Hidey Ideas?

Annapox

Post   » Thu Apr 06, 2023 4:44 pm


My pigs are getting bored of the hideys I have for them, so I'd like to get some new ones for more variety. Right now almost all my hideys are fleece, which the guinea pigs love but which I worry about when it gets warm in the upstairs of the house. (I give them frozen water bottles, which they completely ignore.) So I'd like to get some hideys that are more suitable for warm days, but I'm not sure what to look for. Something well ventilated, probably. I'm nervous about giving my pigs anything made of plastic because I know they'll try to eat it. I have a 2x4 C&C cage, so I also don't have room for really big hideys. Any ideas?

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ItsaZoo
Supporter in 2023

Post   » Fri Apr 07, 2023 12:32 am


One of my hideys is a wire cabinet shelf from Dollar tree. I weave a piece of fleece through the top and then put a fleece pad on top of that. It’s open on all sides. Gidget likes to jump up on top and keep an eye on the kitchen.
https://www.dollartree.com/essentials-w ... ves/235346

Another option is a wire cage grid in a corner. I use binder clips to secure it to the corner of the cage, and I add a fleece pad on top to protect Gidget’s feet when she jumps up. It’s nice because there are no legs or sides to get in the way of floor space.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CmzPM9BOxss ... MyMTA2M2Y=

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Renonvsparky

Post   » Fri Apr 07, 2023 1:37 am


Lowes has 6 inch PVC pipes in 2 foot sections. You can cut it in half and then cut out a small section the length of the pipe so that when the pigs lay in it, they're laying on the cage bedding and not the bottom of the pipe. Being a tunnel, it doesn't cut down on their floor space. You just have to make sure you smooth out all of the edges. I have one for each of my 9 guinea pigs and they love them. They can run and play in them or hide and sleep. I have also made fleece forests for them, which they also like. Then there are those large huts you can get at PETCO. The one I had for Mr. Bubbles (he didn't care too much for anything else) is tapered down the back so they can get on top of it.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri Apr 07, 2023 7:24 am


Years back, I used plastic stools that they could sit under. They had free run of a room (click on link) The stools never got chewed on:
https://www.guinealynx.info/my-pigs.html

Image

RubySimon

Post   » Fri Apr 07, 2023 8:26 am


Google fleece forests. I made some (I think there is a pic of the somewhere). All of mine (personal and foster pigs) adore them. Easy and cheap and best of all, ventilated.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri Apr 07, 2023 9:07 am


I second that idea!

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Waddles
Party Poop-er

Post   » Fri Apr 07, 2023 10:50 am


Recycled plain cardboard boxes, suitably sized for the pig in question, are great as inexpensive makeshift tunnels. I remove all labels and sticky tape, open them at both ends and put a fleece pad on the base to absorb the pee. They love to sleep/run through/hang out in them. The open end flaps provide safe chewing interest.
Toss and replace with a fresh box as needed.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Fri Apr 07, 2023 1:54 pm


Waddles, I did the same, except that I just turned them over, and didn't have to worry about a pad inside the box.

Annapox

Post   » Fri Apr 07, 2023 2:54 pm


Thank you all! I used to have a fleece forest (my family called it a car wash) made of three grids (two were walls), but the grids were repurposed when some of the cage grids needed replacing. I currently have a dowel rod with some fleece strips hanging from it to make a sort of curtain in one corner of the cage; the guinea pigs hide behind it some of the time when it's in the cage, but they usually prefer whatever other hidey I put in, maybe because the curtain lacks a ceiling. I might buy some more grids so that I can make a proper car wash or maybe try ItsaZoo's corner grid idea.

I do have a couple cardboard boxes that the guinea pigs love to hide in and chew on, and Lily in particular likes to flip the boxes over and then wonder why she doesn't have a good hiding place anymore. I replace the boxes when they've been chewed so much that they don't stand up on their own anymore.

Lynx, did your pigs ever chew on the corrugated plastic of their cage (if you had a C&C cage)? Penny used to chew on the corrugated plastic all the time before we built a cage where the plastic walls were a couple inches outside of the grids so she couldn't reach them. That's why I generally hesitate to put plastic items in the cage. But Penny has been fine with plastic food bowls, so maybe it's only corrugated plastic I have to worry about. If that's the case, step stools, PVC pipe, and all the super fun ideas in the "Entertain your guinea pigs!" thread become options.

My dad offered to build a fun hidey out of some of his scrap wood, which was an exciting idea until I remembered that we don't know what kind of wood it is and some woods are unsafe for guinea pigs.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri Apr 07, 2023 10:22 pm


My guinea pigs had a room. They never lived in a cage with plastic cardboard.
https://www.guinealynx.info/my-pigs.html

Supposedly pine can be "splintery". It is perhaps unlikely your dad would make it from walnut but walnut is the only potentially problematic wood I can think of.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Fri Apr 07, 2023 10:57 pm


There are strips of plastic you can put over the edges of the coroplast that prevent chewing. They're the spines of plastic report folders -- you can get them at any office supply place. And the Guinea Pig Cages Store may have them.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Apr 08, 2023 7:53 am


This is what bpatters is referring to (slide binders):



Use a fine hacksaw blade if you need to cut them (won't successfully cut with a scissors or knife).

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