It is a really exciting time when you are getting ready for your first guinea pigs, but it can also be pretty difficult. When it’s time to welcome your guinea pigs back into your house, you’ll want to ensure everything is in order, but it’s easy to overlook the details. So, here in this article, we will discuss every about Guinea Pig Cage Setup Guide.
Let’s move on.
First, we talk about some cage necessities. Bedding, water bottles or bowls, hiding spots, and hay that is safe for guinea pigs are all necessities for setting up a cage for a guinea pig. Dishes for food, hay racks, a litter box, and toys are all things that can be added if required. However, most cages sold in pet stores won’t be big enough for guinea pigs, so it’s up to you to ensure their living spaces are adequate.
The Purposes of Guinea Pig Cages
We must consider our priorities when looking at guinea pig cages. You may better care for your squeaky pet by knowing its requirements. In this regard, four main priorities need to be taken into account:
Security
Guinea pigs are creatures that are known for their quiet nature. They are easily frightened and may act violently when startled or afraid, running around in circles. So, providing this much-required sense of safety should be the first thing you think about while designing the enclosures for your guinea pig.
The best method to do this and make your guinea pigs feel comfortable and safe is to provide “visible barriers” where they can hide. This implies your guinea pig cage should have enclosed corners or hiding places like mounds of hay or wooden cottages.
Enclosure
The next step is ensuring your guinea pigs can’t escape their cage. Although guinea pigs rarely run, keeping your pet enclosed at all times is important. As a result, closed enclosures are preferable to open ones.
Protection
The guinea pig enclosure should also keep your pet safe from disturbance from the outside, particularly dangerous animals such as foxes, if it is kept outside. Again, this indicates that it is in your best interest to house your guinea pigs in a secure cage that will not permit any other animals or people to access them.
Comfort
The environment inside the guinea pig cage needs to be quite comfortable. This ensures that your pet is protected from the most severe weather, that they will be dry, and that they will have plenty of areas to wander about.
Perfect Cage Size
Finding a suitable-sized cage is a crucial first step in raising guinea pigs. Many people are unaware that a young guinea pig has the potential to develop into a considerably larger animal due to its propensity to gain excess weight. Your guinea pig may be little now, but you still need to buy a cage big enough for it when it grows up.
The ideal housing for your guinea pigs will be determined by factors such as your budget and the way you live. Before taking your piggies home, do some research as well as consider a few key elements to get the right cage for them.
When it comes to housing for guinea pigs, the essential things to look for in a cage are its size, how easy it is to get in and out of, and whether it has everything you need.
There are many reasons why it is essential to have a cage that is sufficiently spacious. First of all, it makes your pet’s life better. You would not want to spend your entire life in a space the size of your bathroom, and neither would your guinea pig.
Second, a larger cage won’t become as dirty as quickly as a smaller one. Your pet will benefit from this in terms of its overall health, and it may also reduce the time you need to clean its cage. This helps eliminate any odour that may be coming from a filthy cage.
Lastly, you’ll notice that your pet is becoming much more sociable and will interact significantly more with you. They’ll feel more confident in their cage if they realize they can escape. The guinea pig is a very active animal that enjoys running and jumping. A larger cage will allow you to observe a great deal of cheerful behavior from the pet.
Guinea Pig Cages for Two or More
Naturally, the size of the enclosure ought to be increased according to the number of pigs the owner wants to bring inside the house. It is recommended that a minimum of 10.5 square feet of space be provided for two pets in order to provide multiple opportunities for both pets.
This is very important if you decide to get two male guinea pigs. If there is not enough room for them to move around in, they may constantly fight with one another for territory, which may cause someone to get an injury. You should pay attention to the various noises that guinea pigs make to assess whether they are having fun playing, struggling, or in danger.
If you want to house two females in the same cage, you won’t have to worry as much about the limited room. As a result of their docile character, territorial disputes are less likely to arise between them.
