Guinea Pig Cages

Many of the ready-made cages sold in pet stores are not suitable for guinea pigs—despite the fact they are advertised as being so. Most of them are too small and some even have wire grid floors—which should never be used to house guinea pigs.

Bigger is better! For the health and well-being of your guinea pigs, provide as large a living area as you can manage. Cage size standards are listed below. Following these standards will result in happier, healthier, and perkier guinea pigs.

  • DO NOT buy a wood hutch like those sold by Trixie
    Wood hutches do not have adequate ventilation due to having a solid back wall and an area completely enclosed by wood. Additionally, wood hutches may become and stay wet (since wood takes a longer time to dry than plastic) if the guinea pigs pee on the wood and resultantly, bacteria may grow.
  • DO NOT use an aquarium or plastic storage tub as a cage
    Aquariums don't provide adequate ventilation. Likewise, plastic storage tubs with sides higher than 6 inches don't provide adequate ventilation. Without adequate ventilation, the guinea pigs can develop respiratory issues.
  • DO NOT buy a cage with a wire floor
    Guinea pigs have sensitive feet. Walking on a wire floor can cause serious health issues to form over time, such as bumblefoot.
  • DO NOT buy a multi-story cage
    Guinea pigs are fragile. A fall from any height can result in serious injury. A single floor cage is best for this reason. If you buy a second level, the ramp must have sides and the second level must have a walls on all sides to prevent a jump or fall.
  • DO NOT buy a cage smaller than 7.5 sq ft
    Guinea pigs thrive best when they have a friend of their own kind to share a cage with. To have adequate space to move about, they will need at least 7.5 square feet of ground floor space regardless of the amount of floor time provided. More cage space is always better.
  • DO NOT count upper floor space in total cage space
    Guinea pigs are ground animals. They enjoy running laps, aka zoomies, and need ground floor space in their cage to perform them whenever the mood strikes.
  • DO NOT use a physical divider
    Some cages come with a divider to partition the cage into 2 parts with a small doorway separating the two parts. The divider makes it impossible for the guinea pigs to run about the ground floor without going through the doorway and thus makes the cage too small to freely move about.
  • DO NOT use an elevated feeding area like the one featured in this cage
    Many cages come with an elevated feeding area - a small ledge that clips onto the side of the cage that provides hiding space underneath and an area on top for the food dish. Guinea pigs are not climbers. They shouldn't have to climb to get to their food and a fall from the ledge can cause serious injury. Additionally, the area underneath does not have adequate ventilation. Remove this feature from the cage.
Cage Size Standards
# of Pigs
Minimum
PREFERRED
Square Feet
in Inches
 
Guinea Pig
5.7 sq ft
39" x 21"
more is better
Guinea PigGuinea Pig
7.3 sq ft
46" x 23"
10.5 sq feet
Guinea PigGuinea PigGuinea Pig
10.5 sq ft
50" x 30"
13 sq feet
Guinea PigGuinea PigGuinea PigGuinea Pig
13 sq ft
30" x 62"
more is better

Custom Cages

Cubes and Coroplast (C&C) cages are a customizeable, and often less expensive, alternative to ready-made cages. You can buy or build your very own C&C cage to provide sufficient space for your guinea pigs.

C and C

Information on buying or building your own C&C cage:

  • To Buy: visit http://www.guineapigcagesstore.com/

    NOTE: Beware of inferior cages sold elsewhere online. For example, the C&C cage by KaveeCage sold on Esty and on Amazon has coroplast sides that are too low (which means bedding, hay, etc will fall on your floor) and the two-story version lacks walls (grids) on all sides of the second level, which can result in a serious injury if the pig jumps or falls.
  • To Build: visit http://www.cavycages.com for complete instructions and wonderful pictures and ideas.

    NOTE: If you're adopting from MGPR, you can purchase a C&C Cage Kit from MGPR. MGPR C&C cages don't come with lids. You can construct a lid from wire closet shelving.

