We’ve had problems with our flights…

We’ll get home on Monday the 12th of March, 2012 instead of the planned Sunday March 11. But we still plan to get those C&C guinea pig cages out ON TIME… We’ll do our best!!!

Yep, We’re in Hawaii!!!

That means that all of the BlueStoneCommerce guinea pig cage operations are closed down for a couple weeks!!!! This time we’re taking our college-age kids with us for part of the vacation. But don’t worry about all the pets (five pigs, one dog [Cosmo the Wonder Pig] and the two frogs). We have hired one of our kid’s friends to house-sit and take care of the BlueStone domestic menagerie. So the animals will all have care, feeding and companionship while we are sunning our buns in the Aloha state.

 

All of our cages will be back up for sale on
Friday March 9, 2011 and…

We will resume shipping on
Monday March 12, 2012

 

Aloha!!!

Yep, we’re headed off to Hawaii on February 23, 2012…

Read More…

Space-saver cages for guinea pigs are becoming more popular these days. In fact, one of our top-selling guinea pig cages just happens to be the Mega Tower (shown below) – one of our space-saver cages for guinea pigs.

The Concept Behind Space-Saver Cages for Guinea Pigs

Most people have the wrong idea about space-saving. To them space-saver means “less space”. Space-saver means “smaller”. But not to us.

The concept behind BlueStoneCommerce’s line of space-saver cages is to deliver a roomy and spacious cage in a product form that can fit in a small footprint.

Yep. It’s a good idea – but not one we can really say we originally invented…

Read More…

Tomorrow we fly… and so can your pigs.

That’s right. Tomorrow (Saturday Feb. 19, 2011) we hop on that plane for home. Bye, bye Florida… hello Michigan.

Our guinea pigs must have woken up and seen their shadows because we still have a few more weeks of winter in our future.

But, bad news for us means good news for you (and your pigs). Because we’re going home, we’re ramping our guinea pig cage inventories back up from vacation levels.

Wheek, wheek, wheek!!!

Beginning Friday, February 18, 2011; we will begin restocking our online guinea pig cage stores. We’re going to get our eBay, Bonanza and iOffer stores fully up and running. Look for us to begin adding items throughout the afternoon. By this evening, all guinea pig cage models and accessories will be available.

 

And, when you do buy, make sure not to pass up any free money.  Be sure to take advantage of our website visitors special offer:

 

So, once again, good news/bad news. Bad news is we’re going home to the cold, snow and ice. Good news is we’re going back to our five pigs: Charlie, Apple, Pippen, Cupcake and Pumpkin; our dog, Cosmo and… oh yeah… our two kids, Alex and Kristen.

Gotta love those pigs.

You guys are amazing! The guinea pig cages we built for shipment during our vacation are going far faster than we anticipated.

No more Mega-Towers and no more 2×3 Colonials with storage

We’re out. You won’t be able to get either one until this coming weekend when we get back from Florida.

What’s left?

3 Towers, a Millennium 200, two mini-Terraces, a 2×3 Colonial, a 2×4 Colonial and a 2×4 Colonial with storage. Buy one of these  remaining units and we’ll have it shipped out immediately to you. Anything else won’t go until next Monday, Feb. 21, 2011.

However, if the cage you just have to have is out of stock…

Do we have a deal for  you…

If we run out of a cage model you want while we’re away from home, contact us on or after Friday February 18, 2011 and mention the words “Homeless pigs” and BlueStoneCommerce will pay 25% of your shipping costs.

Offer good through February 19, 2011.
This offer cannot be combined with other special offers.
Offer void in the following states: Confusion, Disarray and Shock.

In other words: email us and buy a cage that we’re out of – while we’re out of it – and we’ll pay 25% of your shipping for you when we send you your cage early next week.

Yep, that’s right… the same offer I repeated last post… just a reminder.

So, consider yourself warned - or at least informed. These cages are selling faster than we anticipated. We wish we had built more than we did before we left. But we didn’t. And don’t get us wrong – we really appreciate your overwhelming response and your confidence in our product. But nevertheless, what we got is what we got.

