Big Guinea Pig Cages - The New Standard
When it comes to cavy cages, the choices are bigguinea pig cages or small ones.
The traditional choice has been to choose small rodent cages - similar to the ones we see in animal testing laboratories.
In fact, these cages are still popular today because they are generally the only cages offered by pet stores and department stores.
So when a newbie buys their first pig at a pet store or department store, they may see these small, manufactured cages as their only choice.
Old standards recommend living spaces of approximately 2.
5 to 3.
5 square feet.
This is way too small by modern standards.
Today's nest boxes can take up anywhere from a half to a full square-foot of living space - leaving your pig with between 1.
5 and 3 square-feet of room for food dishes, water bottles, hay racks, beds, toys and exercise space.
Needless to say, that's not nearly enough.
But things are changing.
In recent years, big guinea pig cages are becoming the standard of choice.
Modern standards suggest a minimum of 7.
5 square-feet for a solo guinea pig - more for multiple cavies.
Enter the C&C cage.
In recent years the push toward larger cavy cages has yielded a new construction technology.
Invented by guinea pig rescue organization Cavy Spirit, the technology uses commonly-available materials to construct spacious, economical enclosures as an alternative to the manufactured pet store cage.
The structural part of the cage is made from metal grids normally used to build wire storage cubes.
The litter bins are constructed from a polypropylene plastic sheet material called Coroplast.
The advantages of this cage technology are many.
However, the most overwhelmingly important advantage of this particular cage construction technology is economy.
You get a lot of cage for the money.
C&C cages are strictly do-it-yourself entities.
For those in need of big guinea pig cages constructed from C&C materials, there are two options available.
You can design and build it from scratch.
The traditional choice has been to choose small rodent cages - similar to the ones we see in animal testing laboratories.
In fact, these cages are still popular today because they are generally the only cages offered by pet stores and department stores.
So when a newbie buys their first pig at a pet store or department store, they may see these small, manufactured cages as their only choice.
Old standards recommend living spaces of approximately 2.
5 to 3.
5 square feet.
This is way too small by modern standards.
Today's nest boxes can take up anywhere from a half to a full square-foot of living space - leaving your pig with between 1.
5 and 3 square-feet of room for food dishes, water bottles, hay racks, beds, toys and exercise space.
Needless to say, that's not nearly enough.
But things are changing.
In recent years, big guinea pig cages are becoming the standard of choice.
Modern standards suggest a minimum of 7.
5 square-feet for a solo guinea pig - more for multiple cavies.
Enter the C&C cage.
In recent years the push toward larger cavy cages has yielded a new construction technology.
Invented by guinea pig rescue organization Cavy Spirit, the technology uses commonly-available materials to construct spacious, economical enclosures as an alternative to the manufactured pet store cage.
The structural part of the cage is made from metal grids normally used to build wire storage cubes.
The litter bins are constructed from a polypropylene plastic sheet material called Coroplast.
The advantages of this cage technology are many.
However, the most overwhelmingly important advantage of this particular cage construction technology is economy.
You get a lot of cage for the money.
C&C cages are strictly do-it-yourself entities.
For those in need of big guinea pig cages constructed from C&C materials, there are two options available.
You can design and build it from scratch.
