EzineArticles FeedGuinea pigs are wonderful pets with great dispositions. They require little maintenance and make terrific pets for older children. But guinea pigs are not for everyone. Here are just a few factors to think about before running down to your favorite animal shelter or pet store to pick one up.
A guinea pig is just a rodent – a tiny insignificant animal. Sure, the kids like them. But just the same, when you bring them home from the pet store, they’re just like any other possession (except they have that annoying habit of moving around) so they must be contained. So we have to toss them in a cage and give them food and water every day. They’ll be fine.
Hopefully that’s not your attitude.
Too many people seem to forget that guinea pigs are actually living, breathing beings that need to be cared for and shown the same respect that every living creature deserves. Not all people with this attitude are cold-hearted, unfeeling villains. Most are probably just well-meaning pet owners who simply haven’t done the research in order to educate themselves well enough to become knowledgeable, competent pet-owners.
As Guinea Pig C&C cage designers and sellers, we come into contact with a lot of guinea pig owners (often brand new guinea pig pet owners). We also communicate with and are monitored by various guinea pig rescue organizations. As such, there is one common specific cage-related situation which keeps surfacing and which is also decidedly hazardous to your pigs’ health and safety. The purpose of this article is to alert you to this common hazard so that you can easily avoid it.
This common problem is the usage of cage floors and other cage walking surfaces made of metal bars or grids. Many commercial cages are built with wire floors. The purpose of the wire floor is to let feces and other solid materials fall though the openings into a litter pan below. To clean, one simply slides out the litter pan and empties the pan. Very convenient – but dangerous for your pigs. While these types of cages offer a distinct convenience advantage for the owner, they are hazardous for your pig’s foot health.
Your guinea pig’s footpads are delicate and sensitive structures. To your pig, walking on wire mesh is just like you spending your entire day walking on rebar or similar metal bars in bare feet.
Living in a cage with a wire floor can cause sores and ulcers on your pig’s footpads. Additionally, your pig’s feet can get wedged or trapped between the metal bars. Pigs housed in cages with wire floors often suffer broken toes and legs.
The same is also true of ramps in multi-level cages. Ramps should not contain metal bars, mesh or anything else that may trap or irritate your guinea pigs tender feet.
Be sure to purchase or build a cage with a smooth bottom to avoid the injuries detailed above. Also, if applicable, make sure the ramp has a non-slip surface to allow your pig to negotiate it without falling or slipping but avoid ramps with metal bars or wire grids as these can trap delicate guinea pig feet and toes and cause painful injuries.
So you’ve just brought your new guinea pig home from the shelter or pet store. And now, you’re not entirely sure what to do. Let us help you get off to a good start with this Quick-Start Guinea Pig Owners’ Guide.
Is your guinea pig or rabbit chewing your C&C cage – or are you concerned that they might? See how to make your C&C guinea pig or rabbit cage chew-resistant in this informative DIY (Do-it-yourself) video.
Guinea pigs make great pets. They are generally friendly and good-natured – although some may tend to be on the shy side. Like any other animal, guinea pigs have a natural language for communication. As a curious guinea pig owner, being able to understand some of the more common “messages” from your little pets will make your experience with your pigs more meaningful, memorable and enjoyable.
Coroplast is not cardboard nor is it plastic-coated cardboard. It is an extruded twin-wall polypropylene plastic sheet product. In other words, it’s 100% plastic. This material was originally chosen years ago for guinea pig cage application by a guinea pig rescue organization as a way of economically constructing large living quarters for rescued pigs. It is lightweight and durable and, if not abused, will last for years in your guinea pig cage. View the video to learn all about Coroplast and see a dramatic demonstration of it’s strength.
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When we think of a guinea pig, we usually picture the American Guinea Pig – the “classic” or “standard” guinea pig – and also the most common. But there are also several other breeds in addition to the common American Guinea Pig. This article will introduce you to a few of the breeds commonly found in homes today.
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Unfortunately, many people don’t pay close attention to ramps when searching for cages. But ramps are an important element of multi-level guinea pig and rabbit cages.
If you want the peace of mind that comes from the knowledge of knowing that your pigs are safe, you will shop around until you find a ramp that is both 1) strong enough to safely support your pig and 2) has No Metal Grids or Bars – these can injure your pigs’ feet and legs.
Learn all about the materials used in the construction of various types of guinea pig and rabbit cage ramps. See demonstrations of various ramp designs under heavy loads.
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True or false: Guinea pigs are small, hybrid animals that have been cultivated and cross-bred from wild pigs originally captured on the island of New Guinea. The fact that this animal was originally cross-bred in the laboratory to establish a pig breed that was both of friendly disposition and small enough to keep as a house pet, is the reason that the guinea pig still remains associated with labs in most of our minds today.
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This video shows you one of our very unique cages. It’s a slim profile cage – we call this model the Large Mega-Tower. This cage does for the guinea pig cage what flat screen monitors did for TV. It fits closer to the wall and saves space. If you’re a little short on room – perhaps you live in an apartment or dorm room, or maybe it’s going in a kid’s room where there’s not a lot of space – this cage may help solve your problems.
This video was made to appear in our eBay listing for this product. The introductory part of the video is common to all our cage videos. Footage specific to this cage begins at about the 4:12 minute mark. You can see a couple of our guinea pigs in it. Charlie is the one in the pet store cage and Pumpkin makes her cameo appearance – being chased around the Colonial. And if you like the cage, be sure to visit any of our online stores to get more information on it. Just click on any of the store links on the Home Page of this web site.
Enjoy the video:
What is a C&C Cage?
First of all, I mention the phrase C&C cage in the title of this article. This is cage-building technology that has become more and more popular in recent years. C&C stands for Cubes and Coroplast – the two major components used to design and construct these types of cages.
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Check out our 2nd infomercial. See why guinea pig cages need to be stronger than you think. Discover why wheels may be a more important option than you thought. See Cosmo – the 15 lb wonder pig. This video shows you our biggest cage ever – the Deluxe Colonial Homestead with Storage being tested under heavy loads.
If you’re interested this deluxe, new 3-level 2×4 guinea pig custom large cage, or another C&C design, visit our eBay store or our web site because… your pigs are waiting.
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Guinea pigs are lovable little creatures. They make great pets, are relatively easy to care for and can be very friendly if they are brought up with care and kindness. One very important step in bringing a new guinea pig into the home is providing adequate housing.
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Check out our very first infomercial – made to appear in our eBay listing for this cage. This video shows you our biggest cage ever – the Deluxe Colonial Homestead with Storage. Not only is this cage HUGE, but it has four storage bays in the bottom level to store guinea pig supplies. The introductory part of the video is common to all our cage videos. Footage specific to this cage begins at about the 4:12 minute mark. Also, see a couple of our guinea pigs. Charlie is the one in the pet store cage and Pumpkin makes her cameo appearance – being chased around the Colonial. If you’re interested a deluxe, new 3-level 2×4 guinea pig custom large cage, visit our store at http://stores.ebay.com/BluestoneCommerce-Cages-and-Guitars or visit our web site at http://www.BlueStoneCages.com because… your pigs are waiting.
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BlueStoneCommerce- Scooter’s Misadventures Part II
Scooter recovered from his abscess on his belly only a year later to have an abscess on his jaw. It was almost a year to the day that Scooter had another abscess. Our wonderful vet took x-rays and felt that Scooter’s abscess had not penetrated the jawbone and he had a good chance of a full recovery. She informed me that if it involved the jawbone it usually keeps reoccurring and the prognosis is not good for a complete recovery.
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