, it would be like locking you into a cupboard with just enough space to turn around in, with just a few minutes reprieve each day. There'd be no room for anything to keep you occupied, not enough room to eat comfortably, not enough room to sleep comfortably... ~ For Starters Before I list the different types of housing available to you, you need to know the 'basics'. This includes: * Size Guide Size Guide The previous recommendations of 2 square feet per pig is very inappropriate. That size provides barely enough space for the guinea pig, let alone including toys, feeding areas and exercise space. The minimum advised today is around 7.5 square feet for one or two guineas. Remember you really need to have two or more pigs, not a lone piggy. The more pigs you have the larger the cage needs to be. The easiest (and most suitable) way to meet the size recommendations are: 2 Pigs 2 Boars Bear in mind that ramps in cages detract a small amount of space, so if you want a multi-level you should add another 5" to each measurement to ensure appropriate space. These sizes may seem excessive if you are used to just having cavies in very small or common pet store cages, but once you get the basics - toys, 1 hidey per pig, feeding zones plus running space for the pigs - and then add the actual guinea pigs, you will probably be very surprised to discover just how perfect these sizes are - and more importantly just how small, cramped and ridiculously small the majority of other guinea pig cages are. Remember - bigger is better!
Price Guide Buying from a Store: Building Your Own:
Where to Place the Cage Whatever type of accommodation you choose for your piggies, you must bear in mind that the location is important. Outdoors is rarely a suitable option nowadays - the weather worldwide is so unpredictable and a sudden change in temperature has the potential to kill guinea pigs. Draughts are almost a guarentee at some point with outdoor cavies, which is why so many outdoor pigs are prone to respiratory problems, like URIs. Sheds are better than out in the open but there are strict requirements if you are to keep your cavies in a purpose-built shed. It must be temperature controlled, well ventilated, draught-free and securely locked. These are extremely important things to remember if a shed is your final or only option. Indoors with you is the absolute best place for cavies to be. The temperature is stable. The pigs bond with their carers, develop their personalities, illnesses are spotted sooner, the pigs get larger accommodation, they vocalise more and are made to feel loved, wanted and part of the family. There are restrictions as to where in the house a piggies' cage should be kept. Kitchens and utility/laundry rooms aren't good as they get very warm and it can be hard to breathe sometimes with the intensity of the hot air. The cage should not be in a place with sunlight shining directly into most of the cage, and should not be near any doors which allow draughts through. Most cavy carers keep their cavies in busy family rooms, such as living rooms. Some even have a whole room dedicated to just their piggies! ~ Onto the Options There are plenty of suitable options for housing guineas, but it is important you understand which options and aspects of housing to avoid too. I have split all the housing ideas into three groups - Recommended, Be Careful, and Avoid. Recommended * Build Your Own Be Careful *Wooden Hutches Avoid * Aqauriums Recommended - Build Your Own Building your own hutch or cage is very beneficial. Read on to find out some of the plus points of getting into DIY mode and embarking on a new adventure. The blue text is cage-specific, and the pink applies to all styles: * You can build the housing to fit in a certain area of your home; * The hutch or cage can be build exactly how you want - with a lid, without a lid, divided, multi-level, with attached storage space, with lots of access doors and so on. Your cage can be whatever you want it to be; * You can re-build the cage easily and with little or no extra cost; * The materials are available in a variety of colours, so you can make it as colourful as you like; * It is cheaper than most other housing options; * They are very easy to make, even if you have no DIY skills; * Provided you built it properly, they are solid structures once fully built; * You only need a small handful of tools to build one. ~ The C&C Supplies - original idea by Teresa Murphy of Guinea Pig Cages The supplies needed to make C&C cages could not be simpler: *Cubes Cubes are 14" panels, with 1.5 inch gaps between the wires. Coroplast is called correx in The connectors are supplied with the cubes - you just clip these onto the corners to hold the cubes together. Cables ties can be bought from hardware stores. They are usually clear - multi-coloured are sometimes available - and you just pull the end of the tie tightly through the small loop in the other end of the tie to tighten it. Only do this once the whole tie has been looped through the cubes to secure them together, otherwise you lose the use of that tie! For more details on how to build a C&C cage, visit Guinea Pig Cages. ~ Case Study The cages I focus on in the list are C&C cages - Cubes and Coroplast. I have had a number of different styles of C&C cages since I built my first one in March 2005:
Recommended - Runs & PlayPens Runs and playpens make appropriate indoor accommodation both short term and long term. They are a good alternative to the traditional hutches and cages, and most offer enough space for two or more piggies to co-habit happily. The main thing is to ensure that the space inside the pen meets the minimum recommended size of 2ft x 3ft. Many runs come with a lid which you can place and remove as you need. If you have other animals or small children around your guinea pigs, then it is highly advisable to keep the lid on while they are around. As runs don't have a base, you can create one yourself using correx (a sheet of corrugated plastic). This is advisable. Another option is to simply use fleece, towels or Vetbed as bedding - this way there is no need for a base at all, although you must be sure to protect the carpet beneath the bedding with a shower curtain or similar waterproof material. Be Careful - Wooden Hutches Wooden hutches aren't a bad housing option, but you must be sure to monitor the condition of them closely. There are a handful of reasonably sized hutches available, so be sure to look around before investing your money in one. The concerns about wooden hutches include: * The wood rots with urine and disinfectant after a few years of use. * You can rarely disinfect a wooden hutch thoroughly, meaning if your piggies got ill, the bacteria would remain in the wood even after the cavies have recovered and the hutch disinfected. (Thus you risk your guineas falling ill repeatedly.) * Piggies have been known to gain splinters from wooden hutches, often resulting in an infected wound where the splinter entered. * They are very expensive, even the ones which are small, so you need to have plenty of money to spend on the first hutch - and be prepared to replace it when necessary. It is possible to get two-storey hutches, but these have exactly the same problems as any wooden housing. An added issue with multi-levels would be that some guinea pigs may not actually use the ramp. This could be because the ramp causes them pain or fear, or simply because they haven't enough space to run up and down it comfortably. Be Careful - "Commercial Cages" The cages designed for guinea pigs are rarely suitable for a guinea's lifetime - they are around 2ft square so are pretty outdated in terms of size. You could buy one aimed at a rabbit; some are a more ideal size offering enough space for two piggies to live in for a short while, but not for their 5+ years of life. If you do find a cage which meets the newest recommended sizes, ensure that any unnecessary gaps (for water bottles or for securing the lid) are covered. Cover any wire floors permanently with correx or linoleum to protect precious piggy paws. Avoid - Aquariums These fish tanks do not provide suitable accommodation for cavies. Imagine living in a glass box for 20 hours a day. What would it be like it the temperature was 20oC? How about 25o? It would be extremely humid and hot, and very difficult to breathe. Now put a fur coat on (fake, of course). I think you see the point I'm trying to make. Ventilation is not good at the best of times, so when the temperature changes the cavy will feel it the most. Even the larger tanks have very poor ventilation, and that's with the lid kept off. Privacy is also an issue with this type of housing. Clear walls leave the piggy with no privacy, and draping a towel over the tank is a potentially lethal option. Even putting a plastic igloo (or "pigloo") in the tank can be dangerous, as it would be near impossible to breathe inside it. Also, fish tanks are not big enough to house cavies in. Even the biggest tank is no good. If you do happen to stumble across one of 6 square feet it is still useless - remember the ventilation issue. Avoid - Wire Floors COPYRIGHT LAURA HUMPHREYS 2006-08 |
|
bravenet.com
