I’m getting guinea pigs!!!!!

[misspiggy01]

My mum and dad have just agreed to letting me get guinea pigs from a rescue on the 18th of may! I am now just wondering should I use fleece bedding! I was going to go with vet bed from Guinea Pigs Australia, but it is extremely expensive. I also am thinking of a c and c cage, but where I was going to buy it off (Guinea Pigs Australia, again 🤣) it was quite expensive. I was wondering if anywhere has reasonable prices for c and c cages. Thanks everyone I’ll post pics as soon as I get them!

[Bean]

Oooh exciting!

I've heard of people who haven't been able to find grids using big cooling racks and using zip ties to put those together. We had a member who used the wooden base frame from an old bed and that worked well!

Have a look at at all the photos of cages on this page for some more ideas about what materials you could use, especially if you're lucky enough to have someone handy with a saw in your family.

Getting the bedding right can take a while. I wouldn't buy anything expensive like vetbed until you're committed to using washable bedding and have your cage 100% sorted (as you'll need to cut it to size). Fleece is a good option and you can use towels underneath. 3piggles uses a pellet bedding covered by a fly screen (to keep it off the fleece on top) which sounds like a great option.

I find it quite a lot of work (but I do have three cages!) to get all the hay and hair off the fleece before putting it in the machine (so that everyone doesn't end up with hairy clothes!), but still think it's a good option if it works for you.

[jolovespiggies]

I am so pleased for you hunni, you have so much to look forward to. Please keep us updated.

hugs jo xx

[3piggles]

How exciting! Don't worry about the details too much, until you get your pigs, and get them settled.

I've used pet play pens, wire closet shelving cut to the size I needed, heavy duty screen from the hardware store with the mesh wide enough to get a water bottle nozzle through.

I've put plastic sheeting, vinyl tablecloths, trash bags, outdoor mats and every other water proof thing imaginable, under the cage to keep the floor dry.

The important thing is to be able to keep the pigs safely contained in a space big enough for them to get some exercise as well as have a couple of houses, water bottles, food bowls, etc. Give them lots of hay and lots of fresh water, a good quality pellet, and some good veggies and fruits.

Once you have that under control, you can start looking at housing and bedding alternatives. What I use is about the least expensive bedding option there is, and the least amount of work. I use a pellet horse bedding that turns to granules, is very absorbent, really fights odor, costs about $6/40lb bag, and lasts for six months. I cover that with a layer of fiberglass window screen you can buy for a few dollars at any DIY store. Then I just use hay as bedding, but you can use fleece, or even just a towel.

One thing to remember about fleece is that it wicks water off the surface to an absorbent layer below. It's not absorbent, at all. Wood shavings are not absorbent. Kitty litter is, layers of absorbent fabrics are, etc. If you want to use a loose absorbent layer like kitty litter or the pellets I use, and cover that with fleece, you need the screen between the two layers to keep the loose bedding off the fleece. Otherwise, so much of the loose bedding clings to the underside of the fleece, it will destroy the washing machine.

My advice is to start off with something simple and inexpensive, that does the job, even if it's not exactly what you want. Spend some time thinking about what's available, the size and shape of the space you have, how much exercise you want the pigs to be able to get in the cage versus out for floor time, and how much you can spend on all this.

Check department stores locally and online for the grids for C&C cages. They are usually in the organization section where you can buy shelving and other things to organize an area. I found this listing for Australia, by just searching for wire storage cubes: www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_nkw=wire+storage+cubes These are what I use, and they come with the connectors to build a cage. One box will build a small but decent sized cage. Two boxes gives you lots of options for extra levels, hinged covers, etc.

Have fun figuring out what you want to do for a cage, bedding, etc., and don't feel you have to hurry to get it done

[misspiggy01]

Piggies have arrived!!! They are in their cage settling in nicely. Will post pictures ASAP

[misspiggy01]

Here are the boys eating their veggies 

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[misspiggy01]

This is peanut. The braver of the the two. 


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[misspiggy01]

Sorry guys it’s not letting me take a photo of buttons 

[amber89]

Peanut looks really sweet

Give some time to buttons.. Mine are still not used to the camera

[misspiggy01]

Buttons is fine with the camera but apparently wheekers thinks buttons it too cute to upload photos of!

[Bean]

Aww they're lovely! Congratulations! Buttons looks a bit like my Tissue (although hopefully he will have a far better temperament!). I like the hidey with the skirt he's under!

I hope you can manage to upload the other picture - what's the message it's giving for the reason why it won't upload? I've just checked we're not out of storage space and that looks fine.

[misspiggy01]

I’ll try again now

[misspiggy01]

It says the file is too big??

[misspiggy01]

It’s now very obvious that even though buttons is the shyest of the two he is definitely the boss! It’s so cute seeing them decide their favourite place in the cage and try out the new food! But boy do they poo. I went out for less then 3 hours maybe 2 and a half and there is poo everywhere!

[bazookagoof]

May 18, 2019 8:09:58 GMT misspiggy01 said:

It says the file is too big??

If you can't upload pics to Wheekers, you can try using a 3rd party host to share pics. Try using Imgur.com - you can get a free account there.

[3piggles]

It seems as if the things we recognize in humans for being dominant aren't always the same for animals. Sometimes the small, quiet one is the boss, and there's no discussion Glad they are getting settled in, and are happy. That's a great peek through place you have for them

Gorgeous guinea pigs, both of them Congratulations

[Bean]

Ah yes, we do have a 1MB limit for each image. We only have 200MB of storage space here for pictures in total, so if people don't resize the bloated ones, we run out of space very quickly! I hope you can either resize it or post it elsewhere as Baz suggested, as I'd love to see the picture.

Oh yes, they're very good at pooing!

[misspiggy01]

How do I make the file smaller??

[bazookagoof]

May 19, 2019 8:43:57 GMT misspiggy01 said:

How do I make the file smaller??

Either trim the edges down before you try to post it, or resize it using a photo editing application.

I'll mention it again-  you can also get a free account at Imgur.com and host your pics there.

[misspiggy01]

Attachment Deleted This is buttons!