Happy Pigs,

Bob and Nancy
BlueStoneCommerce

Neither here nor there

“Here”? “There”? Don’t know, don’t care - either way – we’re not home. All I know is that for the first time in weeks, I can look out the window and not see snow. I see white – but it’s not snow. When I lay on the ground, I make sand angels - not snow angels (sadly, my sandman wasn’t much to look at).

So now, as I write this, we’re one hour behind (time zone) and 30 degrees ahead (heat zone) of our home in Michigan… and that’s a good thing.

So, enough about Nancy and I – what about you? Looking for a C&C cage? Well – good news – we’re still in business while we’re down here in Florida absorbing more than our share of deadly ultraviolet rays. We packed a limited (but hopefully adequate) number of cages before we hopped the plane back in Michigan. Like last time, we have arranged for our trusty and faithful UPS guys to fulfill orders for us while we’re gone.

We still have a full selection as of today.

Relationship-saving public service hint: today is Valentines Day (Men: save yourselves – quickly – while you still can).

But they (the cages – not men) are going faster than we anticipated  (we sold five cages just while we were on the plane flying down here). Some of our more popular models are down to a single unit left.

What does that mean? It means that as of Monday morning (Valentines Day [men: act now, your life may be in danger]) inventory and selections are wide open. But we anticipate that over the next couple days, selections will narrow and inventory will drop. What does that mean? It means if you’re looking for a particular cage model, you will soon be “up the creek without an Evinrude”. But…

Fear not Mrs. Calabash – wherever you are!

We are not the type to leave you high and dry (yes, we feel it’s far better to leave you ”low and wet”). Now doesn’t that sound comfy? So here’s our…

Special Deal

If, perchance, (I never get to use that word) we run out of a specific model that you want while we’re gone. Just contact us on or after Friday February 18, 2011 and mention the words “Homeless pigs” and BlueStoneCommerce will pay 25% of your shipping costs. Let me say that again.

If we run out of a cage model you want while we’re away from home, contact us on or after Friday February 18, 2011 and mention the words “Homeless pigs” and BlueStoneCommerce will pay 25% of your shipping costs.

Offer good through February 19, 2011.
This offer cannot be combined with other special offers.
Offer void in the following states: Confusion, Disarray and Shock.

That’s right. To make up for the inconvenience of making you wait till next week for your cage, we’ll pick up a chunk of your shipping costs.

That’s all for now.

Happy pigs to you…

Bob and Nancy,
BlueStoneCommerce

Don’t get me wrong! I like the snow. But 12 inches in one day is just too much. WE’RE OUTTA HERE! Bob and Nancy (Mr. and Mrs. BlueStoneCommerce) are headed to sunny Florida for a week.

We leave Feb. 12, 2011 & will return Feb 19.

We’re going back to Panama City Beach – had so much fun there last year,we’re going again. See for yourself. Here’s a VDO from last years trip…

 

What does that mean to you? It means a smaller selection and limited quantity of cages while we’re gone.

We plan to pack a limited number of our popular models before we leave. And we have contracted with someone to fulfill orders for us while we’re gone – so we don’t leave our potential piggy customers high and dry.

But, when the supply is gone – it’s gone. (That’s what I mean by a Potential C&C Guinea Pig Cage Shortage). Also – we won’t be able to handle special options – like chew-resist upgrades. We simply won’t be there. So…

If you are particular about your cages…(and you wouldn’t be buying from BlueStoneCommerce if you weren’t)…

You have until Feb. 10, 2011 to order.

After that, it’s kind of “cage as cage can” in terms of C&C selection.

We’ll be back in full force on Feb 21, 2011.

For those of you who worry – who’s going to take care of your five pigs – and Cosmo the Wonder Pig (our dog)?

Well, it’s okay. Our two adult children still live at home with us and will care for all the pets. They are both attending nearby colleges and they’ve taken care of the pets many times before. So – bottom line – all is okay. Don’t worry. Our pets will be cared for and will have lots of company and attention from the people they live with every day. (However, they are both college students; so… if you hear of the “party to end all parties” being promoted at our house during this time, drop us an email won’t you?)

