Читать книгу Training Your Guinea Pig - Gerry Bucsis - Страница 14

If you’re having trouble finding a large enough store-bought cage, don’t worry. It doesn’t take much skill to make a cage yourself. And you’ll be happy to know that some of the very best guinea pig cages are owner-designed and built. Fortunately, you don’t have to start completely from scratch when making a do-it-yourself cage; you can make a first-rate cavy habitat by putting together a combination of store-bought items.

The first item you’ll need is corrugated plastic, better known as coroplast, which is used to make an easy-clean floor for the cage. Coroplast sheets come in a variety of colors, so you can match the cage to your décor or make it a distinct conversation piece. The second item you’ll need is wire-cube shelving, which is used to make the walls of the enclosure. This shelving comes in black, white, and a limited number of colors. With these two products, it’s fairly cheap to build what’s known as a C&C (cubes and coroplast) cage for your cavies.

The wire-cube shelving is sold under several brand names. It comes in packages containing anywhere from 16 to 40-plus wire-grid panels, along with plastic connectors for joining the panels together. When you go shelf shopping, look for the 14-inch (35 cm) square panels rather than the 15-inch (38 cm) square panels because the spaces in the 15-inch (38 cm) panels are larger, and small-sized guinea pigs could escape through them. Packages of wire-cube shelving are pretty easy to find; department stores, bed-and-bath stores, discount warehouses, and office supply stores all carry them. They’re also widely available on the Internet—just google “wire cube shelving.” However, if you order from the Internet, the delivery costs could be expensive unless your order qualifies for free shipping.

The coroplast might be harder to find. Your best bet is to look for it in sign shops. You could also look for it in hobby/craft stores or in some home improvement stores. None in stock? Ask if it can be ordered for you.

It’s easy to find coroplast sheets on the Internet, but be prepared to pay an arm and a leg for delivery. A sheet large enough to make a suitable cage (4 × 8 feet/1.2 × 2.4 m) is classed as “oversized” and requires special shipping. You could, however, ask to have a sheet scored (not cut) and folded, so that it would fit into a smaller package for cheaper shipping.

One last item for your shopping list is a bag of small cable ties, lock ties, or zip ties. These ties will be used to connect the wire grids together to form the walls of the cage. The wire-cube shelving does come with plastic connectors, but these connectors are not strong enough on their own to make a sturdy guinea pig habitat.

Once you have your materials on hand, the next step is to assemble the cage.