Living Space
Your cavy's living conditions are very important! You'll need to know how big their cage needs to be for the number of cavies you have. A good cage size for one cavy is 8 square feet. The bigger cage you have, the better it will be. Starting with 8 square feet, for every cavy you add, add another 2.5 square feet to your cage size. This is a pretty good formula, but it doesn't have to be exact. As long as your cavies have space to run around and are not cramped, they will be just fine. You'll need to make sure you cage is cavy safe, and that they can actually use it. Some cages have tubes, ladders, and wire bottoms. These types of cages are not ideal for cavies. Your cage should have a flat bottom with no grid or wire floors. It's okay to have some platforms or different levels in the cage, as long as the ladders are not steep and your cavy has no trouble getting around in its home. Besides a cage, your pet will also need a house or some sort of shelter to hide in like a plastic igloo. The plastic igloos are the ideal shelter for cavies. They come in fun colors and are the perfect size for your pet. You should have at least one shelter for each cavy you have. If you want a more natural look, you can buy wooden rodent huts which we have found that cavies also enjoy. Or you can even be creative and make your own cavy house!
So, now that you have your cage and your house, its time to talk about cleaning! With every pet, there comes responsibility, and cleaning your cavies home is just one of them. Depending on how many cavies you have, and how much cage space there is, how often you need to clean your cage will vary. As soon as you start to smell your cavy, you know that you've gone too long without cleaning their cage! For one or two cavies, you should clean your cage (assuming that its the appropriate size) at least once or twice a week. After emptying, always wipe down the cage with a green friendly cleaner and rinse thoroughly. Make sure you cage is dry before you continue. Lining the cage with newspaper or towels before you put the bedding in helps a lot. You can use wood shavings or fleece as bedding, but if you get wood shavings make sure it says dustless. Make sure that while your cleaning your cavy's cage, you have someone watch it or put it outside to enjoy grass. (You can use the cage top to contain your cavy while you clean its cage or while it is outside.) Every so often, you will also need to clean your cavy's igloo or hut with soap and water to prevent bacteria.
So, now that you have your cage and your house, its time to talk about cleaning! With every pet, there comes responsibility, and cleaning your cavies home is just one of them. Depending on how many cavies you have, and how much cage space there is, how often you need to clean your cage will vary. As soon as you start to smell your cavy, you know that you've gone too long without cleaning their cage! For one or two cavies, you should clean your cage (assuming that its the appropriate size) at least once or twice a week. After emptying, always wipe down the cage with a green friendly cleaner and rinse thoroughly. Make sure you cage is dry before you continue. Lining the cage with newspaper or towels before you put the bedding in helps a lot. You can use wood shavings or fleece as bedding, but if you get wood shavings make sure it says dustless. Make sure that while your cleaning your cavy's cage, you have someone watch it or put it outside to enjoy grass. (You can use the cage top to contain your cavy while you clean its cage or while it is outside.) Every so often, you will also need to clean your cavy's igloo or hut with soap and water to prevent bacteria.
We Recommend
The best thing for your cavy cage wise would be a C and C cage. C and C is short for cubes and coroplast. These cages are home made and the possibilities are endless! There is a lot of information on C and C cages on the web. a great site is : http://www.guineapigcages.com/cubes.htm.
Another great thing we recommend is using fleece instead of bedding. Fleece? in a cavy cage? Crazy right! Wrong! It will save you so much money because fleece is reusable and you don't have to buy bedding! It is also very easy on your cavy's feet, and is nice and soft. There is also much information about using fleece in cages on the web.
Here is a video of our C and C cages! this video is owned by the thecavyclub
Another great thing we recommend is using fleece instead of bedding. Fleece? in a cavy cage? Crazy right! Wrong! It will save you so much money because fleece is reusable and you don't have to buy bedding! It is also very easy on your cavy's feet, and is nice and soft. There is also much information about using fleece in cages on the web.
Here is a video of our C and C cages! this video is owned by the thecavyclub