Here’s a Recap:

• We’re fully open and fully stocked until Feb 10, 2011
• Feb 11, 2011 – Feb 19, 2011 – we will offer a limited quantity and selection of cages. During that time, many models will not be available and the cages that are available will be in limited quantities.
• We will be checking emails during that time. Like usual, we will answer every one – but it will probably take longer than usual – please cut us some slack – we’re on vacation after all.
• We will reopen Feb. 21, 2011

So… Fair Warning… DON’T MISS OUT! Make up your mind quickly… ORDER TODAY

If you’re interested in a specific cage model, or a particular upgrade, or you don’t want to wait until Feb. 21, 2011… DON’T MISS OUT… Order TODAY…

Because… come Heck or High H2O… we’ll be on that plane.

Southward Ho!

Bob and Nancy

Mr. and Mrs. BlueStoneCommerce

Yep. You read that right. This post has absolutely nothing to do with guinea pigs, guinea pig cages, cavy cages, rodent cages – or even animals in general. It’s a holiday wish from us…

HAPPY HOLIDAYS from BlueStoneCommerce!!!

And, we wanted to give you some music. But… if you know anything about us, you know that we try to be innovative and creative in all things we do. So, we are breaking with tradition and are offering a song for the holidays that is not a holiday song. Here’s why…

Why do we play holiday music? To raise our spirits – to get us in a good mood – to make us happy. That’s what holiday music should do.

This video my son found on YouTube should do just that!

Think of it as Bluestone Commerce HOLIDAY MUSIC.  Ha!

And now… a musical selection…

While we are here in Hawaii, we are working to keep your pigs happy – although working here doesn’t really feel like working as you can see in this VDO:

So, in the mean time, you may want to get the cage you’re interested in before they are picked over and sold out. All models except one are still available (but some models are running low).

ACT QUICKLY and get, not only the cage you want – but Save Money with our Unadvertised Internet Discount – just CLICK on the BUTTON below:

Nancy and I are indeed enjoying ourselves in Hawaii. But we are still in contact with “civilization” as you know if you have sent us an email in the past few days. We are still answering emails and we are still selling cages.

So, if you need a cavy cage we still have a large selection and fairly large inventory of cages.

 

Although, as of this writing, we have already sold seven of our 30 original cages. So they are going kind of fast – and the selection will become more and more limited as time goes on. But, no need to fear… Remember…

We will be back in town and fully engaged on October 25, 2010.

 Until then, I think we’ll just go fly around Kauai. (See if you can spot the waterfall that they used in the movie Jurassic Park)…

So, yes, we’re away from home. But, because we worked hard to make prior arrangements, you can still get a cavy cage from us by visiting one of our online stores.

Just click on the button below to visit our online stores
(and to claim your UNADVERTIZED DISCOUNT on shipping)…

Is the standard pet store rodent cage suitable for your guinea pig? See what we have to say about that little mass-produced rodent cage. Our views on the pet store rodent cage. <–CLICK HERE and READ.

Forget the previous post about Going to Hawaii – We are GONE!

What does that mean to you? Well, before we left, we packed up 30 cages of different varieties and we arranged with our great UPS guy to ship them for us as necessary. So…

1. YES! CAGES ARE STILL AVAILABLE while we’re gone.
2. We have a limited number of cages. When they’re gone – they’re gone. Sorry.
3. We have a limited number of each cage model. When particular models are gone – they’re gone. Sorry again.
4. We’ll be back in full stride on October 25, 2010.
5. That’s it… I’m going snorkeling…

 

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As I write this post - we are in Hawaii right now. I’m not bragging  – I’m just passing along some information. For those who are interested – here’s us getting to Honolulu…

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Sorry for the inconvenience – but I’m sure you understand – and, I’m sure, so do your pigs.

