Typical Cage Cleaning

Cleaning Boadicea and Wedgwood's cage is pretty straightforward.  Twenty minutes of pulling stuff apart, wiping the cage down, replacing towels and fleece, then reassembling.  And chasing guinea pigs.  No cage cleaning day is complete without herding curious or mischievous pigs.

With the magic of time lapse photography, I seem to do it all in a minute and a half.  It would probably go well with Yakety Sax (especially the pig trains).

I weigh Boadicea and Wedgwood, then let them loose on the floor.  I sweep out most of the loose hay.  Pull out the third and second levels, sweep up and pull out the first floor bedding.  Sweep out the the debris on the coroplast and spray vinegar all over the bottom level.

I pull out my box of clean bedding, pick what I want and change the second level bedding; put the second level back into the cage.  Wipe down the bottom level and a put in a fresh layer of towels.

Chase pigs (because they're hanging out in the living room more than they should be).

U-Haul Pads

I made the switch to all fleece bedding all the time just over two years ago.  Before that, only the upper portions of the guinea pig cage were fleeced (I've been doing that since I've had a C&C cage).  In general, I've been happy with a full fleeced cage.  I was recently reviewing old blog posts and realized I could use a few updates; my cage cleaning routine has evolved over the years.  So this is the first in a short series on my experiences with fleece bedding.  (If you're unfamiliar with using fleece bedding with guinea pigs, a great place to start is The Fleece Project.)

Layered up: U-Haul pad on the bottom,
then towel(s), then fleece

Fleece bedding smells best when it has a chance to air out.  Unfortunately Cannoli is a big drinker, which means she's a pees a lot.  I need to change the bedding more frequently and end up with a lot of stinky laundry.

I know some people use U-Haul pads or puppy pads.  When I made the full switch to fleece two years ago, I had several old towels on hand and saw no reason to purchase more bedding.  Cannoli's drinking is motivating me to research my options.  I recalled an article by Cali Cavy Collective about their experience with U-Haul pads.  (Check it out - she has way better photos than I do.)  She said that using furniture pads helped extend time between cleanings.  Extra towels wasn't working for me, so I figured this was an inexpensive solution to try out.

Peeved Pinniped

A few of peeved Pinni's chew marks

We finally got the medication to treat Pinniped's cysts.  It's a different drug than what I've used before on the cysts, called Cystorelin.  It requires two doses.  Pinni received the second dose last week.  She'll be going to the vet soon for a re-check, to see if the cysts have shrunk.

Pinni's in good spirits, although she's not gaining back weight like I had hoped.  The medication seems to have the odd side effect of making her extremely peeved for a day or two afterwards.  Goodness, she can be destructive enough to rival Bertie.  I covered the raw edges of the cage years ago because of her penchant for scalloping them.  This time, though, Pinni was not deterred.  She pulled the fleece from the ramp to the third level and began chewing the exposed coroplast.  Each time she'd do this, I'd put the fleece back and add another binder clip.  It took three binder clips to finally stop her!  She then started to chew the hay rack itself.  I had no luck luring her away with cardboard tubes.  I had to remove the hay rack for a few days until she cooled off.

She's back to normal, now.  Obviously, I need to discuss this side effect with the vet.  But I'm hoping it's done the trick, as far as the cysts are concerned.

Scalloped Edges

Yo!  Mama! (about to take a chomp)

Bertie gets attention for being a bad rodent.  I think Pinniped took notice of this and found it unacceptable.  Since Bertie has been concentrating on chewing the bars, Pinni has begun to focus on the coroplast.  Unfortunately, coroplast doesn't withstand teeth as well as the bars do.  So I have a problem with Pinni's new hobby.

She does this to get my attention.  Pinni will wheek and chortle while running around the cage, but if I don't acknowledge her at some point, she'll come to the wall that is closest to where I am, stand there for a moment, then chomp on the coroplast.  It's guaranteed to get an immediate reaction from me:  Bad rodent!  Stop that!  Pinni hopes that veggies will be forthcoming, but often the only attention she gets is an unwanted wuzzing.

Hay Rack Upgrades

A few weeks ago I saw the errors of my ways and decided I would no longer block Bertie from her beloved hay loft.  I spent part of that weekend building a new pig-proof hay rack using an upright design.  I worked on the wire spacing for a while,  I wanted the big enough gaps so they could reach in to grab hay, but small enough to discourage climbing into it and keep them from getting caught in the wires.  The coroplast bottom is angled so the last bits of hay will fall towards the bars.  It was intended to be a prototype, but the rack has worked well enough for the last two weeks that I may just leave it as is.

