C and C cage for guinea pigs.

[Toooldforthis321]

Hello, new to this board so any advice is appreciated.
I am about to order a c abd c cage for 2 sows. A 4 by 2 with a 2 by 2 loft. I am ordering from a reputable company, I just feel a bit concerned that one might get its head stuck through the gap.
My current cage is a pet shop bought one and now they have grown a bit, they need a bigger space.

I have a huge c and c cage from Kavee cages and there is no way a Guinea pig - even a baby- could get their head stuck through the bars, if that’s what you mean (?) the gaps are tiny. Fab caves!

*cages

candcguineapigcages.co.uk/product/standard-2-x-4-grid-cage/

Thank you. This is the company I'm ordering it from. Thanks again for reassurance.

They're a lovely amount of space for two guineas, but I found ours (homemade, not from there!) a bit flimsy and hard to clean. We reverted to a five-foot cage from Ferplast that was more catproof.

As long as it’s at least 9x9 they can’t get their heads stuck in the holes.
If they are babies you can buy baby sized cages or double the cages over so halving the hole or make a sort of cot bumper to go round.

@MoreRainThanAnyYet the cleaning looks like it might be trickier. Have looked at fleece liners but they're quite expensive. I might have to just invest in one and see if they're worth it.

Thank you @EvilPea, I'll work out the hole size.

We have a C&C for our boys. We found the fleece liners to be the easiest to keep clean. They get poop swept everyday with a rubber brush and fully swap the liners every 3 days. The liners are expensive but once you have them they last ages, ours are over a year old and used every week and still good. We have 2 sets so one on and one in the wash. Invest in a wash bag though if you choose these as the hay will ruin your washing machine.

Thank you @MissRainbowBrite, the washbag is a good tip. I've seen people selling them on Etsy so will have another look.

Our wash bag was about £10 from Amazon and the liners were eBay, ours is a 2x6 so were about £35 each.

I use microfibre bath mats in mine and they are great. Soaks up the wee and dries quickly. I had a baby in with an adult in c&c cage. She got out but I'm not 100% how, I think she must have climbed it because there's no way she could fit through the gaps. I lined the whole way around with oil tablecloth on the inside until she grew a bit more.

We put a layer of newspaper in the bottom and then use puppy pads over the top and then lots of hay. I’ve tried lots of different things but find that works best for us. I order xl pads from Amazon. The pads stop them smelling and provide a nice base and then I give them loads of hay - in their houses and a huge mound of it to play / lay in. Personally I don’t like the fleece liners because I don’t like the hassle of having to wash them. With the pads and newspaper I just roll it up and Chuck it - takes minutes if you overlap the paper.

@ShoppingBasket I was wondering about that. I read that lids are only needed if you have other pets or a toddler (I have neither). I'm probably over thinking it but I'd hate for anything to go wrong with them. Am excited to get a bigger space for them though.

@MissRainbowBrite I'll check out ebay, thank you for your advice.

@Bagelsandbrie I had read about puppy pads so I'll have a look, thank you.

It does look a tad small (I've heard the loft shouldn't be counted in the total space) - any chance you could stretch to a bigger space?

@valadon68 oh ok, so maybe a 5 x 2 so it's longer? I'm not counting the loft space in case they don't use it
Am also ordering a different one as the ramp looked less brutal and the bars are more like cage bars.
kaveecage.co.uk/collections/guinea-pig-c-c-cages-uk/products/4x2-guinea-pig-c-and-c-cage-ramp-loft

I think that would be great if you have the space, just thinking of the demented zooming mine do in the evening! (All the better to make up for their sleepy luxuriating the rest of the time...)

@valadon68 yes mine do this too. Its a mad half hour or so. They've been chasing each other today, it's lovely to watch

I have the exact same cage, 4 x 2 with the loft. I'm really really happy with it.

I bought an extra loft to extend the base into 5 x 2 after about six months. I have two boars and they're quite big boys!

Are use fleece liners, or microfibre bath mats also great as someone else said.

It's much easier than putting sawdust and hay everywhere. Much less cleaning.It is a bit of an upfront investment. But if you bear in mind how long gPs live and all the associated waste and effort, the washable fleece or micro fibre liners are a no brainier

I'd not bother with the loft, I think they're a proper waste of time

The ramp that comes with the C&C cage isn't very good in my opinion. I bought a ramp on Amazon to replace it which has a sort of sandpaper texture and is easier for their feet. I think some people use the smooth C&C ramp with a folded up liner on it, but I thought it would probably just slip off all the time so didn't bother trying it.

When use the loft all the time and it's nice exercise for them to pop up and down

Thank you @NeverRTFT. I thought the fleece liners, although expensive initially, should last years (as the guinea pigs hopefully will). Thanks for your advice.

@PineappleTart yes I did wonder if mine would use the loft and if they'd get up the ramp ok...

Ours use the loft lots, usually one of them asleep up there. I cut up an old towel and sticky back Velcro'd it to the ramp so they don't slip.