Aloha,

Bob and Nancy

Bob and Nancy (Mr. and Mrs. BlueStoneCommerce) will be going to Hawaii to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. They leave Oct. 7, 2010 & will be gone for 17 days.

What does that mean to you? It means a smaller selection and limited quantity of cages while we’re gone.

We plan to pack a limited number of our popular models before we leave. And we have contracted with someone to fulfill orders for us while we’re gone – so we don’t leave our potential piggy customers high and dry.

But, when the supply is gone – it’s gone. Also – we won’t be able to handle special options – like chew-resist upgrades. We simply won’t be there. So…

If you are particular about your cages…
(and you wouldn’t be buying from BlueStoneCommerce if you weren’t)…
You have until Oct 6, 2010 to order.

After that, it’s kind of “pot luck” in terms of cage selection.

We’ll be back in full force on Oct 25, 2010.

Here’s a Recap:

• We’re fully open and fully stocked until Oct 6, 2010
• Oct 7, 2010 – Oct 24, 2010 – we will offer a limited quantity and selection of cages. During that time, many models will not be available and the cages that are available will be in limited quantities. And once we sell out… well… sorry… call us selfish, but… (no matter how much we love pigs) we’re not coming back early from Hawaii to fill your order. We sympathise. But we’re not coming back.
• We will be checking emails during that time. Like usual, we will answer every one – but it will probably take a lot longer than usual. There is a six-hour time difference, we will not always have internet access –  and – we’re on vacation after all.
• We will reopen Oct. 25, 2010

So… Fair Warning… DON’T MISS OUT! Make up your mind quickly… ORDER TODAY

If you’re interested in a specific cage model, or a particular upgrade, or you don’t want to wait until Oct. 25, 2010… DON’T MISS OUT… Order TODAY…

 

Because… come Heck or High H2O… we’ll be on that plane.

Aloha!

Bob and Nancy
Mr. and Mrs. BlueStoneCommerce

BTW: It’s okay to comment and congratulate us on our 25th.

The cages that pet stores try to pass off as healthy and suitable guinea pig habitats are generally neither healthy nor suitable. Those small pet store cages are usually designed to meet the old two to four square-foot guinea pig cage design standards. These standards are not there to satisfy your guinea pigs’ needs. They are there to satisfy the financial needs of the cage manufacturer and the pet store.

It’s a simple fact. Smaller guinea pig habitats are cheaper to ship and warehouse than larger cages. Do the analysis yourself.

Let’s assume for a moment that you’re a manufacturer of paper. If you wish to ship 10 reams of paper, you will simply pack them into a box and ship them. If you now decide to ship 100 reams of paper, you will need a box ten-times as large — that is, it will require ten-times as much volume as the smaller box. Shipping costs will rise accordingly. But, you will have shipped ten-times as much product and will expect to make a lot more profit on the transaction.

If, on the other hand, you are a cage manufacturer and you wish to ship a cage; you will once again package it in a box and ship it. Now, if you wish to ship a cage ten-times as large, you will once again need to pack it into a box with ten-times as much volume. Again, shipping costs will go up because the package is much bigger. But this time you, the cage manufacturer, are not shipping ten-times the amount of product. Mostly you are shipping ten-times the amount of air. The amount of actual material that you will be able to charge your customer for has not increased nearly as much as the volume of the product. In effect, you a paying a lot more money to ship air (empty space) — air that the final customer will not be willing to pay for.

This scenario is repeated again in your warehouse. A cage that is ten-times as large requires significantly more space to warehouse. And, once again, that means more costs — more money spent to warehouse additional air.

And the story is repeated a final time at the pet store or department store where the final sale is made. Larger guinea pig habitats will require more back room storage space in addition to increased front-of-store retail shelf-space.

Thus, it costs disproportionately more money to transport, store and display a larger manufactured cage because of the large amount of air or empty space that must be shipped.

On the other hand, if a cage can be shipped as a kit, shipping costs can be reduced. An example of this is the C&C cage. Since these cages can be shipped flat in a disassembled state, the problem of “shipping air” can be minimized. This is just one reason why C&C cages allow you to get a lot of cage for the money.

