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Welcome to our first HAPPYCAVY Guinea Pig Q&A with Hammy the guinea pig!
We are calling this new feature “Ask Hammy“. The idea behind this is pretty straight forward – you ask your guinea pig related questions and Hammy the HAPPYCAVY does her best to give you an answer.
During the 3 years that we have been online, the HAPPYCAVY humans have answered many of your care- and cage-related guinea pig questions. These questions have ranged from the expected (“What do you use for bedding” Answer: Fleece & towels) to the unusual (“Can I feed my guinea pig turnip?” Answer: No.) You can submit your guinea pig related question to the Ask Hammy Page or you can use the form at the bottom of this post.
So let’s get down to business! On to the first Ask Hammy special…
Hello!
I need to convince my Mom that I need a C&C cage for my guinea pigs. Can you send me your ‘pros and cons’ for the C&C cage. I would be very grateful if you would!
I also have one other question. What do you use in the bottom of your cage for the bedding? It looks like towels, but I wasn’t sure. I have used towels for the bottom of her [guinea pig] cage before. She [Charlotte] is litter box trained (by me) but when I used the bedding she doesn’t seem to discriminate between the bedding and the litter. She uses the litter box more with the towels.
Thank you so much!
– Emma via email
Hi Emma!
What a great question!
Many guinea pigs and their humans would say that there aren’t a lot of cons to using a C&C cage. So as much as we’d like to say that there aren’t any cons to C&C cages, it doesn’t seem fair to send you just a Pros list. I’ve collaborated with my humans and we came up with a list that we think is pretty fair.
PROS of a C&C Cage
- more room to play = happier cavies = less behavioral (nipping/biting) and health issues
- easy to customize and rearrange
- cleaner, less odors
- lower ongoing costs
- easier to pickup and put back pigs
- C&C cages are easy to expand, make smaller, or create separations for “feisty” guinea pigs. If you add more pigs to your family, you won’t have to buy a new cage.
- easier to clean
- requires less frequent cage cleanings
CONS of a C&C Cage
- takes up more room than conventional cages (this also means a larger space for your fuzzies to play, which is really a Pro)
- higher up-front cost
- can’t take cage with you if you need to travel with your pigs
- supplies to make the cage can be difficult to find in rural areas (especially coroplast)
What We Use For Bedding
We use several layers of bedding for our cage. This list is arranged from bottom layer to top:
- Piggy Bedspreads. (If you can’t afford a Piggy Bedspread, you can use several layers of newspaper sprinkled with baking soda (to reduce odor). However, if you use newspaper, you’ll have to thoroughly clean it once a week. A benefit of Piggy Bedspreads is that they absorb a lot of the gross smells, etc. Using bedspreads, even with four guinea pigs, the humans can get away with cleaning the cage thoroughly once every two weeks.)
- Fleece
- Colorful towels for decoration (changed every two days)
I’m impressed that Charlotte is potty trained! You must be a very patient cavy caretaker. The humans tried to potty train me but that didn’t work out. I am the classic case of a strong-willed guinea pig: it’s my way or no way. 🙂
I hope I’ve answered your questions!
My guinea pigs are kind of bipolar. One second they love me, the next they avoid me. Do you have any idea why they would do that?
Us guinea pigs are fickle creatures, it’s OK for them to be affectionate one minute and aloof the next. My humans usually find that they get a warm welcome anytime we smell treats, other times it’s: “Meh, we could take ’em or leave ’em.”  It’s the guinea pig way 🙂
A C&C cage is “cubes and coroplast”. You can learn more about C&C cages here:
https://www.guineapigcages.com/articles/c-c-cubes-and-coroplast.24/
Also, you can keep two males together and two females together, but you shouldn’t mix males and females (unless your males are neutered), for obvious reasons 🙂
Hammy, I see layer 3 is “fleece bedding”, and layer 4 is “piggy bedspread”. Is the fleece bedding just a layer of fleece that you use throughout the cage? And is the piggy bedspread another layer of fleece and quilted liner together? Please explain. Thanks.
Yep, the fleece is a layer that we use throughout the cage, it’s attached to the coroplast with metal binder clips. The Piggy Bedspread is an absorbent pad that sits under the fleece, it helps absorb liquids and keeps the cage smelling fresh (thanks to a few sprinkles of baking soda on top of the bedspraed). The absorbent pads we listed in Supplies To Buy For Your New Guinea Pig are cheaper and pretty much the same thing as the Piggy Bedspreads, except they just don’t come with cute colors or patterns. I hope that helps!
I have 3 guinea pigs,(Acquired this month).. Mr.Fluffy pants (silky) , Cookie (Abyssian), and Cream (American)..came across your site after searching on care for guinea pigs and such. My daughters loves your web cams..looks like you have a happy bunch of cavies there!! =D One of the Cavies I adopted came to have mites. I’m assuming he had them for awhile, poor thing kept on scratching, no hair loss tho, but you can tell he was a bit miserable. I gave him and the other cavies (for good measure) a dose of Revolution, he seems a bit happier today..not scratching like before. These lil creatures are such great company =] Loves em’=]
We’re so happy you found us! So happy to hear there’s less itching, mites can be such a drag. Best of luck to you! 😀
The one issue with c&c is the grids themselves. It is getting harder and harder to find 9×9 grids. Manufactures are now going to a 4×4 or 6×6 to cut costs down. Also you have to buy them from same manufacture. They will come with different gauge wire and powder coat. Also the clips are not as sturdy. Usually good to reinforce with zip ties. I tried to mount my cage with the wire below and this will wiggle appart over time with some grids and clips. I would recommend getting a table or to make a stand from something more sturdy to keep it from vibrating as much.
We just got our first GP (Russell) and have him in a 36″ x 18″ glass cage at the moment. I’m a wood worker (amateur) so will make something a bit more to GP liking as he grows (he’s pretty small right now).
Three questions:
1) what is a good wood to use for cage structures that he might chew on? I use baltic birch/apple-ply for a lot of things but it is a laminate and has glue so..?
2) I use the aspen bedding, should we have newspaper and the like under it?
3) He occasionally scratches a little. How do I know how much is too much or if I should have him checked for mites?
Thanks in advance for any advice. We love your site and appreciate all the great resources; well done!
Hi, Jake!
Pine wood is generally safe for guinea pigs and I have heard that birth is also OK. I am not sure about laminate, but it should be treated somehow so that odors and liquids don’t absorb into the wood. You may want to Google a guinea pig forum to see if others have asked this question, because I am sure there are many out there who have made custom wood cages.
Newspaper under the aspen bedding is probably a good idea, as it can absorb liquids and other nastiness. Of course, you’ll need to change it often but you would have to do the same for just plain aspen, anyway.
As for scratching, if there are mites, a guinea pig will scratch excessively. Guinea pigs housed in cages with wood bedding generally scratch more than pigs housed in fleece cages. But if you noticed your fuzzy scratching every few minutes for a while, then it’s time for a vet appointment to check for mites. But just a little occasionally scratching is probably OK.
Glad you like the site! I hope these answers help a little 🙂
Can a cage be too big? We are making a C & C cage including the attached always accessible play area? We are making it, including the loft, 7×2 the play area is 13″ by 26″. So it will be over 21sqft we are getting 2 maybe 3.
Too big for the pigs? Nope! But too big where it becomes cumbersome and a hardship to keep clean for the humans? Maybe 🙂
The large cage sounds like paradise for a guinea pig. The HappyCavies would be jealous!
Do C and C cages leak often??
I need to convince my Mom that C and C cages are a good idea