guinea pig runs

kheed

Hi,
looking for little metal meshes/grids/pieces. (Hard to describe...) that I can make an outdoor guinea pig enclosure with. something like These.. http://guineapigcages.com/cubes.htm

Anyone know where I could find them in Dublin?

Thanks

morganafay

I don't think there's any shops you can buy them here, but I have a few links bookmarked you can order them from. You could also try ebay.co.uk, type in seville cube grid storage, or something.

They're also on amazon, but this is a mix of grids and mesh (just with smaller holes I think?)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B001PHOB7A/ref=ord_cart_shr?_encoding=UTF8&m=A1FV9KSKPASN0Z

These are the cheapest ones I could find
http://www.displaysense.ie/exhibition-Wire-Cube-Shelving/


I have outdoor guinea pigs, but just looked these up for when I can have them indoors at night and in the winter when I have my own place.

Sigma Force

C&C cages aren't suitable for outdoor use, just not strong enough from a saftey point of view between wind, dogs or cats popping over in to the garden.

Indoors they are fine though, perhaps try woodies DIY that's where I got some years ago, have sold them on since and have none left.
You might have to order from the UK though because that was a while ago.

If you are good at or know someone that is with a bit of DIY you could make a timber and avairy wire pen cheaply enough depending on the size. Remember to wire the bottom and provide plenty of platforms, the wire is for saftey and won't damage feet if they have platforms and a hutch to rest in.
Have used this method for years with no probs.

Avoid those pens in Argos or the like as well ie the black open on or the silver one with the green netting, flimsy and not safe to be left unsupervised.

One option could be if supervised, if you already have a guinea pig cage for instance and it's a good size, lift the lid off it and place the pigs on the grass inside the top part of the cage if you know what I mean, this would only be suitable for fully supervised outdoor time though but might work in the mean time.

morganafay

If you're looking for an outpoor pen that's safe to use unsupervised during the day, there's a good wood framed one on zooplus.co.uk for €50. Would work out as cheap as the c&c one probably Sorry I didn't notice you said for outdoor use in your original post.

You could make a c&c pen for using outdoors on the grass if you stayed out with them keeping a close eye on them. I know some people who do that.

Or you could make one with a roof and use tent pegs to hold it onto the grass. It wouldn't be dog/fox proof though, I'd say, so you'd have to be careful and not use it at night or if there were dogs around.

Rabbitandcavy

I have this

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/rodents/cages/pens_fencing/pens_with_racks/35638

in the biggest size. I love it, I put a bit of chicken wire around the outside though because young/small guinea pigs can squeeze through. I didn't put wire on the bottom because I don't put them out in it when I am not around.

CuteStuff

Hi all

I really want to keep my little guinea pigs indoors. I've recently moved house and the whole house is carpeted. What I used to do was pen off an area so that they could run about. Now that isn't possible.

Has anyone ever ordered C&C cages? If so are you happy with the service and are they good?

Surely there most be something available in Ireland. I just want to look after my little guys!!!

Sigma Force

You could still pen off an area, what I used to do was just get an offcut of lino (free or cheap from lino/carpet shop) place it on the floor and then place the pen or C&C cage on top, allow the lino to be bigger than the pen so they can't chew the edges. It's very effective and the cage or pen will keep the majority of the hay in and will keep the poo and pee confined.

If you change them regularly there should be no problem with carpets. You can even bend the lino to run up to the skirting a bit so nothing gets trapped in the skirting itself.

There are also large indoor cages on zooplus with more than one level which can help with saving floor space but still gives the pigs plenty of room and the plastic base keeps all the mess in.

Ask around the DIY shops about the C&C but as said it's hard to get over here. Check out some of the ad sites sometimes people are giving away guinea pig or rabbit cages or runs that you could possibly modify.

Another option if you don't want to use lino is to get the coroplast and place a regular guinea pig pen on top but I find the lines in the coroplast make it harder to clean. Lino is nice and smooth and easy to clean, placing newspaper on top and then hay makes it very non slip.

kheed

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions, some useful help there. I'll check out woodies and other hardware places and see whats available. I want to keep the pigs indoors, but be able to bring them to the garden and let them run about but just keep them enclosed. so need something I can assemble and disassemble fairly easily.

Thanks for the help

doctor evil

When I had my piggies we made our own outdoor runs, we never put wire on the bottom but just made sure the ground was flat.

You could perhaps try pallets but remove the slats from one end and add some wood to the sides to give it more height. The gp's should be able to rear (not that they will do so) and not touch the top. I can't remember the type of chicken wire used but the usual one have holes that are too big that would allow mink/rats through.

Sigma Force

Pallets can be rough and splintery so prob. would need to be sanded down, flat ground is fine for the pigs but the perfect thing for dogs and foxes etc. to dig under.
Wiring the bottom is a must nowdays even if a garden is pretty enclosed.
Always hearing of people having accidents and finding their guineas or rabbits in bits around the garden one lot came to a horrible end when a neighbours terrier came along and flipped over the run which wasn't wired at the bottom and killed the lot.

It's better to be overly cautious and a little paranoid really.
That goes for the top of the run as well, some people have secure looking runs but don't cover the top. Rabbits can easily jump high and birds of prey even in built up areas can hover over not to mention cats popping in to a garden even if you think there are no cats in your area.

When we had pet rabbits we'd often see birds hoverring over eyeing them up, ok we're in the countryside but wired the top of the run just in casey.

Even wildlife aside some kids tend to be pretty rough with runs and get excited when the critters run about so can knock it over, sit on it or hurt the pigs by shaking the run or scare the living daylights out of them so the stronger the pen the better.

doctor evil

Our ones would have taken more than a terrier to knock over! We also had wire and wood covering the top.

Our gp's were kept outside with the home made hutch connected to the run (much sturdier than what you get in pet shops) The run was moved every day/second day so anything burrowing under wasn't an issue.