Guinea Pig Cages

Appropriate 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.

Cage Size Standards
# of Pigs	Minimum		PREFERRED
	Square Feet	in Inches
	5.7 sq ft	39" x 21"	more is better
	7.3 sq ft	46" x 23"	10.5 sq feet
	10.5 sq ft	50" x 30"	13 sq feet
	13 sq ft	30" x 62"	more is better

Make Your Own Cage!

Cubes and Coroplast (C&C) cages are an easy and inexpensive alternative to ready-made cages and can easily provide a large space to house your guinea pig or pigs.

To hand make the exciting Cubes and Coroplast cages, visit http://www.cavycages.com for complete instructions and wonderful pictures and ideas.

-- Or you can purchase a C&C Cage Kit from MGPR if you are adopting from MGPR.

-- 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

Ready-Made Cages

There are several brands of ready-made cages that we recommend. If you adopt from MGPR or live in the Washington, DC area, you can get some of these cages from Weber's Pet Supermarket in Fairfax (11021 Lee Hwy, 703-385-3766) or Chantilly (14508 G. Lee Road, 703-631-2738). If you tell them you are adopting from MGPR they will give you a 10% discount.

Marchioro of Italy: These cages are a snap for maintenance as well. They have handles for carrying, a top opening as well as front door opening (the largest one has 2 doors), and a hay rack that is attached on the outside.

Note: We do not recommend the Small Marchioro cage. The Medium Marchioro is suitable for 1 guinea pig.

This is the Large Marchioro Cage. It measures 46x23x20 (or 7.3 sq. ft) and is suitable for 2 guinea pigs.

The Jumbo cages are listed below. They can be purchased at Pet-Expo. These cages can be purchased with a steel stand with rolling casters. We do not recommend that PR420 model. The PR520 is only acceptable for one guinea pig.

The PR620 is acceptable for two guinea pigs.

A Tubbies cage is shown below and also available at Pet-Expo. The picture below shows the optional stand that can also be purchased. We do not recommend that PR522 model. The PR524 is only acceptable for one guinea pig.

The PR525 is acceptable for two guinea pigs.

Cages:

Self-made Cage: C&C Cages
Ready-made Cage: Marchioro; Jumbo; Tubbies