Once we decided we were getting guinea pigs, it became a big (and fun) project to get things ready for them. The main components were the cage, the bedding, accessories, and food.
The Cage
When we spoke to a lady at the pet store, she admitted that none of the cages they sell are big enough to properly house two guinea pigs. She recommended that I look up "
C & C cages" and said that a lot of people just build their own. She was right! The materials were all readily available and relatively inexpensive.
C & C cages available for purchase at
We bought two sets of
grid wire modular storage cubes from Bed Bath & Beyond for $30 each. This gave us enough grids and connectors to build a 30" x 60" cage with an upper loft and storage underneath. Perfect!
Bed Bath & Beyond Storage Cubes
Setting it up in the former Lego room
Every joint is reinforced with black zip ties -- this helps the structure stay together properly and feel sturdy.
The base is made of
corrugated plastic, which you can find at most home renovation stores or sign shops. We bought a standard 4' x 9' sheet at
Gorway Signs (since they had green!) for $30. I cut everything down to fit the cage, including 6" railings around the edges. There are
videos on YouTube to guide you through the process of cutting the coroplast.
Looking great so far!
The Bedding
There are three options for bedding: wood shavings, shredded paper, or fleece blankets. I loved the sound of the fleece: line with towels and mattress pads underneath, spot clean every day, launder once a week, and done! A cost-saving option that is less messy and produces less waste. I bought 2 meters of this
adorable heart fleece fabric from
Fabricville.com and had just enough to cut two sets of blankets.
So far the fleece has been great! Easy to clean, no noticeable smell or wetness, and the piggies love to run around and sleep on it. We haven't washed it yet (but will soon!). It was recommended that we use vinegar during the rinse cycle to sanitize a bit deeper; I've actually started doing this with towel and regular bedding loads too.
The Accessories
Emily and I really enjoyed going on little shopping trips to get guinea pig accessories. This included food bowls, chew toys, hideys, tunnels, towels, a grooming kit, a water bottle, a small broom and dustpan, and storage bins to keep it all tucked away. I even crafted some matching label holders (out of a dollar store pencil case) for extra organization.
Sorting and organizing accessories
$1.25 pencil case to make four label holders
DIY
Accessorising
After watching lots of YouTube videos from
Little Adventures, we found out that guinea pigs love tunnels and hammocks. She even posted tutorials on how to sew them! So that was next on my to-do list.
Fabric hammock and tunnel
The final item was a ramp to access the different levels. After failing to make a ramp out of coroplast, I designed a wooden ramp with a hidey underneath and asked my handy dad to build it for me. It's lined with carpet for easy traction. I love how it turned out!
Approximate dimensions & design
Voilà!
By the fourth day both guinea pigs had learned to use the ramp and now they regularly zoom up and down.
What's neat is that the guinea pigs have designated the hidey as their "washroom" -- this is almost always where they go to poop. It makes cleanup pretty easy!
Yesterday we cut an opening on the main level and placed the ramp going down to the floor. This will be the piggies' main way of getting out for ground time (rather than us chasing them around with our hands). They didn't use it yesterday but we'll keep trying every day until they feel like exploring! We simply replace the ramp and close up the opening when ground time is over.
The Food
Guinea pigs need fresh hay in their cage at all times. Steve contacted a nearby farm through kijiji and they delivered 20 lb of timothy hay for $30. Sweet deal!
Finding storage for all that hay
The other two foods they eat are
Oxbow Guinea Pig pellets and fresh vegetables every day. I typed up a list of recommended vegetables (
info found here) to keep in the kitchen, since there are some vegetables they can have more often than others and some vegetables that might cause digestion issues.
And that's it! Ok, this post was a lot longer than I expected, but it'll be a nice record of our preparations and hopefully helpful to any potential guinea pig owners out there.
Another fun project:
A laminated Chores Checklist
Updated version
