# Is my Cavie Setup OK?



## evanique (Nov 5, 2012)

I have had Chocolate for a week now. He's lovely and I's lovely getting to know him, he's so cute and makes the most wonderful noises :laugh: He is in a 100x50cm rabbit cage lined with newspaper and lavender scented sawdust. He has a nice wooden house at one end with edible paper animal bedding. He has a water bottle and a food dish for his cavie food with added vitamin c. There is also a hay cage ball hung from the side and i put carboard tubes stuffed with hay inside his cage which he seems to enjoy. He has fresh veg daily (carrot, celery, lettuce, cucumber) and I've put him out to explore in our rabbits run a few times (always supervised) where he likes to nibble and explore. The girl at the pet shop said he would be fine in this size cage and he would live happily on his own providing he had lot's of attention from us.

I have 2 questions
1) is his home suitable and big enough. Is there anything I need to add/change?
2) will he really be happy to live alone? he comes out with us daily for a cuddle. Is it ok for him to have supervised playtime with the rabbit in the outdoor rabbit run?

Chocolate








Chocolates Cage









The Rabbit Run


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## Lil Miss (Dec 11, 2010)

in short.
no & no

guinea pigs need company of their own kind they are social animals and crave other piggy contact, they oftwn become depressed on their own

as for cage
the minimum size for a pig is 4ft (120cm) x 2ft (48cm) so while your cage is good on width its too short in length
substrate
scented bedding should never be used, animals have MUCH more sensative noses then us, if we can smell it imagine how strong it will be on them
sawdust/woodshavings shouldnt really be used anyway, they are much too dusty and made from pine (unless otherwise stated) which is bad both for their respitory tracts and kidneys

also, piggys NEEDS to be kept well away from rabbits 
have a read here
Guinea Pigs & Rabbits - Rabbit Retreat Forum

(and on a side note your rabbits hutch looks on the small side too, it looks like a 4ft double? the minimum is a 5ft double or 6ft single, appolagies if it is just the picture making it look smaller)


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## evanique (Nov 5, 2012)

So what should i use instead of wood shavings, hay, straw? 
Can i still use the rabbit run for the guinea pig while the rabbit is shut in it's hutch, or it there a risk of infection etc? 
If i need to get another cavie, it will have to be female, so i'd have to neuter one right?
As far as the rabbit hutch is concerned, I had my rabbit from the rspca, who came out to inspect the hutch ready for 2 rabbits. They said it was fine for 2 rabbits as long as there was a run attached. I did find though that the hutch was small for 2 large rabbits and would get dirty very quickly so I bought an additional hutch to put alongside the 2 story one. One of my rabbits has since died though so I threw the single hutch as it had seen better days. The double hutch in the pic seems fine for the remaining rabbit. She spend a lot of time out in the run and I feel she has much more space than the majority of pet rabbits.


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## pinklizzy (Dec 19, 2009)

You could use stuff like megazorb which is a recycled paper substrate, I get it in a big bag from a local equine merchant and use it over newspaper with hay on the top ( although I only do that in their 'kitchen area' as the rest of the cage is lined with fleece.
The cage does look a bit small, especially for more than one pig and he really does need company of another guinea pig.
There are lots of guinea pig rescues all over the country and they would be able to help you make a good match for him, which could easily be another male so there would be no need for him to be neutered.


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## kate_7590 (Feb 28, 2009)

He really does need a little friend. Another young male would be fine so you wouldnt need to nueter anyone!


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## evanique (Nov 5, 2012)

I'm so glad he can live with another male, that will keep the cost down a bit  I have another cage of the same size and was thinking of combining them to make a 2 story cage. So i would end up with two 100x50xm floors. I was thinking of using hay on the ground feeding floor and medibed fleece for the 1st floor. Is ll this acceptable for 2-3 cavies?


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## cats galore (Jul 17, 2012)

there are lots of rescues around the country that do 'boar dating' which will make sure your pig chooses the friend he likes. i use vetbed in my hutches and find it great and easy to clean. 
not sure if this rescue is near you but she always has guinea pigs in needing new homes
Glynneath Guinea Pig Rescue 01639 721127


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## dancemagicdance (Sep 27, 2012)

Good advice from everyone else, only thing I want to add is that you're asking about 2-3 piggies, 2 boars can work very well(I can say this firsthand as I had 2  ) but it is very rare for 3 to work, personally I would just be looking for another young male to keep him company


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## Treaclesmum (Sep 26, 2011)

dancemagicdance said:


> Good advice from everyone else, only thing I want to add is that you're asking about 2-3 piggies, 2 boars can work very well(I can say this firsthand as I had 2  ) but it is very rare for 3 to work, personally I would just be looking for another young male to keep him company


I heard that guinea pigs are very sociable and like to live in groups


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## kate_7590 (Feb 28, 2009)

Treaclesmum said:


> I heard that guinea pigs are very sociable and like to live in groups


Females generally will happily live in large groups, males however can fight if they are kept in more than pairs...its not unheard of to have a group of boys but this set up is a lot more difficult than a group of sows


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## evanique (Nov 5, 2012)

cats galore said:


> there are lots of rescues around the country that do 'boar dating' which will make sure your pig chooses the friend he likes. i use vetbed in my hutches and find it great and easy to clean.
> not sure if this rescue is near you but she always has guinea pigs in needing new homes
> Glynneath Guinea Pig Rescue 01639 721127


Thanks for the link, I's only a few miles for me so I have contacted her, waiting for a reply.


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## evanique (Nov 5, 2012)

:idea: I have now added another cage to make an L shape. The size is now 150x100cm. I am going to make a ramp out of wood and carpet for him to get from 1 cage to the other. I'm taking Chocolate to the Glynneath sanctuary on Saturday for boar bonding :smilewinkgrin:


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## Louiseandfriends (Aug 21, 2011)

That's great! I know a few people who have L shape cages like that. I'm sure your boys will love it! 

As for the rabbit hutch, the RSPCA have pretty low standards for rabbit hutch accommodation. You really need a 6x2 hutch with at least a 6x4 run attached 24/7. :/ http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/ahutchisnotenough.htm


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## Ingrid25 (Oct 1, 2011)

I would think having something like your rabbits set up would be better? (obviously not together)
Having him in a nice spacious cage and a run for outside is the best option


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## Doggiesrule100 (Sep 2, 2012)

I know Guinean pigs are sociable, but what happens when you have two and one passes away? This happened to me and I can't get another pig. My current guinea pig is fine though


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