The Bedding
It is very important what you put in the bottom of your guinea pig’s cage. The bedding you select for your guinea pig’s cage is not only safe but also absorbent and pleasant for the animal. The following are some materials that are appropriate for use as bedding in guinea pig cages:
Aspen shavings
The use of aspen shavings as bedding material in guinea pig cages is rather common. These are pleasant, absorbent, and suitable for your pet to use.
Paper-based bedding
Bedding made of paper, such as recycled paper pellets or shredded paper, is another excellent choice for guinea pig cages. This bedding absorbs smells well.
Fleece bedding
Guinea pig cages can be made comfortable and warm with fleece bedding. It may be machine-washed and dried.
Hay
Guinea pigs can also benefit from having access to hay as a bedding material. It gives your pet a place to rest, fulfills their chewing urge, and helps keep their teeth healthy.
You mustn’t use cedar or pine shavings as bedding for your guinea pig since these materials might be hazardous to your pet’s health. Avoid bedding with strong scents or chemicals since this might hurt your guinea pig.
Guinea Pig Cage Supplies
Water Bottles or Bowls
Giving each guinea pig its water bottle or bowl is best. They can be very territorial, so this makes sure they don’t stop each other from drinking.
Most people who keep guinea pigs use water bottles in the cage because they are easier to clean, they cannot be turned over, and the water inside them stays cleaner for longer.
The guinea pigs may throw hay, pellets, or even excrement into the water bowl; therefore, it is important to check the bowls of water often. They will probably need to be refilled more than once a day.
When you bring your guinea pigs home for the first time, it’s a great idea to give them both a water bottle and a bowl unless you know they’ve already been drinking from a bottle. Some guinea pigs will require training on how to use a water bottle, but in the meanwhile, they can drink from a bowl to stay hydrated.
Food Dishes
If you give your guinea pigs bowls to eat out of, make sure, there is one specifically for each pet. Food is another essential thing that we don’t want them to fight over.
Food dishes are a great way to keep your guinea pig’s food contained and make cleanup a little bit easier. For example, you may use these dishes if your guinea pig doesn’t eat all of their pellets. Yet, they are not required in any way.
Many people spread their guinea pigs’ pellets and vegetables around the cage. This is fun for your piggies because it makes them look for food like they would in the wild.
Hay Racks
First, it’s important to note that many hay racks available at pet stores pose serious health risks to guinea pigs. The openings in the hay racks or bags that hold the hay should always be large enough to accommodate the entire pig.
Because of this, they won’t be able to get their heads stuck, which is a potentially fatal situation if it isn’t treated promptly away. Keep in mind that guinea pigs are designed to consume food continuously. If they go more than 12 hours without eating, they risk developing gastrointestinal stasis, a disease that can be fatal.
Hay racks with holes too tiny for a piggy’s head make it hard for them to access the hay. You should never make your guinea pig work for hay. It should always be easy for anyone to get to.
Litter Box
There are often litter boxes in guinea pig cages. But teaching your pig to use the litter box isn’t quite right.
Guinea pigs can hold their pee, but not all of them can. They have almost no control over their feces, and it’s reported that they defecate up to one hundred times daily!
Because of this, you can’t train them to use the litter box. Their digestive systems work too rapidly, and as a result, they have a tendency to go wherever they are.
Hideaway
Although it might seem unnecessary, guinea pigs require a hiding spot where they can feel secure and comfortable. They are naturally highly anxious creatures, and as a result, they are prone to become terrified if they do not have a safe place to run to when they are worried.
You may get a hideaway made of plastic, wood, or fleece. Even though the plastic ones are fine, the wooden ones are much better quality and more solid.
Toys
The ideal toys for pigs are those that can be chewed, as they like eating. Some will also throw or push their toys around the cage to “rearrange” their space.
Make sure toys have no choking risks or harmful materials. Keep your guinea pigs away from salt licks, anything that contains seeds, and anything that might cause them to get their head trapped.