At the same time, I adjusted Bertie's hay rack slightly.  I narrowed the gap at the bottom and removed some of the supporting wires.  This was so Bertie would be less likely to fall through and to ensure she wouldn't pinch her toes between the wires and the coroplast.  I also moved the opening down a bit, to make it easier to jump in and out of (which she does with grace and alacrity).

Back to the Rack

Bummed out Bertie

Hay consumption has been tapering off a bit and I think the culprit is Bertie's love affair with the hay rack.  Pinni has pretty much stopped eating from the hay rack and only eats the hay in the paper tube I leave on the third level.  Besides, I worry that Bertie will injure herself bailing out of that rack.

I was reluctant to cut it down, so I covered it over with an extra piece of coroplast.  This lasted for a day or two before I removed the rack from the wall.  I was afraid she'd be crazy enough to try and climb on it even with the barrier.  Poor Bertie.  First she was confused by having a hay rack she couldn't climb into.  Then worse, the whole rack disappeared!  The tissue box filled with hay is nice, but it's not really the same.

I have come up with some ideas how to keep Bertie out of the hay rack on a more permanent basis.  I'll need a bit if time to construct and test it.  If this doesn't work, I may need to consider building a vertical rack.

For those of you keeping score:  Bertie - 3, Me - 2.  That little pig still has the better of me when it comes to that hay rack.

Meanwhile, Pinniped is going for the prize of Goofiest Guinea Pig.  Evidently sleeping in the hammock with various body parts hanging out wasn't enough.  Now she's managed to stick out both hind feet and a nipple while relaxing in the hammock.  Let me tell you, I'm impressed.  If she had that much hanging over the edge, shouldn't the rest slide out?  But Pinni was stuck to that fleece like a burr.  She wasn't going anywhere.

History of Cages

Like many misinformed guinea pig owners, I let my first pair of guinea pigs live in an aquarium.  I was told that drafts were bad for guinea pigs and the aquarium kept them from getting a chill.  It was tiny and I had to clean it often.  What a cramped, boring life for those pigs!

Years later, when I got guinea pigs as an adult, I bought a plastic bottomed cage with a wire top.  It was still unbelievably tiny.  I am embarrassed to even post the dimensions of that cage and two pigs lived in it for a few years.

The evolution of the guinea pig cage

I eventually realized that guinea pigs required more space to be happy and active and splurged on the biggest guinea pig/rabbit cage I could find.  It cost me nearly $100 and it was (as I discovered later) still too small for a pair of guinea pigs.

Building A Third Level

One of the fun things with a C&C cage is that there are endless ways to configure it.  I built my first C&C cage in 2003. (You can find a great set of instructions on how to build a C&C cage on GuineaPigCages.com.)  Over the years I've rearranged my cage several times.  The original base still exists, but the rest of it morphs.

Many of my YouTube videos feature Bertie, Pinni and Willow frolicking around in their cage and people want to build a cage like it.  These are instructions for the third level I have in my cage.  The design is dependent on having another floor that is only a half-grid below it.  You can get the directions for that in No-Ramp Loft.

The third level in my cage is almost the same size and shape as the second level, just with one extra grid that works as a ramp.  Before you build this addition, you need to know that your guinea pigs are not leapers.  The third level I designed is rather open, and if my pigs were determined, the could leap out of the cage entirely.  It would be a long and possibly fatal drop.  If you are unsure about your pigs' penchant for jumping, you may want to replace the half-grids on the balcony with full grids.

No-Ramp Loft

People like the loft in my guinea pigs' cage.  It is only 6" off of the main floor, so it doesn't require a steep ramp that is common in most second level designs.  In fact, it doesn't require a ramp at all!  Guinea pigs can just hop up or jump down from it.

I've had several people ask for instructions how to build one.  It's not complicated, especially if you've made a C&C cage before.  The loft is made out of 10 grids, a bit of coroplast and a bunch of 50lb zip ties.  If you are adding this onto an existing cage, you will need to modify the base on the side you are adding the level. It requires a half-grid wall instead of the full grids.