Why not CLICK on the BUTTON directly below to see our money-saving internet special offer…

Read more about large guinea pig cages HERE–> Guinea Pig Cages – Room to Roam

Yes — it’s no secret. BlueStoneCommerce has C&C guinea pig cages for sale. What’s our motivation? Let me give you a little history.

I (Bob) am an engineer by trade. I worked nearly 30 years as an engineer/engineering manager — mostly in the automotive field here in the Detroit area. Several years ago, we got our first guinea pig (Pookie) for my daughter. We gave it the best care — fed it lots of alfalfa hay, gave it plenty of water and housed it in one of those nice little pet store cages.

And Pookie always looked “okay” but never really overjoyed.

By the time we got our next two guinea pigs Scooter and Pepper we had done a lot of reading. And we found that “meaning well” didn’t necessarily equate to giving the best care. It also took education.

Alfalfa hay was out, Timothy was in. High-o-Silver — the day of the Lone Pigster was over. We got Scooter and Pepper together to keep each other company. And most importantly, my wife “discovered” this new do-it-yourself cage technology – C&C cages.

She printed out instructions for a cage and put it on my “Honey-Do list” to get a cage built. They were Cavy Spirit instructions for building a 2×3 single level cage. The cage was a simple grid fence placed around a Coroplast bin and held together with plastic push-on connectors. It was a simple one-hour project.

Six-hours later, (did I mention I’m an engineer?), the cage was finished — with some slight modifications. It was three stories high. It had a 2×4 footprint with a top-level living space atop two levels of storage. And for increased sturdiness, it was fastened together with cable ties instead of push-on connectors.

There it stood — in our family room — a monument to guinea pigdom.

Several years later, I was downsized out of the automotive business. I decided to stay downsized and went into retirement. Nancy and I spent the first year doing nothing.

After a year of leisure she decided that we should to do something meaningful with our time. We needed a purpose. We had always regretted putting Pookie all alone in that small cage. We didn’t know he wasn’t happy. We didn’t know until after Pookie was gone and we put Scooter and Pepper in a 2×4 C&C cage. We saw popcorning for the first time. Then we knew. Poor Pookie had lived a mediocre existence.

So we went into business offering our own pig-friendly guinea pig cages for sale.

So now, we sell cages to make happy pigs. We’ve been educated — and, most importantly — we spread the word. Blogs posts, articles, videos — we spread the word:

Don’t put your pigs in a small pet store cage.

Build a C&C cage. It doesn’t have to be ours. But it has to be spacious enough.

And don’t get me wrong. We’re not saints. We also enjoy the money we make in this endeavor — we’re retired after all — with two kids in college. And not to mention the enjoyment we get from the process of building this business. All-in-all offering C&C guinea pig cages for sale has been a satisfying and rewarding experience for Nancy and I on many levels.

So of you take anything away from this article, it should be this: guinea pigs are living beings. Like any living creature, they deserve our respect. And, oh ya, don’t put your pigs in a small pet store cage.

Spread the word.

 

CLICK HERE–> to read another interesting guinea pig cage article

Because most pet stores don’t carry big guinea pig cages, many guinea pigs end up in a home that is much too small to promote good health. Your doctor advises regular exercise as well as a good diet for your health and well-being. And the situation is no different for your guinea pigs. They need exercise on a regular basis and those tiny department store rodent cages are definitely not the place to get it.

The fitness craze has been with us since the 70s. Many people are hooked on an exercise program. So first thing in the morning — or perhaps after a hard day’s work — they need to get in an exercise session. So they’ll change into a t-shirt and shorts, put on the running shoes, and head down to the… bathroom? Closet? Laundry room?

There’s a reason you don’t see people exercising in minivans, phone booths or garden sheds — there’s not enough room. When people want to go running, their choices are to use a large area in their home to exercise or go somewhere outside the home which is suitable for exercise.  (A third alternative for humans is to use a machine like a treadmill, stationary bike or elliptical trainer to simulate a larger space.  Unfortunately, scientific studies have shown that this method is unworkable for guinea pigs as mp3 ear buds won’t fit in their ears.)