Boredom Breakers
Guinea pigs are curious creatures who thrive on having a little variation in their housing environment. They may become bored if they are surrounded by the same things every day or if nothing is exciting for them to do.
The Haypigs treat ball has proven to be one of the most entertaining ways to prevent our guinea pigs from being bored. You could put pea flakes inside, then show them how to roll it so that the flakes come out of the openings on the side.
Our guinea pigs have a lot of fun chewing and playing with hanging toys like the braid and the hay and twig mobiles since both are constructed from natural materials and hang from the ceiling.
Cage Cleaner
A pet-friendly cleaner is needed for daily guinea pig cage cleaning. Standard cleaners, like the ones you might use to clean other areas of your home, are usually unsafe because they contain chemicals.
The use of white vinegar as a cleaning agent is exceptionally risk-free. This is an excellent choice if the enclosure is simple to maintain. If the enclosure is harder to clean, you might be better off using a pet-safe cleaner instead of vinegar.
Types of Guinea Pig Cages
There are many different kinds of cages for guinea pigs that you can buy in pet stores or online. While looking for a guinea pig cage, it is important to consider the primary factors because each model has its advantages and disadvantages. Doing this lets you know that your guinea pig is in a suitable environment.
Guinea Pig Hutches or Outdoor Guinea Pig Cages
Guinea pigs are often housed in hutches, the most popular housing type. These are big wooden boxes with a part of the front made of mesh. This mesh then enables sunlight and fresh air to enter the cage, creating an atmosphere more similar to the natural world.
Nonetheless, some people have issues with guinea pigs housed in outdoor cages. In the winter, keeping your pet warm and dry in an open-fronted cage can be challenging, so this is a vital consideration. So, for the sake of your pet’s protection, you should make every effort to provide a safe and secure bedding place supplied with clean straw so that it may take shelter from the most severe weather.
In addition, when the weather is really bad, it may be a good idea to lightly cover the mesh with anything that allows air to pass through it, such as a bit of old sacking, to keep the worst of the rain out. If possible, move the guinea pig hutch inside for the winter and set it up again in the garden come spring.
Indoor Guinea Pig Cages
The use of indoor guinea pig cages has been increasingly common during the past few years. They normally have a bottom made of solid plastic and a clip-on cage section attached to the top. The plastic base helps your pet feel safe and keeps mess from wood flakes, extra food, and other things out.
The open cage top lets in light and fresh air and gives you a great view. If the top of your guinea pig’s cage is completely open, it can be easy to scare it.
It might be a good idea to cover up one end of the cage to give your pet more privacy. This way, your pet will stay warmer, be less frightened by people walking by, and still be easy to see.
Pet Shop Cage
There is only one cage on the market that is big enough to accommodate two guinea pigs, and that is the Midwest Guinea Pig Habitat. You can buy it at any pet store. Because it already satisfies the smallest dimension need out of the box, this is an excellent option for someone buying a cage for the first time.
This cage is simple to assemble and has a configuration comparable to that of a C&C cage. The bottom of the Midwest cage is made of canvas, making it simple to clean. You may extend the cage size by attaching other cages to it, and you can also cover it with another panel if you choose. It’s simple to give your guinea pigs enough room without measuring or building anything.
Guinea Pig Runs
The last type of guinea pig cage is run, which comes in many sizes. Most of the time, these have more space than a typical guinea pig cage, which may be suitable for your pet’s health and give it more exercise.
If you want to give your pet the freedom to run outside, you will need a completely enclosed cage to keep it safe from predators like cats and foxes. Also, guinea pigs who have an outdoor run should have enough shade, so they don’t get too hot in the summer.
Putting your guinea pigs in a run may be a brilliant idea, and it adds lots of environmental concern. If your grass hasn’t been treated with chemicals, it’s also suitable.
Conclusion
We hope you understand how to properly set up a cage for your cute little guinea pigs. Cage requirements and care are also considered essential in guinea pig welfare.