New Jen's Horde


Sunday, May 28, 2006

The Pigs' Digs are the Bees Knees!

 
When we finally came to the agonizing decision (together with our vet) to put our kitties to sleep because the were old and in pain and came to believe our entire home was their litter box, I consoled the children by telling them that we could get any kind of pet that lived in a cage.

While we had to amend that later to add that we will no longer pay money for creatures that other people pay money to get rid of, this has served us well (the mice were grandfathered in, and will not be replaced. BTW-Meika's eye closed up and she is just as fine and agile as always. Amazing, isn't it?)

Our latest adventure has been our guinea pigs. We received them from our piano teacher. And, as the mother guinea pig had been considerate enough to give birth on a piano lesson day, we've known them literally from birth. I campaigned for the children to give them proud, upstanding names, but they chose S'more and Cowlicky. Well, they are cute names for cute little guinea pigs.
S'more and Cowlicky

Almost immediately, my friend Robin clued me in to a better kind of cage for them, made from those modular mesh book shelves and corrugated plastic. The basic instructions can be found here, and then she passed on information on how to spruce it up she'd gotten from another Five in a Row mom. Instead of using paper litter or wood chips, the bottom of the cage is covered with an absorbant material covered with fleece, much like the cloth diapers I used to use on the kids. The liquid waste goes through the fleece so the piggies' feet don't get wet, and the solid matter can easily be removed daily so they're not walking in it all the time. Then, when I'd normally toss the litter, I can just wash the fabrics (again, like diapers) and they have a much cleaner cage at all times.

It's much larger than the cage we purchased for them, and they LOVE it! We love it too, because it's easier to get into to feed them and keep clean, and of course pet them. Here are a couple of photos, so you can see how it ended up. (Don't you love our fake fireplace?)
Guinea Pig Cage Top view

Guinea Pig Cage, side view

They're really responding well to it, and the vet says they're happy and healthy! Thanks Robin, for all of your help :-)

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Comments:
They're so cute! We babysat our friends' guinea pigs while they were away and they had babies while we had them.
 
The bottom of their new cage is for the birds!
(Get it?)

That cage is very cool. I hope S'more and Cowlicky are very happy.
 
Hmmm...we're still thinking about getting a guinea pig...

I like the cage! Very homey. I love the fleece idea, I had actually considered that when I read about them. Maybe my kids should visit your's ;)
 
That is a great cage idea. I wish we had one like it for our guinea pigs, Sonny & Cher (who later had baby Chastity)

BTW your fireplace looks very much like ours. Shockingly similar!
 
What a neat cage...great idea!
 
I was so tired when I read this last night that I couldn't even figure out your title!

I think I want to be an animal in your house.
 
I do love your fireplace. And the cage is great! Does it keep them from stinking so much, or is that just their natural guinea musk?

(Love Lori's idea; your animals live better than I do!)
 
We want some Guinea pigs. Someone was giving two away for free and BIG DADDY said HELL NO. I guess he thinks the dog, bunny and sugar glider are enough. Little does he know....when we move back to Texas....oh it wil be on. ;)
 
The fleece is an interesting idea. I like the big cage, too.

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That cage is WAY too small for 2 guinea pigs! It is no bigger than the feeble petshop bought cages. The whole point of C&C cages (what you have built) is to make it bigger than pet shop cages. Also, it is not the best idea to leave them in front of a fire. Do you mve it when you turn the fire on?
 
I wish people would put their names on posts when they say jerky things.
 
i'm a little late in seeing this (like 8 years late ;)) BUT I LOVE the fleece idea. i was staring at this wondering how you got away w no chips or shredded paper (which we currently use to recycle). I WILL DEFINITELY try this! May I ask what you use to absorb under the fleece? Just like a towel or something?
 
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