Are you struggling to find space for your guinea pigs’ cage? Maybe you’ve moved into a smaller place, or you’d like to adopt more piggies if only you had the room. Let’s go over some guinea pig cage ideas for small spaces!
Lofts, different cage shapes, added storage space, and stacked cages all help to fit a guinea pig cage into your small space. Elevating your cage using sturdy furniture is also a great idea! Remember that guinea pig cages must be a minimum of 7.5 square feet, and that 10.5 square feet or larger is ideal.
In this article, we’ll discuss six ways to fit a guinea pig cage into a small space without sacrificing the minimum cage size.
1. Loft Spaces
One of the most popular ways to add extra space to a guinea pig cage is by giving them a loft area, or a second floor. This is most often done with C&C cages.
Please remember that the loft space doesn’t count toward your cage size because guinea pigs need flat space to run around. For instance, let’s say your cage was 6 square feet and you added a loft that was 2 square feet. In this case your cage still would not meet the minimum requirements of 7.5 square feet because only the bottom level counts.
But if your cage already meets minimum requirements, the loft can be a fun extra space for them to hang out!
Some guinea pigs don’t use lofts at all, while others love them. They work especially well for young piggies who enjoy climbing.
Lastly, please make sure all of your guinea pigs’ necessities are on the ground floor. They shouldn’t have to climb to get their hay or water, for instance, as this can lead to them eating or drinking less than they should.
2. L-Shaped Cages (And Other Shapes!)
L-shaped cages are great for awkward or tight spaces. You can also mess around with other shapes such as a U-shape or bump-outs using C&C grids. Remember that your guinea pigs don’t care that their cage is social media perfect–just that it meets their needs!
You do want to make sure the cage isn’t too narrow in either direction, and that there’s plenty of open floor space. But beyond that, feel free to go wild!
3. Triangular Guinea Pig Cages for Corners
One of the more creative uses of space I’ve personally seen was a triangular corner cage. So long as you’re sure your cage meets the minimum requirements (since triangles are a bit trickier to measure) these can work well!
4. Adding Storage Beneath Your Guinea Pig Cage
Guinea pig items are never contained to their cage. I used to struggle to find places to store my piggies’ hay, pellets, bedding, and other items. Some people have a ton of fleece to store, as it’s fun to buy different patterns to decorate the cage!
C&C cages can be lifted up by C&C grids, or you can use a table so that you have storage space below. This space can hold your guinea pigs’ things, your own stuff, or a mixture of both.
Elevating the cage with C&C grids tends to give a little bit of space for a few small storage bins, while elevating your cage on a table provides much more room.
If you do use C&C grids to elevate your cage, please make sure it’s sturdy–guinea pigs have died from unstable C&C cages collapsing. Use zip ties to connect the grids, not only the connectors that come with them, and consider adding wooden dowels for added stability.
5. Placing Your Cage on Sturdy Furniture
I’ve almost always kept my guinea pigs’ cages on sturdy furniture, typically something that could double as storage. I’ve had them on tables and on a large dresser. I’ve even kept them on the counters of the bar in the basement since it was previously unused–and it meant we had a sink nearby for water refills or wash ups.
Of course, you always want to make sure the furniture is sturdy enough to hold your guinea pigs without collapsing. Think about other pets and children as well–can they knock down the cage while playing nearby, or while trying to get to the guinea pigs?
6. Stacked Cages
If you have more than one guinea pig cage, stacking them can really help save on space. I’ve never done this myself, as cleaning seems a bit trickier, but some people swear by them!
I’ve seen people stack cages using C&C grids, making sure to zip tie each grid together and usually using a wooden dowel to further hold everything in place. I’ve also seen people use tables to hold the top cage while keeping the bottom one underneath.
Lots of the pretty stacked cages you see on social media are perfect rectangles, but yours doesn’t have to be–you can make a larger cage on the bottom for a bigger herd, or utilize different shapes like we talked about above.
I hope this article has helped to give you some ideas about your next guinea pig cage! Remember that you can always combine the ideas above as well–maybe your space would best suit an L-shaped cage with storage underneath, or you want to have stacked cages with a loft on the upper level. Anything goes so long as you’re happy and your guinea pigs have the space they need to thrive.