Most of us don’t have a home large enough to exercise without the aid of machines so we go outside or to the gym or to some sort of park — somewhere with open space and room to run.

The same is true for your pigs. They either exercise in their cage, outside of their cage — or not at all.

So what am I getting at here?

My point is that pet cavies must either have big guinea pig cages; regular daily time outside of their cage — or both. Big guinea pig cages are the best solution for the owner. They do not have to commit to giving their piggies daily exercise sessions. Having a spacious guinea pig cage and arranging for daily exercise is the best solution for the pig.

Doing neither is no solution. It is unhealthy for the pig and increases the chance of larger and more frequent veterinarian bills as well as the household trauma that comes with having a sick or dying family pet.

Need to see a large selection of big guinea pig cages? Visit BlueStoneCommerce. More information on big guinea pig cages? <– CLICK on this LINK.

We have lots of big C&C guinea pig cages CLICK on the BUTTON directly below to see what people are saying about those cages…

We hit a milestone this past weekend in terms of guinea pig cages for sale…

On Saturday August 14, 2010 BlueStoneCommerce sold its 1000^th cage.

I feel like putting up a big sign— just like McDonalds…

Over 1000 Sold

 

Ya, I know. Big deal. It’s not going to put BlueStoneCommerce on the New York Stock Exchange (nor even in the Ma and Pop shop hall-o-fame). But it’s a milestone nonetheless.

So we celebrate.

Ya, 1000 cages. I know, don’t worry; we’re not getting a swelled head about it. We know we’re “small potatoes” — and we’re fine with that.

1000 cages in just over three years. Did I say “small potatoes”? I meant microscopic spuds. We know it’s not a huge number of cages shipped. We recognize it’s not a huge amount of revenue or profit for three years work. So why do we do it?

1)      We are guinea pig owners as well as guinea pig cage sellers. We like doing this.

2)      We were guinea pig owners well before we put up our first guinea pig cages for sale — we like doing this.

3)      Years ago, when we bought our very first guinea pig, we put him in a small cramped pet store cage (poor Pookie). We didn’t know any better. We meant well. But we didn’t know any better. He was the last one of our many pigs to live unhappily in such cramped quarters. We learned. We learned and we regret that we didn’t know any better. So now we “spread the word”.

4)      1000 cages sold means more than 1000 guinea pigs living in spacious, comfortable safe conditions and not in those cramped, tiny, store-bought cages — and that’s what it’s all about.

Yes — more than 1000 cages sold.

We know we’re not going to win the Nobel Pigs Prize. That’s fine. More than 1000 cages sold…

Thanks to all our customers for trusting us and our humble family business and for helping us “spread the word”.

We know. All we do is offer guinea pig cages for sale. Still — it gives us kind of a good feeling. And we hope you get that same feeling the first time you set your precious pet into her new, spacious home.

Bob and Nancy Matthews
BlueStoneCommerce

(Did I mention we like doing this?)

Help us “spread the word”. Have a look at this post Guinea Pig Cages – Room to Roam and pass a link to it along to your friends.

You’ve seen rodent cages. They’re those tiny little wire boxes that they try to sell you when you buy a guinea pig from a pet store. They usually contain less than three square-feet of cage area and may cost anywhere from $40 to $70 — depending on where you live.

I don’t know — these rodent cages might be sufficient for a mouse or a gerbil or a hamster. Like I said, I don’t know. What I do know is that it most certainly is not large enough for a full-grown guinea pig. Most modern standards recommend at least six to seven square feet for a single cavy — roughly twice the size of that standard pet store cage. And these are minimum standards we’re talking about.

What to do? Of course, the first thought is to buy a larger cage. The difficulty is that most pet stores don’t carry larger rodent cages — and if they do, they will most likely be very costly.

With that in mind, many conscientious guinea pig owners are turning to the C&C (cubes and Coroplast) cage. The C&C cage is a do-it-yourself cage — constructed of metal grids and corrugated plastic sheet. This type of cage was invented by a guinea pig rescue organization and has become quite popular with the general public over the past several years.

