Making a guinea pig box or flat yourself is fairly easy to do. Building a cage yourself has a number of major advantages: you can make the cage exactly the way you want it and your animals often have more walking space. All the materials you need when making your own cage are available at a hardware store such as the Gamma or the Praxis.
There are different types of cages that you can make yourself. If you want to make something for indoors, you can make a guinea pig box or a guinea pig flat.
Guinea pig flat
A guinea pig flat resembles a flat, as the name suggests. You make a cage with several floors that are connected by means of stairs.
Benefits
A guinea pig flat has several advantages over another type of guinea pig cage.
- You can keep more guinea pigs in a small area. If you have a five-storey flat with an area of 1.20 meters by 65 centimeters, you can keep 15 guinea pigs here. You can only keep three guinea pigs in a normal one-storey cage of this size. You will also find that many breeders and guinea pig shelters use flats to save space in this way.
- The guinea pigs naturally have more shelter in a flat than in a normal guinea pig cage. They have shelves next to them on all sides except the front and always have a shelf at the top. Scared guinea pigs are more likely to feel safe in a flat than in a guinea pig box or cage.
- When you connect the different floors by means of stairs, your guinea pigs have the opportunity to avoid each other. If a guinea pig wants to rest or, for example, is constantly chased by the other guinea pigs, it has the option to go to another floor and isolate itself here.
- You can make a guinea pig flat just like a guinea pig box exactly the way you want. You are not obliged to buy the ugly bright blue or red wire cage from the pet store, but you can completely adapt the flat to the interior of your home.
Materials
There are several ways you can make a guinea pig flat. You can use an existing cupboard or you can build a flat from scratch.
Existing closet
Many people who are making a guinea pig flat for the first time use an existing cupboard. For example, you can buy a Pax or Billy cupboard at IKEA. These are often available in the right sizes and they don’t cost too much either. It is also an option to buy a cupboard at the thrift store and refurbish it to your own taste. The advantage of cupboards at the thrift store is that they often all have separate doors per ‘floor’. This allows you to leave the doors on one floor and thus create extra storage space under your flat for the things you need.
You will have to make a number of adjustments to the cupboard you have. For example, it is wise to stick tarpaulin or adhesive plastic to the bottom to ensure that the wood is less affected. You also have to make windows of plexiglass or mesh at the front of the flat so that your guinea pigs cannot fall out. 20 centimeters high plexiglass windows are certainly high enough for most guinea pigs. Finally, you have to decide whether you want to create stairs between the different floors and make sure you come up with something to hang the drinking bottles in. A 38/40 millimeter pipe clamp is very suitable for most drinking bottles. You can find this in almost all hardware stores near the plastic pipes.
Make your own flat
You can of course also start from scratch and make your own guinea pig flat. First you have to choose which kind of wood you want here
best for. Suitable are, for example, MDF and furniture board. The main requirements for the wood are that they do not splinter easily and that they are non-toxic on the outside. Some types of wood use a lot of toxic glue or are painted on the outside. Most cheaper woods are not moisture resistant, so you will always need to put tarpaulin or plastic wrap on the bottom to keep your guinea pigs’ urine from getting into the wooden boards. The wooden plates are best joined together by means of wood glue and screws.
For the rest, the finishing of your own flat is almost the same as the finishing of an existing cupboard. Always be very careful with both that most paints are toxic to your guinea pig! If you also want to have your flat beautiful on the inside, it is best to look for animal-friendly paint or also stick adhesive plastic on the side walls of the flat.
Caviabak
A guinea pig tank is in fact the same as a cage, but then you can adjust it entirely to your own wishes. For example, you can make a corner cage or a narrow cage running the length of your living room. In this way you are not stuck with the standard sized guinea pig cages.
Benefits
- If you are a bit handy, a guinea pig tank can be realized very cheaply. You only need wood, screws, tarpaulin for the bottom and wood glue.
- When you make a guinea pig tray that is not too wide (maximum 70 centimeters), it is very easy to clean. You no longer have to fumble about having to take the lid off the cage. A guinea pig box is also much easier to clean than a guinea pig flat because you do not suffer from the floors above it. When there is not enough space between the different floors, a flat can be difficult to clean.
- Many guinea pigs become less frightened once they are in an open bowl. In the beginning they will startle every time you walk by because they have little shelter. However, when they realize that you are not an enemy to them, they will become more and more free.
Materials
In fact, making a guinea pig box works the same as a guinea pig flat. The only point you should pay attention to is the sturdiness of your wood. It is best to buy wood that is at least 18 millimeters thick. This is necessary because a container often consists of a relatively large surface that is little supported. When you buy thinner wood, there is a good chance that the box will start to sag quickly. You can place tables or create cupboard space under the tray.