I cut a single grid into two pieces (removing the middle row of grid-holes), so that I end up with two 4x9 hole grids.  I used a pair of heavy-duty wire cutters for the inner wires, but I needed a hacksaw to get through the thicker edge wire.  The two half-grids are the same height as the coroplast on the base. This is to help support the second level on the base of the cage.

Cage Revamp Part II

I obtained coroplast during the week, so I was ready to complete the other half of my combining cages project.  Last week I pieced together the grids (Cage Revamp Part I), this week I added in the new coroplast base.

First, I gathered all of my tools to measure, cut and assemble the coroplast.  There are a good set of instructions on how to do this on the GuineaPigCages.com website: How to Make a C&C Cage. I measured the grid size of Willow's cage multiple times and wrote it down, and then double checked.  I am a big believer of "measure twice, cut once," mostly because I'm prone to transposing numbers and adding the wrong bits together.

Normally, you want to cut the bottom of a cage in one solid piece. I cut Willow's in two pieces, in part because it was the most efficient way to cut the large piece of coroplast I had.  It's also an odd-shaped cage, with a partial wall on one side.

I brought the coroplast in to test-fit it a number of times when I started taping the ends together.  It was going to be a snug fit, which is good:  I find that if the coroplast and grids are tight, the whole cage can be moved about with little risk of anything coming apart.

I did not zip-tie Willow's cage to the Newbie's cage.  The three edges that touch (two side edges and the overhang on Willow's cage) are connected to the Newbie's cage with binder clips and a grid connector.  This is to keep the cages portable.  Occasionally I use my dining room as <gasp!> a dining room and the pigs aren't invited.  There is no way I could move this monstrosity in one piece from one room to another.

I duct taped the seam on the bottom, from one cage to another to keep urine from leaking under the cage.  I realized after I had done this that it would have been better to make a 1.5" wall to each side of the cage and avoided trying to make a common seam altogether!  At this point, it's done.  If the tape starts to come up or when I have to pull apart the cages, I'll rework the two cages with their own individual thresholds.  Sometimes the most obvious solutions don't present themselves until after you've tried something else.

The new layout

Willow's cage gained about one square foot of space from the reconfiguration.  Over half of that extra space was due to replacing the store-bought bottom with coroplast.  Store-bought cages are deceptive because the sides slope in at an angle, but the measurements are usually taken at the top of the cage (at it's widest point).  It's amazing how much space is lost on the bottom!

I'm glad I had cut her fleece a little long, so it still fits across the bottom with no gaps.  I had to replace her perching shelf with the stool because it no longer has the support it needs.  I'll have to figure out how to best re-attach that.  In the meantime, the little stool is giving her something to hide under.  She no longer has to perch in order to see into the Newbie's cage.

The girls' first reaction to the new cage?  Not quite what I had expected.  But that story will have to wait for another day.

Rolling Coroplast

I found a place just down the street that sells coroplast at a decent price (Graphic Images).  I had to buy a whole sheet, which is a bit of a drag since I only need at most four square feet.  I'm sure I will either use the extra or find someone who needs it. 

On Monday, I spoke to the owner and agreed to buy a whole sheet.  I told him I'd be by on Tuesday morning on the way to work to pick it up.  I'd be putting it in my car.  A whole sheet?  Impossible.  I told him it would fit, that I'd roll it it up.  He proceeded to tell me at least three times that I could not roll coroplast.  I told him saw how to roll coroplast online.  I'd be fine.

So I go in on Tuesday morning to pick it up.  I was thrilled that they had a large front office, because it had been raining and I didn't want to attempt to roll it outside.  Looked like I could roll it in the office.  At which point the secretary tells me, more than once, that I cannot possibly roll coroplast.  Sure I can.

I had to help her haul it from the back room, because it's bulky and we put it flat on the floor.  I was a bit nervous at that point, because I've never actually rolled coroplast before.  I really didn't want to crimp it.  But I had read the instructions.  How bad could it be?

Pretty easy.  The hardest part was getting the packing tape dispenser to work while holding the coroplast in place.  I put way more tape on it than was necessary; I was so afraid the thing would spring open before I left the building.  I packed it in the car with no problems and headed to work.  At home, at the end of the day, I discovered that leaving it rolled up all day resulted in warped coroplast.  It has straightened quite a bit in the last day, so it should be in good shape when I cut it.

The secretary was pretty impressed.  She said it was too bad that I was in so early, because the owner would have liked to have seen that.  It was a good thing I brought my camera!  I've emailed him the proof.  See?  You can roll coroplast!