A quick search online will reveal both an abundance of how-to instructions and also some online suppliers of C&C guinea pig cage kits. (Of course BlueStoneCommerce comes immediately to mind).

The first step for the stanch do-it-yourselfer will be to design the cage. Next, he will need to locate sources for grids, corrugated plastic and other assorted hardware. Lastly, she will need to cut the Coroplast to size and assemble the grids, Coroplast and other components into a cage.

Those who purchased a kit will merely need to follow the included instructions to assemble the cage. This makes a great project to do with your child.

For more information about large C&C Guinea Pig Cages <– CLICK HERE

Interested in a great C&C guinea pig cage? Why not CLICK ON THE BUTTON directly below and then click through to one of our online stores. There’s no risk and you might just make your pigs the Happiest pigs on earth. CLICK the BUTTON NOW–>

(This article on Coroplast usage in cavy cages is continued from a previous post)

Coroplast resembles cardboard because of its fluted structure. If you look at a piece from the end, you will notice that structurally, it is made up of a long row of plastic columns.  The fact that Coroplast looks like cardboard is a good thing. Cardboard is a substance that we take for granted — but, in fact is a very efficient and innovative material.

For example, we can throw a few heavy cans of food in a paper bag. And when we try to pick it up, the cans rip through the bag and fall to the floor. We can then take many more of those same cans and toss them into a cardboard box which can be picked up with no problem. We can even ship them across country without incident.

Sure the box is thicker — but that is not where most of the additional strength comes from. It is really the internal structure of the cardboard that gives it its strength. Those columns or corrugations in the interior of the cardboard create a very strong and robust structure.

If you stand up that same paper bag and try and stack something on top of it, the sides will immediately crumble and the bag will collapse. Conversely, you can take several cardboard boxes and stack them on top of each other with no problem — just take a look inside any warehouse. Once again, it’s because all those little columns inside the cardboard are supporting all that weight.

Engineers and architects have known this for centuries. The early Romans used columns in their architecture to support heavy buildings. Take a look at the Coliseum. Aeronautical engineers use a honeycomb material (which is simply a lot of columns pressed together) inside the interior of airplane wings to provide a very strong and lightweight structure.

This is the very same concept behind the structure of Coroplast. It is what makes it very light — yet very strong. It’s as if there were a lot of columns pressed together in a row. And that is what makes Coroplast such a desirable material for use in C&C cavy cages.

Its fluted structure gives it adequate strength. Its chemical properties makes it waterproof, easy to clean and non-toxic for your cavies. And finally, its light weight reduces shipping costs when purchasing from an online seller like BlueStoneCommerce.

Be sure to read Part One of this post regarding the C&C Cavy Cage and Coroplast

For information on understanding a different aspect of C&C guinea pig cages <– CLICK HERE 

BlueStoneCommerce uses Coroplast in all of its cage models.
Why not CLICK ON THE BUTTON directly below to visit one of our stores and check out our innovative cavy cages…

If you’re considering building a C&C cavy cage, then you will need to understand some facts about them. C&C stands for cubes and Coroplast. The word “cubes” refers to the metal grids (normally used to build storage cube units) that are used to form the cage enclosure itself. Coroplast is the corrugated plastic sheet material used to form litter bins or trays. Coroplast is a brand name that comes from the contraction of the words “corrugated” and “plastic”.

As the C&C cavy cage is becoming more and more popular, more people are getting exposure to the Coroplast material. At first glance, the material looks very similar to cardboard. While it does have a structure quite similar to cardboard — it is definitely not cardboard. In fact, it has far different properties than cardboard.

Cardboard is made out of paper. It falls apart when exposed to water and it’s relatively easy to tear. On the other hand, it is lightweight, economical and is actually a very strong material for its cost and weight.

