|
Cavies can be
housed in a variety of cages; traditional wire cages with solid metal
bottoms, designer cages with appealing colors and different levels for the
guinea pig to explore, large aquariums, and homemade wooden/wire cages.
We have tried a variety of different cages and currently use a combination
of stacking wire cages we purchased from
Damar’s, single wire cages and a variety of
plastic tote cages.
Ready made cavy cages come in many styles and price ranges, oftentimes
running upwards of $75 for a well-built cage that offers enough space.
For the pet owner or cavy breeder on a tight budget, these cages can be
very pricey, especially for those who want to add more cavies to their
herd or to make more room in order to ‘rescue’ some unwanted guinea pigs.
We may have a solution for those who need adequate housing at an
affordable price:
Plastic Storage Totes!
For years, we’ve used
large plastic storage containers for cavy cages! Not only are they
affordable, they are easy to clean and offer the cavy plenty of room.
These storage totes come under many brand names, such as Tupperware, and
are sold at almost any hardware or discount store. Buy the clear
plastic and get the largest ones you can – all sizes are affordable; I
think the largest one I’ve ever seen was still only $17.00! It is also
important to buy the ones with flat sides and bottoms instead of the
curved or contoured versions.
There are a few things you need to do before your new storage container is
habitable for your guinea pig.
-
First of all, you
need a place to hang a water bottle
– and easy way to do this is; On one of the sides
of the storage tote, measure up from the bottom of the cage, about 5
inches and mark this spot as where the sipper tube will go in. Using a
large steel bit (not a hole saw or spade bit-you'll crack the brittle
plastic), drill a hole through the
plastic that is just large enough for the water bottle sipper tube to
fit through. Now, put your water bottle tube through the hole and hold
the bottle in a position where it would normally be on the outside of
the cage, and about an inch down from the top of the water
bottle, make a mark on both sides of the water bottle. These marks are
where you will drill a small hole through the plastic – then you
can thread a flexible piece of wire through the holes and loosely around
the water bottle – voila! Your water bottle is securely held onto the
outside of the cage with the sipper tube inside the cage!
-
Cover
– we usually leave
the lids off our cages as most of our guinea pigs will not climb out.
To foil the maneuvers of the occasional or persistent escape pig, take the lid that comes
with the tote, and use a jigsaw to cut out the center of the cover - leaving a 4-5 inch wide edge all around the outer edge of the
cover but the middle is open. Snap this modified lid onto the cage and
the cavy cannot get out, but the open center still allows for adequate
airflow.
-
Put a good layer of
newspaper in the bottom
– the plastic
flooring is slippery and you’ll need newspaper under the bedding to
provide a slip-free surface for your guinea pig.
Cleaning these storage totes is a breeze – simply empty the contents into
a trash bag and hose them out!
The only concern with using plastic storage totes is the possible lack of
air circulation, which can cause health problems for guinea pigs. We do
not advise using any covers on these cages as doing so would
drastically reduce the needed ventilation. The modified covers, as we
described above, are ok, but still limit the air movement a little. On
warm or humid days we suggest using an oscillating room fan to force air over
the tops of your cages to ensure adequate ventilation inside the
plastic
totes.
If you need to, you can stack
these cages on shelving units – but make sure the shelves are far enough
apart -so the open cage top is not right up against the bottom of the
shelf above it - or cage ventilation will be compromised.
Using these plastic cages
enables the breeder to expand their herd at a fraction of the cost!
Another tip; If you
don’t modify the covers, save them, because you can even reuse the cages
as actual storage bins when you are through using them as cavy cages!
Cavies main menu page
Cavy Care & Info page
or.. click your browser's back button to return to the page you were on!
|
