How To Make A Guinea Pig Home Easily

Making a home for your small pet is the best option. Large homes for guinea pigs and rabbits offer a plethora of benefits. Tiny pet store cages just don't give a lifetime of space to exercise and comfort, and the popular C&C cages can be too expensive or hard to find the materials. In this article I will tell you how to make cages using materials you can find anywhere!

Having 6 guinea pigs I was tasked with making and experimenting with various different cage types. I discovered that to make a comfortable and safe cage you just need a solid, waterproof base and a secure enclosure. Hopefully you can use this article to create a happy home for your guinea pig or rabbit, and even inspire you to invent your own homes!

Start with a Foundation

A common base used in the making of pet homes at home is vinyl flooring. This is easy to locate and affordable, and also can be cut into the length you need. Its waterproof and lightweight nature make it a good choice for the bottom of your pet home.

Another option used are shower curtains. As they are waterproof they also work well, and are not hard to find no matter where you live.

Carpet tiles also offer a good foundation. They can be laid out into the shape of your cage but use the side that is plastic and not carpet as it may start to smell after a while (mine did).

The flooring is then covered with fleece bedding, a method described in many places online.

This part is very simple. The most used option is of course storage cubes. These can be found easily in North America in many shops, such as Walmart and Bed Bath and Beyond.

If you are unlucky and live in a country that does not sell storage cubes, the next option can be found in many stores worldwide, such as Argos or pet stores. This is the dog run or any other animal run cage. These are nice and big and provide a safe area for your pet. The one pictured is very tall, but it does the job for 2 pigs (and could probably fit 2 more comfortably).

Kiddie pools are easily found (more easy in summer) and waterproof! My guinea pigs lived in one for a long time. Make sure it is not round shaped as these are hard to clean and also give less space. A square shaped kiddie pool is easy to make up, clean and best of all you don't need to buy a base as it already has a waterproof base.

When using a cage that does not have a wire wall to hang a water bottle from you can use a food bowl and fill it with water.

This one may be hard to explain as I don't have the best pictures. These are small wall pieces that were meant for sectioning off parts of your garden. They provided a secure enclosure for my pigs. This type of material can be found in many stores so it is worth keeping your eyes open for something similar. They were also nice and low and discreet.

From reading this article I hope you will feel excited about making your own small animal home. Knowing now what you need to make a nice cage you can keep your eyes open when you shop for other enclosure options for a cage.