Coroplast is made of plastic – polypropylene. It is water-proof so it is idea for containing water, bedding s well as other biological waste products that your pigs may produce. It is also highly resistant to solvents. This means two things to the owners of C&C guinea pig cages a) it is not damaged by common household cleaners so it can be easily cleaned and b) since it is resistant to chemical solvents, it is indigestible. In other words, if your animal decides to chew it, the non-toxic plastic pieces will simply “pass through” its system leaving your cavy unharmed.

Because of this fact, it is approved by the US Government for contact with food. And it is also approved by pig rescue organizations for use in cavy cage construction.

Be sure to read Part Two of this post regarding Cavy Cages and Coroplast

For information on understanding a different aspect of C&C guinea pig cages <– CLICK HERE  

BlueStoneCommerce uses Coroplast in all of its cage models.
Why not CLICK ON THE BUTTON directly below to visit one of our stores and check out our innovative designs…

When we think of cages for guinea pigs, most of us tend to think of that tiny little rodent cage that is sold by most pet stores. Sure, guinea pigs are most certainly rodents — and yet, the standard pet store rodent cage is far too small to house an adult guinea pig.

Yes, most rodents are very small animals. But the fact is that size is not the prominent factor that defines a rodent.

If you look up the definition of a rodent, you will find that a) it is a mammal and b) they have continuously growing upper and lower incisors. This latter fact means that they have to continuously chew on things to keep their front teeth from growing out of control. In fact, the word rodent comes from the Latin word rodere which means “to gnaw”.

So a rodent is mostly defined by its front teeth — not by its size. A beaver is a rodent. You would never think of putting a beaver in a small pet store guinea pig cage. A porcupine is a rodent. Again, you would never put a porcupine in one of those tiny guinea pig cages. A capybara is a rodent that can grow to more than four-feet long. You could never put a capybara in a cage so small.

Guinea pigs can grow as large as three pounds or more. A small pet store rodent cage is simply too small to house a guinea pig. As I have said many times before — putting your guinea pig in a small pet store cage is like a human being living their entire life in a bathroom.

So why do so many people put guinea pigs in such small cages? Because that is what is sold to us.

Most guinea pig rescue organizations recommend that cages for guinea pigs be at least the following size:

• One guinea pig: 6-7 sq. ft.
• Two guinea pigs: 7.5 sq. ft.
• Three guinea pigs: 10.5 sq. ft.
• Four guinea pigs: 13 sq. ft.

So next time you shop for cages for guinea pigs remember that your pet is much larger than a hamster or a gerbil and therefore — his home should be too.

Looking for a spacious-yet-affordable home for your guinea pig? Check out the innovative C&C guinea pig cages that BlueStoneCommerce has to offer. Why not CLICK ON THE BUTTON directly below to visit one of our stores and check out our many distinctive designs…

PETCO 16 Ounce Plastic Water Bottle for Small Animals (16 oz.; 8″ Height; Assorted) Durable, practical plastic water bottles come with a wire holder to attach to cage. Choose the size most appropriate for your habitat and pet size. Translucent colors are assorted, please allow us to choose for you. BlueStoneCommerce earns a portion of each sale.

Here we are again doing what we do best: eating and wandering aimlessly.

BTW: Thanks to our 19 y.o. daughter for caring for our five pigs while we were conspicuously consuming in the Sunshine State.

And ya, I promise – this is the last installment of our Florida vacation video/fat fest. After this, no more home movies (at least for now). Vacation’s over. Time to focus on pigs again…

Here are more pics of us eating and strolling our way across the Florida panhandle.

Note: This video is neither business-oriented nor informational. It’s just a human interest story.

Translation: There are no pigs in this video except us…

We are BACK from FLORIDA!!! All is normal in the world again.

BlueStoneCommerce

Here’s a few highlights from our first couple of days – visiting with relatives we haven’t seen for a while!!!

Most other Cubes and Coroplast guinea pig cage sellers use plastic press-on connectors in their cage construction. This video will show you exactly why we here at BlueStoneCommerce disagree with this practice and exclusively use zip ties (tie-wraps, cable-ties) as fasteners in all of our cage designs.