Homemade Guinea Pig Cages With Wire Shelving

Most pet stores sell a variety of cages designed to accommodate a guinea pig, however, homemade cages offer cheaper, larger and more flexible alternatives. Making a guinea pig cage from scratch is a fairly easy task, only requiring a few easy-to-find materials and a little bit of patience. The most popular homemade guinea pig cages are designed using wire shelving and a special corrugated plastic, according to the Cavy Spirit website about guinea pig cages.

  1. Preparing for a Life Behind Bars

    • Commercially sold guinea pig cages are of the one-size-fits all variety, regardless of the size of the animal or how many pigs will share the same living space. The biggest benefit to the homemade cage is that it can be custom made to any specifications, based on the number of wire shelves used. Stores including Target and Costco all sell wire shelving commonly used for storage in the home office or college dorm. The grids, which are typically 14-inches square, can be snapped together by connectors that are included with the shelving system and then further secured by cable ties that are available in the hardware section of most stores, including Home Depot.

    Laying the Groundwork

    • A solid, sturdy foundation fashioned from colored, corrugated plastic is the perfect complement to a homemade guinea pig cage designed from wire shelving. Stores like FastSigns, which specialize in custom-made signage for indoor and outdoor events, sell Coroplast, the material most preferred by guinea pig owners due to its light weight and ease of cleaning. You can cut the plastic to fit inside the homemade cage, but remember to leave enough material on the ends to be able to fold over to form the four corners. Secure those end flaps on the outside with heavy duty packaging tape and then drop the base inside the walls of the shelving unit.

    Customizing the Cage

    • Wire shelving units are available in an assortment of colors, including black, white and silver. Coroplast is also available in a plethora of colors, allowing you to choose a color scheme that suits your preference. In terms of proper size, to provide one guinea pig with a large, roomy cage, use two wire shelving grids for the width and three grids for the length. This cage would measure approximately 7.5 square feet. Add wire grids to any of the sides to accommodate multiple guinea pigs, just remember that, as wire shelving is added, the size of plastic needed for the base also increases. If you have a particularly small vehicle, it may be harder to transport larger pieces of the plastic from the store, as it's not very flexible.