C&C cage sizes:
-- A 2x3 C&C Cage is suitable for 1 or 2 guinea pigs
-- A 2x4 C&C Cage is suitable for 2 or 3 guinea pigs
The above are the dimensions for the main level (if two levels are present). The main level cannot be any smaller than the above even if a second level is present.


Ready Made Cages

MGPR is a part of Amazon Smile. Select Metropolitan Guinea Pig Rescue as your charity when making a purchase on Amazon Smile.

 

Canvas bottom cages: This cage doesn't have the stiffness of other cages as the cage bottom is made of canvas (specially coated to make it leak-proof). The canvas bottom makes it easy to fold up the cage and pack it up for travel or storage but makes the cage a little less sturdy.

  • Midwest Guinea Pig Habitat (or Habitat Plus) available on Amazon.com
  • Kaytee Open Living cages available as 8 sq ft and as 12 sq ft on Amazon.com
  • Amazon Basic Canvas Bottom Cage. This cage isn't as nice as the above two because the canvas sides are lower, which means more hay, bedding, etc may fall out of the cage onto your floor. DO NOT use the triangular corner piece.
(availability last verified 01/18/21)

Midwest cage

 

Hagen Living World Deluxe Habitat: The EXTRA-LARGE cage is acceptable for two guinea pigs. The large is only acceptable for one guinea pig. We do not recommend the medium cage because it is too small for even one guinea pig.

DON'T USE the elevated feeding area/hiding place. The extra-large Hagen habitat can be purchased at Amazon.com

AmazonBasics Pet Habitat : The JUMBO cage is acceptable for two guinea pigs (it's the smallest acceptable size for two guinea pigs). The large is only acceptable for one guinea pig. We do not recommend the standard cage because it is too small for even one guinea pig.

REMOVE the ramp and second level shelf. Guinea pigs may jump or fall from either and a fall from any height can cause severe injury (guinea pigs are fragile).

The JUMBO Amazon Basic cage can be purchased at at Amazon.com

Midwest Extra-Large Rabbit Home: The EXTRA-LARGE rabbit cage is acceptable for two guinea pigs. The large is only acceptable for one guinea pig.

DON'T USE the elevated feeding area/hiding place. The extra-large Midwest Rabbit Home can be purchased at Amazon.com

(availability last verified 01/18/21)

 

Ready Made Cages to AVOID

DON'T buy a cage with ground floor space less than the minimum size for the number of guinea pigs you have (for two, the ground floor space must be at least 7.5 sq feet). Some cages are misleading in their size due to having a tapered pan. Many manufacturers will provide the length and width for the top of the cage even though the bottom of the cage in which the guinea pigs sit has smaller dimensions.

DO NOT buy cage with playpen. These cages are misleading and smaller than advertised due to the bottom of the cage being smaller than the top of the cage. When measured by the bottom of the cage and excluding the yard space, they are too small for two guinea pigs. The play yard does not count as cage space because the guinea pigs must climb down to access it. If the guinea pigs do not climb down or if the cage is kept closed (for instance, when you are away and/or not able to supervise play in the play area), they do not have adequate space in the cage itself.

DO NOT buy a wood hutch. Wood hutches do not have adequate ventilation due to having a solid back wall and an area completely enclosed by wood. Additionally, wood hutches may become and stay wet (since wood takes a longer time to dry than plastic) if the guinea pigs pee on the wood and resultantly, bacteria may grow.

DO NOT buy a multi-story cage. Guinea pigs are ground animals. A fall from any height can result in serious injury. Many multi-story cages do not provide adequate safety to prevent a fall. Any ramp must have sides and the second floor must have walls on all sides to prevent the guinea pigs from jumping or falling off. Cages such as the Midwest Ferret Nation Cage don't have adequate ground floor space (must be at least 7.5 sq ft for two guinea pigs) and lack sides on the ramp and second floor. Don't buy.